When do unelected officials respond to citizen complaints, and what are the implications for service delivery? In the formal complaint system for Mumbai's water sector, bureaucrats addressed 44% of the roughly 20,000 complaints lodged from 2016 to 2018. In line with literature on distributive politics, responsiveness to marginalized citizens is lower. Yet in interviews, officials emphasize that programmatic goals and capacity constraints lead to prioritization by what the complaint is about. In fact, once controlling for complaint content, the relationship between complainant identity and responsiveness disappears. Initial patterns of differential responsiveness by complainant identity arise from the fact that citizens from marginalized groups experience lower levels of service provision, which leads them to make complaints that are more difficult to address. The paper sheds light on the role of bureaucracy in e‐governance and service delivery, showing administrative priorities in responding to complaints may perpetuate inequalities in service provision.
{"title":"How the content of digital complaints shapes bureaucratic responsiveness in Mumbai","authors":"Tanu Kumar","doi":"10.1111/gove.12889","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12889","url":null,"abstract":"When do unelected officials respond to citizen complaints, and what are the implications for service delivery? In the formal complaint system for Mumbai's water sector, bureaucrats addressed 44% of the roughly 20,000 complaints lodged from 2016 to 2018. In line with literature on distributive politics, responsiveness to marginalized citizens is lower. Yet in interviews, officials emphasize that programmatic goals and capacity constraints lead to prioritization by what the complaint is about. In fact, once controlling for complaint content, the relationship between complainant identity and responsiveness disappears. Initial patterns of differential responsiveness by complainant identity arise from the fact that citizens from marginalized groups experience lower levels of service provision, which leads them to make complaints that are more difficult to address. The paper sheds light on the role of bureaucracy in e‐governance and service delivery, showing administrative priorities in responding to complaints may perpetuate inequalities in service provision.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141779960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cognition is an essential first step in crisis management. This article conceptualizes crisis cognition as a collective and context‐dependent process. Drawing on cognitive sociology, I argue that governmental structures and culture/identity shape cognitive schemas and communicative practices essential for collective cognition. I apply this framework to compare governments' recognition of the 2015 migration crisis in Luxembourg and Germany, which showed a puzzling gap in crisis preparation. The qualitative analysis triangulates interviews and other sources. In Germany, complex responsibilities, adversarial bureaucratic identities, and hubris inhibited cognition. In small Luxembourg, simple government structures and collective identity emphasizing vulnerability fostered timely cognition and preparation. I consider country size as macro‐level context that shapes government structures and officials' identities, and critically discuss its role as an underlying explanation. This study introduces a sociological perspective on cognition to public administration, shows through which mechanisms context affects collective behavior, and proposes a comparative explanation for effective crisis management.
{"title":"Collective cognition in context: Explaining variation in the management of Europe's 2015 migration crisis","authors":"Marlene Jugl","doi":"10.1111/gove.12887","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12887","url":null,"abstract":"Cognition is an essential first step in crisis management. This article conceptualizes crisis cognition as a collective and context‐dependent process. Drawing on cognitive sociology, I argue that governmental structures and culture/identity shape cognitive schemas and communicative practices essential for collective cognition. I apply this framework to compare governments' recognition of the 2015 migration crisis in Luxembourg and Germany, which showed a puzzling gap in crisis preparation. The qualitative analysis triangulates interviews and other sources. In Germany, complex responsibilities, adversarial bureaucratic identities, and hubris inhibited cognition. In small Luxembourg, simple government structures and collective identity emphasizing vulnerability fostered timely cognition and preparation. I consider country size as macro‐level context that shapes government structures and officials' identities, and critically discuss its role as an underlying explanation. This study introduces a sociological perspective on cognition to public administration, shows through which mechanisms context affects collective behavior, and proposes a comparative explanation for effective crisis management.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141745799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antoine Lemor, Éric Montpetit, Shoghig Téhinian, Clarisse Ven Belleghem, Steven Eichenberger, PerOla Öberg, Frédéric Varone, David Aubin, Jean‐Louis Denis
This study presents a dual‐method approach to systematically analyze public health advisory networks during the COVID‐19 pandemic across four jurisdictions: Belgium, Quebec, Sweden, and Switzerland. Using network analysis inspired by egocentric analysis and a subsystems approach adapted to public health, the research investigates network structures and their openness to new actors and ideas. The findings reveal significant variations in network configurations, with differences in density, centralization, and the role of central actors. The study also uncovers a relation between network openness and its structural attributes, highlighting the impact of network composition on the flow and control of expert advice. These insights into public health advisory networks contribute to understanding the interface between scientific advice and policymaking, emphasizing the importance of network characteristics in shaping the influence of expert advisors. The article underscores the relevance of systematic network descriptions in public policy, offering reflections on expert accountability, information diversity, and the broader implications for democratic governance.
