Federal Civil Service System and the Problem of Bureaucracy (National Bureau of Economic Research Series on Long-Term Factors in Economi) (NBER-Long Term Factors (CHUP)) (NBER Series on Long-Term Factors in Economic Development)

by Ronald N Johnson and Gary D Libecap

Examining the political and economic forces that have shaped the civil service system from the Pendleton Act of 1883 through today, the authors explain why, despite efforts to overhaul the federal bureaucracy (most recently by Vice President Al Gore), significant change remains a formidable challenge. Although politicians criticize the unwieldiness of the bureaucracy, this volume shows how they have been largely responsible for its design. The authors examine the development of federal employee interest groups and their negotiations with the president and Congress over hiring policies, salaries and conditions for terminating employment. Using transaction cost analysis and public choice theory, this book aims to provide a new understanding of the growth of the federal bureaucracy and the political and economic obstacles to reforming it.

• ISBN10: 1281223697
• ISBN13: 9781281223692
• Publish Date: 1 January 2007 (first published 15 November 1994)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 9 June 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: University of Chicago Press
• Pages: 229
• Language: English