This book provides a systematic introduction to the philosophical foundations of the study and the practice of public administration. It reviews all the main philosophical streams, from ancient Greek philosophy to the contemporary strands, and discusses their significance for public governance and public management. Ontological and epistemological issues are brought to the fore in discussing contemporary conceptions of the nature of public administration. The quest for justification and legitimacy of public governance is examined, and 'Common Good', 'Social contract' and 'Personalism' arguments vetted. The works of thinkers like Thomas More and Niccolò Machiavelli are revisited and the implications for contemporary public administration are drawn.
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Philosophy and Public Administration
An Introduction
Edoardo Ongaro
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The Generational Welfare Contract
Justice, Institutions and Outcomes
Simon Birnbaum, Tommy Ferrarini, Kenneth Nelson and Joakim Palme
This groundbreaking book brings together perspectives from political philosophy and comparative social policy to discuss generational justice. Contributing new insights about the preconditions for designing sustainable, inclusive policies for all of society, the authors expose the possibilities of supporting egalitarian principles in an aging society through balanced generational welfare contracts.
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Understanding Collective Decision Making
A Fitness Landscape Model Approach
Lasse Gerrits and Peter Marks
One of the main challenges facing contemporary society is to understand how people can make decisions together. Understanding Collective Decision Making builds on evolutionary theories and presents an analytical tool to analyse and visualise collective decision making. By combining theoretical research with real world case studies, the authors provide a coherent and conclusive solution to the often fragmented and dispersed literature on the subject.
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Autonomous Public Bodies and the Law
A European Perspective
Stéphanie De Somer
This insightful book discusses the impact of EU law on the creation and empowerment of autonomous public bodies (APBs) at Member State level and analyzes recent attempts of European states to rationalize delegation to APBs. It examines the tensions between these trends: under what conditions can APBs be considered legitimate forms of government in the light of modern conceptions of constitutionalism, the rule of law and democracy - values that are deeply rooted in European constitutions? And to what extent do EU obligations on the independence of national regulators, data protection authorities and the like conflict with those conceptions?
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Ronald W. Coan
A History of American State and Local Economic Development relates the history of American local and state economic development from 1790 to 2000. This multi-variable, multi-disciplinary history employs a bottom-up policy-making systems approach while exploring the three eras of economic development.
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Edited by Gregory M. Randolph, Michael T. Tasto and Robert F. Salvino Jr.
This exciting book provides fresh insight into how institutions, governments, regulations, economic freedom and morality impact entrepreneurship and public policy. Each chapter contains a rigorous analysis of the consequences of public policy and the effects of institutional decisions on the productivity of entrepreneurs. These chapters will help policymakers direct their efforts at creating a positive economic environment for entrepreneurs to flourish and for scholars to better understand the role policy plays on entrepreneurial activity.
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How Great Cities Happen
Integrating People, Land Use and Transport
John Stanley, Janet Stanley and Roslynne Hansen
Urban planners in developed countries are pushing hard for closer integration of land use and transport. At the same time, gaps in knowledge and understanding are becoming more apparent, as the traditional focus has been on the shape of the city, rather than how it functions as a place to live and visit. How Great Cities Happen addresses this challenge by developing a wider, all-encompassing agenda for more productive, inclusive and sustainable cities.
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The Water-Sustainable City
Science, Policy and Practice
David L. Feldman
Cities place enormous pressures on freshwater quality and availability because they are often located some distance from the water sources needed by their populations. This fact compels planners to build infrastructure to divert water from increasingly distant outlying rural areas, thus disrupting their social fabric and environment. In addition, increasing urbanization due to population growth, economic change, and sprawl places huge burdens upon the institutions, as well as the infrastructure, that deliver, protect, and treat urban water. This book assesses the challenges facing the world’s cities in providing reliable, safe, and plentiful supplies through infrastructural, economic, legal, and political strategies.
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Edited by Frédérique Six and Koen Verhoest
Within political and administrative sciences generally, trust as a concept is contested, especially in the field of regulatory governance. This groundbreaking book is the first to systematically explore the role and dynamics of trust within regulatory regimes.
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Edited by Sonja Zmerli and Tom W.G. van der Meer
Political trust – in government, parliament, or political parties – has taken centre stage in political science for more than half a century, reflecting ongoing concerns with the legitimacy and functioning of representative democracy. To provide scholars, students and policy makers with a tool to navigate through the complexity of causes and consequences of political trust, this Handbook offers an excellent overview of the conceptual, theoretical, methodological and empirical state of the art, complemented by accounts of regional particularities, and authored by international experts in this field.