{"title":"Network dynamics in public health advisory systems: A comparative analysis of scientific advice for COVID‐19 in Belgium, Quebec, Sweden, and Switzerland","authors":"Antoine Lemor, Éric Montpetit, Shoghig Téhinian, Clarisse Ven Belleghem, Steven Eichenberger, PerOla Öberg, Frédéric Varone, David Aubin, Jean‐Louis Denis","doi":"10.1111/gove.12885","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12885","url":null,"abstract":"This study presents a dual‐method approach to systematically analyze public health advisory networks during the COVID‐19 pandemic across four jurisdictions: Belgium, Quebec, Sweden, and Switzerland. Using network analysis inspired by egocentric analysis and a subsystems approach adapted to public health, the research investigates network structures and their openness to new actors and ideas. The findings reveal significant variations in network configurations, with differences in density, centralization, and the role of central actors. The study also uncovers a relation between network openness and its structural attributes, highlighting the impact of network composition on the flow and control of expert advice. These insights into public health advisory networks contribute to understanding the interface between scientific advice and policymaking, emphasizing the importance of network characteristics in shaping the influence of expert advisors. The article underscores the relevance of systematic network descriptions in public policy, offering reflections on expert accountability, information diversity, and the broader implications for democratic governance.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"138 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141745798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sicheng Chen, Lingran Yuan, Weijie Wang, Binlei Gong
This study examines whether and how information asymmetry affects local governments' gaming behaviors in a decentralization reform. We contend that adequate access to local information by the principal is a prerequisite for mitigating effort substitution among agents. We examine the hypothesis based on a decentralization reform in China—the Integration of Agriculture‐related Fiscal Transfer reform. We use the distance between pilot villages and the provincial capital as the measurement of local information. Employing a difference‐in‐differences design to scrutinize a unique dataset comprising 85,628 observations spanning 9199 villages from 2011 to 2020, we find that subnational decentralization with information asymmetry leads to increased effort substitution by local governments. Further analysis reveals that more abundant local information can alleviate the extent of effort substitution in reformed villages. Overall, this research highlights the importance of considering local information when designing policies to mitigate performance gaming in public goods provision and support effective subnational decentralization.
