Rulemaking as a Form of Bureaucratic Response

• Other Authors: Terman, Jessica (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Public policy; Public administration
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-5226

There is a vast literature concerning the political control that elected officials have over agency actors in the development of bureaucratic policymaking outputs. In the context of rulemaking, I theorize that, while political signals play a role in agency response, bureaucratic decision-making is also influenced by agency attention, institutional design and path dependency. Furthermore, I suggest that managers use different strategies in terms of the magnitude and timeliness of their response according to the uncertainty surrounding the aforementioned influences. I use a three-level random intercepts poisson model with quasi-likelihood estimation to analyze an original dataset containing 35 years of rulemaking activity for centralized contracting rules in Florida. I also conduct a qualitative analysis to examine how the nature of rulemaking changes over time. The results suggest that, in addition to political signals, agency attention, path dependency and institutional design also influence bureaucratic response. === A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Spring Semester, 2012. === March 28, 2012. === bureaucratic response, contracting-out, institutional design, organizational attention, public agency, rulemaking === Includes bibliographical references. === Kaifeng Yang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Reenock, University Representative; Frances Berry, Committee Member; Ralph Brower, Committee Member; Richard Feiock, Committee Member.