Evans, Peter and James Rauch (1999) Bureaucracy and Growth: A Cross-National Analysis of the Effects of "Weberian" State Structures on Economic Growth, American Journal of Sociology Chetkovich, Carol and David Kirp (2001) Cases and Controversies: How novitiates are trained to be masters of the public policy universe, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20 (2), pp 283-314 3- The readings in context (pointers for readers) In this session, we read a paper by Avinash Dixit in which he discusses why public servants do what they do, and why performance might seem like a chronic feature of government agencies. “bad” Even though he is drawing mostly from James Q. Wilson’s vivid book (1989), Dixit’s “Bureaucracy” summary can be a bit dry and abstract. As you read it, try to think of examples to illustrate the different points that he makes. To help in this task, we also read two testimonies by former public officials describing the challenges they faced. W. Michael Blumenthal was the CEO of a large corporation and served as Secretary of Treasury for President Carter. Akka Gordon was a caseworker with NYC Child Protection Services. What did they see, what did they learn, and in which ways do their experiences illustrate or challenge the points raised by Dixit? 11 Delivering public services I 1 Required Readings – There are no required readings. The discussion will revolve around your assignments. 2 - Recommended Readings Kremer et al (2013) The Challenge of Education and Learning in the Developing World, Science 340, 297-300. Chaudhury et al (2006) Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 20, pp No 1. 91-116 Das et al (2008) The Quality of Medical Advice in Low Income Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol 22, No 2. Pp 93-114 Muralidharan K. et al (2016) The Fiscal Cost of Weak Governance: Evidence from Teacher Absence in India Russakoff, Dale (2014), Schooled, New Yorker [see her subsequent book, Prize”] “The
Evans, Peter and James Rauch (1999) Bureaucracy and Growth: A Cross-National Analysis of the Effects of "Weberian" State Structures on Economic Growth, American Journal of Sociology Chetkovich, Carol and David Kirp (2001) Cases and Controversies: How novitiates are trained to be masters of the public policy universe, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20 (2), pp 283-314 3- The readings in context (pointers for readers) In this session, we read a paper by Avinash Dixit in which he discusses why public servants do what they do, and why “bad” performance might seem like a chronic feature of government agencies. Even though he is drawing mostly from James Q. Wilson’s vivid book “Bureaucracy” (1989), Dixit’s summary can be a bit dry and abstract. As you read it, try to think of examples to illustrate the different points that he makes. To help in this task, we also read two testimonies by former public officials describing the challenges they faced. W. Michael Blumenthal was the CEO of a large corporation and served as Secretary of Treasury for President Carter. Akka Gordon was a caseworker with NYC Child Protection Services. What did they see, what did they learn, and in which ways do their experiences illustrate or challenge the points raised by Dixit? 11 Delivering public services I 1 – Required Readings There are no required readings. The discussion will revolve around your assignments. 2 - Recommended Readings Kremer et al (2013) The Challenge of Education and Learning in the Developing World, Science 340, 297-300. Chaudhury et al (2006) Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 20, pp No 1. 91-116 Das et al (2008) The Quality of Medical Advice in Low Income Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol 22, No 2. Pp 93-114 Muralidharan K. et al (2016) The Fiscal Cost of Weak Governance: Evidence from Teacher Absence in India Russakoff, Dale (2014), Schooled, New Yorker [see her subsequent book, “The Prize”]
PADM-GP.2201.001.docx