{"title":"Decentralization, local information, and effort substitution: Evidence from a subnational decentralization reform in China","authors":"Sicheng Chen, Lingran Yuan, Weijie Wang, Binlei Gong","doi":"10.1111/gove.12884","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12884","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines whether and how information asymmetry affects local governments' gaming behaviors in a decentralization reform. We contend that adequate access to local information by the principal is a prerequisite for mitigating effort substitution among agents. We examine the hypothesis based on a decentralization reform in China—the Integration of Agriculture‐related Fiscal Transfer reform. We use the distance between pilot villages and the provincial capital as the measurement of local information. Employing a difference‐in‐differences design to scrutinize a unique dataset comprising 85,628 observations spanning 9199 villages from 2011 to 2020, we find that subnational decentralization with information asymmetry leads to increased effort substitution by local governments. Further analysis reveals that more abundant local information can alleviate the extent of effort substitution in reformed villages. Overall, this research highlights the importance of considering local information when designing policies to mitigate performance gaming in public goods provision and support effective subnational decentralization.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":" 1273","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141822964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Literatures on institutional, ideational and policy change have made great strides in dynamically conceptualizing agency within structure. What continues to be insufficiently understood, however, is how actors actually work with ideas, that is, how broad policy ideas become concrete and implementable. One concept that has gained some traction in understanding actors' application of ideas is bricolage, understood as the stabilization or changing of institutions through a creative recombination of existing ideational and institutional resources. We theorize bricolage as a process of working with ideas by testing their cognitive, normative and strategic capacity. In contrast to much of the existing literature, we theorize this ideational policy entrepreneurship as collective agency. This gives greater analytical weight to how different bricoleurs work together—simultaneously and across time—to develop the ideas that come to shape policy. The empirical relevance of the theoretical argument is corroborated with an analysis of the work of bricoleurs in the paradigm shift of German pension policy.
{"title":"Working with ideas: Collective bricolage, political tests and the emergence of policy paradigms","authors":"Martin B. Carstensen, Nils Röper","doi":"10.1111/gove.12882","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12882","url":null,"abstract":"Literatures on institutional, ideational and policy change have made great strides in dynamically conceptualizing agency within structure. What continues to be insufficiently understood, however, is how actors actually work with ideas, that is, how broad policy ideas become concrete and implementable. One concept that has gained some traction in understanding actors' application of ideas is bricolage, understood as the stabilization or changing of institutions through a creative recombination of existing ideational and institutional resources. We theorize bricolage as a process of working with ideas by testing their cognitive, normative and strategic capacity. In contrast to much of the existing literature, we theorize this ideational policy entrepreneurship as collective agency. This gives greater analytical weight to how different bricoleurs work together—simultaneously and across time—to develop the ideas that come to shape policy. The empirical relevance of the theoretical argument is corroborated with an analysis of the work of bricoleurs in the paradigm shift of German pension policy.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141553027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Did the financial and economic crisis (2008/2009) induce a permanent shift to more economic intervention in the advanced democracies? Three relevant theoretical perspectives are considered. First, the crisis could have led all governments to intervene more, irrespective of their partisan composition. Second, voter demand could have shifted towards more intervention due to the crisis, again inducing all governments to expand economic intervention. Third, increasing salience of economic issues could have led to an accentuation of partisan differences in economic policy which should have led to an expansion of economic intervention under left governments only. We present data from a new index of economic intervention, which show that governments increased economic intervention during the immediate crisis but returned to liberalization afterward. Similarly, statistical analyses show that partisan differences disappear during the acute crisis but return thereafter. Hence, the financial and economic crisis did not constitute a game‐changer in economic policymaking in advanced democracies.
{"title":"A return of economic intervention in advanced democracies after the financial and economic crisis (2008/2009)?","authors":"Reimut Zohlnhöfer, Jan Jathe, Fabian Engler","doi":"10.1111/gove.12880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12880","url":null,"abstract":"Did the financial and economic crisis (2008/2009) induce a permanent shift to more economic intervention in the advanced democracies? Three relevant theoretical perspectives are considered. First, the crisis could have led all governments to intervene more, irrespective of their partisan composition. Second, voter demand could have shifted towards more intervention due to the crisis, again inducing all governments to expand economic intervention. Third, increasing salience of economic issues could have led to an accentuation of partisan differences in economic policy which should have led to an expansion of economic intervention under left governments only. We present data from a new index of economic intervention, which show that governments increased economic intervention during the immediate crisis but returned to liberalization afterward. Similarly, statistical analyses show that partisan differences disappear during the acute crisis but return thereafter. Hence, the financial and economic crisis did not constitute a game‐changer in economic policymaking in advanced democracies.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"55 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141344511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ensuring equitable local service delivery requires sustained investments that are often beyond the reach of local governments in poor countries. In many developing countries, access to basic education is achieved primarily through the complementary efforts of state, municipal, non‐governmental and international development agencies — what I call the complementary “quartet” of service delivery. While the current literature acknowledges the individual roles of this “quartet,” it has not given much attention to the influence of their complementary efforts on access and quality of education outcomes. Using a unique (2013–2015) dataset of 260 Ghanaian municipalities in a cross‐sectional pooled regression analysis, the study finds that state assistance has broader influence on both access and quality of education outcomes, while municipal capacity, international development assistance and the presence of education focused non‐governmental organizations are associated with access (enrollment).
