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Understanding Minister–Bureaucrat Relations: Applying Multi‐Theoretic Approaches in Public Management
Author(s) -
Laffin Martin
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.1997.tb01241.x
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , agency (philosophy) , scope (computer science) , public administration , public management , new public management , political science , value (mathematics) , institutionalism , politics , performance management , sociology , management , public sector , economics , law , computer science , social science , programming language , machine learning
The study of public management has remained theoretically limited. This article tests out the value of a multi‐theoretical approach as applied to one area of public management research — minister–bureaucrat relationships. Three models are identified — agency theory, bureaucratic politics and institutionalism. All three models are shown to provide valuable insights into the relationship and I argue that this example indicates considerable scope for the further development of mulit‐theoretical approaches within public management.