Making Policy Public: Participatory Bureaucracy in American Democracy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781107665972)

This book challenges the conventional wisdom that government bureaucrats inevitably seek secrecy and demonstrates how and when participatory bureaucracy manages the enduring tension between bureaucratic administration and democratic accountability. Looking closely at federal level public participation in pharmaceutical regulation and educational assessments within the context of the vast system of American federal advisory committees, this book demonstrates that participatory bureaucracy supports bureaucratic administration in ways consistent with democratic accountability when it focuses on complex tasks and engages diverse expertise. In these conditions, public participation can help produce better policy outcomes, such as safer prescription drugs. Instead of bureaucracy's opposite or alternative, public participation can work as its complement.

Author: Susan L. Moffitt
ISBN-10: 1107665973
ISBN-13: 9781107665972
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/27/2014
Pages: 274
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2015 pg. 1593