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Paved With Political Intentions: The Impact of Structure on the National Park Services of Canada and the United States
Author(s) -
Lowry William R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1994.tb02179.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , politics , argument (complex analysis) , public administration , context (archaeology) , empowerment , political science , visitor pattern , national park , power (physics) , service (business) , civil servants , business , sociology , law , marketing , geography , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
The structural allocation of decisionmaking power between political authorities and career civil servants influences agency policy behavior. I propose and examine this argument in the context of the national park service agencies of Canada and the United States. Centralization of power to political authorities increases agency attention to electoral concerns such as visitor service. Empowerment of careerists enhances attention to long‐term agency goals such as preservation of natural resources.