Chapter 8. The Bureaucracy

Study

The roots of the federal bureaucracy—the departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions, and other executive units used to carry out national policies—are found in the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to make laws and the president to ensure their faithful execution. The current array of bureaucratic structures and arrangements, however, evolved incrementally from attempts by Congress and the president to take advantage of bureaucratic expertise while minimizing the political costs of delegation.

The expansion of the national government into new areas required additional bureaucracy to solve large-scale coordination and other collective action problems. Delegating to bureaucratic agents, however, entails some risk of agency loss, whether from hidden action (the principal cannot observe what agents are doing) or hidden information (agents know things the principal does not). Early presidents like George Washington tried to reduce agency loss by appointing only men of high character. Other mechanisms, such as monitoring and incentive-based contracts, have also been used to ensure that the interests of agents are aligned with those of the principal.

The size of the federal workforce increased substantially in the twentieth century, mostly in response to the challenges posed by World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Great Society. Whole departments were created to serve new categories of voters and interest groups. Congress also set up regulatory agencies to cope with the Industrial Revolution and Great Depression. Since the 1960s, federal programs and activities have expanded even as federal employment has stagnated. This was accomplished by delegating administrative responsibilities to state governments, private contractors and grant recipients.

The delegation of substantial discretionary authority raises the question of who really controls the bureaucracy. Congress has the strongest set of tools at its disposal. It can legislate agencies out of existence, adjust the budgets of individual units and programs, require regularly reports, and investigate agency activities. Presidents use appointments to influence bureaucratic priorities and the Office of Management and Budget to review agency activities. The federal courts also monitor executive agencies to ensure they comply with specified rules and procedures.

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should understand...

• the political incentives that led to the establishment and abandonment of the spoils system
• the different types of agencies, commissions, and departments within the bureaucracy, their development over time, and the reason why some of these actors are more important or independent than others
• the principal-agent dilemmas Congress faces in delegating tasks to the bureaucracy, and how it copes with them
• the tools Congress, the president, and the courts have at their disposal in their attempts to control the bureaucracy
• the tools that can be used by politically astute bureaucrats to their agencies' advantage
• how organized interests in the public can influence the bureaucracy, and the limits of these interests
• the obstacles to "reinventing" government (and the bureaucracy) and even to determining whether government is succeeding in pursuing its goals

Review Questions

1. Why is a bureaucracy necessary? What are the general characteristics of bureaucracies as set forth by Max Weber?
   



2. What powers does the president have over the bureaucracy? What powers does Congress have over the bureaucracy? Why would political actors ever choose to have less control over a bureaucratic actor?
   



3. How were members of the bureaucracy selected in George Washington's time? Andrew Jackson's? The present?
   



4. What political considerations go into a decision to establish a bureaucratic agency? How about the decision to grant a bureaucracy cabinet-level status?
   



5. Why are bureaucratic tasks increasingly delegated to the states or to private organizations?
   



6. How can the rules or procedures Congress establishes for bureaucratic agencies affect how those bureaucracies do their jobs?
   



7. If everybody hates "red tape," why does it still flourish? Why might bureaucrats themselves prefer to have detailed rules governing some of their actions?
   



8. What sorts of activities are rewarded in bureaucratic service? How does the bureaucratic reward system differ from that of private industry?