The Public Administration Theory Primer : Essentials of Public Policy and Administration

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction: the possibilities of theory. 2. Theories of political control of bureaucracy. 3. Theories of bureaucratic politics. 4. Public Institutional Theory. 5. Theories of public management. 6. Postmodern Theory. 7. Decision Theory. 8. Rational Choice Theory. 9. Theories of governance. 10. Conclusion: a bright future for theory? References. Index.

"In the past thirty years, public administration has developed more systematic patterns of inquiry about the substance of public organizations behavior, public management, and public policy implementation. This book explores how the science and art of policy administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative. Frederickson and Smith describe several theories and analytical approaches that contribute to what we know about policy administration. This book asks: Which theories or approaches are the most promising, the most influential? Which are the most important now and likely to be the most important in the future? The purpose of this effort is to set out a detailed description of key theories in contemporary public administration and thus improve the reliability of our knowledge and our understanding of public administration." (jacket)