{"title":"The co‐governance of basic education: Assessing the complementary effects of intergovernmental support, municipal capacity, non‐governmental organization presence and international development assistance","authors":"C. Kaye-Essien","doi":"10.1111/gove.12879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12879","url":null,"abstract":"Ensuring equitable local service delivery requires sustained investments that are often beyond the reach of local governments in poor countries. In many developing countries, access to basic education is achieved primarily through the complementary efforts of state, municipal, non‐governmental and international development agencies — what I call the complementary “quartet” of service delivery. While the current literature acknowledges the individual roles of this “quartet,” it has not given much attention to the influence of their complementary efforts on access and quality of education outcomes. Using a unique (2013–2015) dataset of 260 Ghanaian municipalities in a cross‐sectional pooled regression analysis, the study finds that state assistance has broader influence on both access and quality of education outcomes, while municipal capacity, international development assistance and the presence of education focused non‐governmental organizations are associated with access (enrollment).","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"82 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141352797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rethinking global governance: Learning from long ignored societies. By JustinJennings, New York and London: Routledge. 2023. pp. 162. £31.99. ISBN: 978‐1‐003‐37332‐2","authors":"Sinta Novia, Aditya Putra","doi":"10.1111/gove.12878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12878","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"6 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141267639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conflict of interest in government: Avoiding ethical and conceptual mistakes","authors":"Archon Fung, Dennis Thompson","doi":"10.1111/gove.12870","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12870","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"61 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141269010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines a collaborative strategic planning initiative undertaken by Pennsylvania's Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) to enhance service delivery for children with medical complexity in Medicaid Managed Care. By engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders OMAP employed a structured yet adaptable process to collaborative strategic planning that resulted in multiple actionable recommendations. Analysis of the process provides insights for strategic management practice and research by identifying key process design features and process context factors. Findings reveal that success was primarily driven by effective leadership, strategic stakeholder engagement, and robust cross‐sector collaboration. The initiative exemplifies how structured, yet adaptable collaborative strategic planning can result in innovations to public service delivery. This case not only provides vicarious learning but also underscores the importance of systemic and inclusive approaches to public management.
{"title":"Examining the process of a collaborative strategic planning initiative: The pediatric shift care initiative in Pennsylvania Medicaid","authors":"Joseph A. Hafer, Nicole M. Harris, Gwen Zander","doi":"10.1111/gove.12877","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12877","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines a collaborative strategic planning initiative undertaken by Pennsylvania's Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) to enhance service delivery for children with medical complexity in Medicaid Managed Care. By engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders OMAP employed a structured yet adaptable process to collaborative strategic planning that resulted in multiple actionable recommendations. Analysis of the process provides insights for strategic management practice and research by identifying key process design features and process context factors. Findings reveal that success was primarily driven by effective leadership, strategic stakeholder engagement, and robust cross‐sector collaboration. The initiative exemplifies how structured, yet adaptable collaborative strategic planning can result in innovations to public service delivery. This case not only provides vicarious learning but also underscores the importance of systemic and inclusive approaches to public management.","PeriodicalId":501138,"journal":{"name":"Governance","volume":"64 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141197870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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