Public Participation in Public Decisions: New Skills and Strategies for Public Managers (Jossey Bass Public Administration Series)

Book Description

This straightforward and practical guide outlines a strategic approach to public involvement in government decision making. Prepares public managers for the difficult task of involving citizens more fully in the affairs of government while maintaining effectiveness and efficiency. Written in easy-to-understand terms, Public Participation in Public Decisions presents the Effective Decision Model of Public Involvement that managers will find to be an invaluable asset when making decisions about when and how to involve the public.

Customer Reviews:

Public Participation: A Contingency Framework.......2002-12-14

Public participation in public decisions has been an enduring theme promoted by both public administration scholars and practitioners, behind of which has been a fix belief in its positive impact on the quality and responsiveness of public decisions, implementation efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and its potential to unchain the power of public ideas and to develop a strong sense of civic engagement-a subsistence for broader and intense practice of democracy. Beginning with the Great Society legislations of the 1960s that required maximum feasible participation of communities in development projects, the sensibility in favor of a broader public participation has turned to be a mandate. Unorthodox public administration currents, including New Public Administration of the 1970s and 1980s, and New Public Management of the 1990s, have consistently called for broader and engaged public participation in the hope that broader public involvement would bring about wide-ranging benefits, some of which have been mentioned in the preceding lines.

Though fed by a religious-like persuasion, most of the early scholars in the trench of public participation neglected or failed in developing a contingency model of public participation that would help public managers to analyze the context of public participation so that a productive, engaged and distortion-free dialogue process accompanied by public participation could be planned and achieved. Deprived of a fully understanding of a productive public participation process, first public participation initiatives taken by public managers proved to be frustrating for both undertaking public agencies and aspiring community participants.

The book I am reviewing is really such one that comes up with a contingency framework for public participation that thoroughly inquires into "when and how" questions of public participation, with having a number of productive, well-crafted, and context-dependent strategies and recommendations.

Public Participation in Public Decisions is organized around ten major chapters. In the first three chapters of the book, Thomas (1995) gets readers to three points. First, the author criticizes the orthodox public administration theory due to its lack of enthusiasm for public participation; second, justifies the necessity for public participation with numerous reasons; and finally, points to the importance of finding a "practical" approach to public involvement for making it really work rather than keeping it as "rhetoric". From the fourth to the eight chapters, Thomas (1995) explains the important parameters in public participation process. The parameters point out the critical decision points as to when and how public administrators should involve citizens in public decisions. In the ninth chapter, Thomas (1995) pays attention to the new forms of public involvement including ombudspersons and action centers, co-production and volunteerism. The tenth chapter includes a summary view and concludes with some recommendations to the public administrators for them to be effective in the age of public participation and involvement.

The Effective Decision Model Thomas (1995) advances throughout the book rests on the organizational participation process developed by Vroom and Yetton (1973). Thomas (1995) proposes five options for decision making: (1) autocratic or autonomous decision-making, with no public involvement or influence; (2) modified autonomous public decision making in which the manager seeks information from segments of the public, but decides alone in a manner that may or may not reflect the group influence; (3) consultative decision making, with a limited but significant public role; (4) segmented public consultation in which the manager shares the problem separately with segments of the public, getting ideas and suggestions, then makes a decision that reflects group influence, and; (5) public decision making, with the extensive influence of a decision made jointly by the manager and the public (p. 39). To make the long shorter, two points are important. First, public participation does not suggest, all the time, direct and bodily involvement of public. Second, the influence of public increases as the public manager moves on from the first to the fifth option.

For the question of which decision-making option public managers should opt, Thomas (1995) develops mainly two parameters: the need for quality and the need for acceptability of a decision. In cases when the technical standards and requirements (quality) outweigh the acceptability of public decision by community, Thomas (1995) recommends some degree of public participation, otherwise, an increasing degree of public participation. In cases where the need for decision quality and decision acceptability are equally important, the author recommends a number of decision options to be used in combination. In addition to the two main parameters, there are a number of other questions that would help public managers to analyze the context, for example, such as the structure of the problem, composition of the relevant public, and conflict or agreement within the relevant public. Thomas (1995) draws so meticulously a framework out of his assessments contingent on the combination of different contextual circumstances that appear in the book as configurations.

I do not take all the "configurations" to the letter to presume the book as a cook-recipe, however, in the book's entirety, I sense them to be really helpful and thought provoking. I recommend patience before turning theoretical understandings into normative roadmaps. This book should encourage the reader to re-configure and re-interpret the parameters and contextual specifics in creative ways, and to add new ones.

Robert Denhardt, in his praise for Public Participation in Public Decisions, remarks that this book "sets the stage for a revitalization of democracy at the local level", and I agree with him. I believe only lamenting for democracy is not enough for making it work. Democracy needs not just a set of normative propositions and institutions but also a number of well-crafted strategies that address the context (see, i.e., Barber, 1984; Forester, 1989; Flyvbjerg, 1998) that would push democracy along. From this angle, Thomas' book is surely a treasure, not only for it demonstrates the challenges ahead but also for it comes with something that can be helpful for "helping" to decide what to do next.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Government Finance Review, published by Government Finance Officers Association on December 1, 1996. The length of the article is 548 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Public Participation in Public Decisions: New Skills and Strategies for Public Managers. (book reviews)
Author: J. Harry, Jr. Weatherly
Publication: Government Finance Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1996
Publisher: Government Finance Officers Association
Volume: v12 Issue: n6 Page: p63(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

Issued four times a year, this publication provides data for assessing demographic and economic trends in countries and areas in Asia and the Pacific region. Data presented for multiple years on a month-by-month basis facilitate comparative studies.

Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic , Social Commission for Asia , and the Pacific
Manufacturer: United Nations
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9211200040

Book Description

Issued four times a year, this publication provides data for assessing demographic and economic trends in countries and areas of the Asia and the Pacific region. Data presented f or multiple years on a month-by-month basis, facilitate comparative studies.

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
Economic & Social Commission for Asia &
Manufacturer: United Nations Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9211200369

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations
Manufacturer: United Nations Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9211201578

Book Description

Issued four times a year, this publication provides data for assessing demographic and economic trends in countries and areas of the Asia and the Pacific region. Data is presented for multiple years on a month-by-month basis to facilitate comparative studies.

Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 1999

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 1999
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Manufacturer: United Nations Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Statistics | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9211199700

Book Description

Issued four times a year, this publication provides data for assessing demographic and economic trends in countries and areas of the Asia and the Pacific region. Data presented for multiple years on a month-by-month basis, facilitate comparative studies.

Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, 2004 Compendium

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, 2004 Compendium
United Nations
Manufacturer: United Nations
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9211204216

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, No. 2

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, No. 2

Manufacturer: United Nations Publications
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ASIN: 9211200407

Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, No. 3

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Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific, No. 3

Manufacturer: United Nations Publications
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ASIN: 9211200547

Statistical Indicators For Asia And The Pacific, No.4 December 2003

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Statistical Indicators For Asia And The Pacific, No.4 December 2003

Manufacturer: United Nations Pubns
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9211203813

Book Description

Issued four times a year, this publication provides data for assessing demographic and economic trends in countries and areas of the Asia and the Pacific region. Data presented for multiple years on a month-by-month basis, facilitate comparative studies.

Book Description

On May 8, 1861, Matt Ransom resigned from the North Carolina House of Commons and accepted a commission as a Confederate officer. Like many North Carolinians, Ransom had been reluctant to see his state leave the Union; though he owned slaves at the onset of the war, he strongly believed that slavery was a doomed institution. However, the action at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, had made his course of action all but inevitable.

Despite the fact he was without military experience or training, Ransom saw it as his duty to join the Confederate forces. He left behind a young family and courageously fought Union forces until the end of the war; his brigade was present at Appomattox for Robert E. Lee's surrender. He was twice wounded in battle and was widely recognized as an effective and highly competent leader by enlisted men and officers alike. After the war, he returned to his beloved North Carolina, and following considerable hardship, rebuilt his plantation.

Book Description

Since the late 1980s, almost all Latin American countries have gone through a process of far-reaching economic reforms, featuring in particular trade, financial and capital account liberalization. At first the reforms seemed to be working as promised and trade expanded. However, at the turn of the century, the economies have shown unstable and rather dismal growth. Some argue trade liberalization is partly to be blamed for this.

Who Gains from Free Trade examines the extent to which trade reforms have been an important source of the slowdown of economic growth, rising inequality and rising poverty as observed in many parts of the region. This volume presents an comprehensive analysis of this important topic, utilizing research based on 16 country narratives of policy reform and economic performance; rigorous general equilibrium (CGE) modelling of the economy-wide effects of trade reform for all country cases; alongside application of an innovative method of microsimulations to assess the employment and factor income distribution impact of policy reforms on poverty and inequality at the household level.

The study finds that trade liberalization and the switch to export-led growth are not the cause of the growth slowdown in Latin America. Nor are they the cause of rising poverty and inequality. If anything, the impact on growth and poverty in general has been positive, but very small. Thus, further trade opening is neither the solution to the region's economic woes, nor should we expect any disastrous implications for aggregate poverty.

The Political Economy of Inequality (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought)

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The Political Economy of Inequality (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought)

Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1559637986

Book Description

The disparity in wealth both within and between nations has grown rapidly in recent years, and is becoming an increasingly significant issue in attempts to deal with environmental problems - from international negotiations over climate change to local concerns about environmental justice.

The Political Economy of Inequality offers an in-depth examination of the economic theory behind the causes, consequences, and cures for inequality. The volume brings together disparate analyses of inequality in economic and related fields, identifies areas where more work is most needed, and lays the groundwork for an integrated understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality in the United States and the world.

Sections cover:

the distribution of earnings
the distribution of wealth
celebrity and CEO incomes
the effects of corporate power
poverty, inequality, and power
household roles and family structure
skills, technology, and education
categorical inequalities, such as those based on race, gender, or ethnicity
inequality on a global scale
the welfare state

The book is the fifth in the six-volume Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series. Each volume offers two- to three-page summaries of the most notable articles and chapters in a "frontier" area where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the standard definition of economics. Introductory essays by the editors review the field, cite other literature that was not summarized, and situate the summarized articles within an overview of the subject.

Book Description

Do accelerating trade and foreign direct investment--experimented by most developing countries in the 1990s--imply a positive, negative, or neutral impact in terms of employment, income inequality and poverty alleviation? This book provides some empirically-tested answers to this question using an open-minded, unconventional economic approach and deriving original policy implications.

Beyond Tradeoffs: Market Reforms and Equitable Growth in Latin America

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Beyond Tradeoffs: Market Reforms and Equitable Growth in Latin America

Manufacturer: Brookings Institution Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Changes in the Distribution of Income in Mýýxico and Trade Liberalization

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Changes in the Distribution of Income in México and Trade Liberalization

Changes in the Distribution of Income in Mýýxico and Trade Liberalization
Diana Alarcon Gonzalez
Manufacturer: El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9686075542

Customer Reviews:

Changes in the Distribution of Income in México and Trade Liberalization.......2006-06-29

Diana Alacorn's book is a timely and important contribution to the continuing discussion and debate on the policies of economic restructuring in Mexico and their impact on income inequality and poverty. Her focus is on Mexico's rapid process of trade liberalization and the theory held by many economists and policy makers - based on the experience of countries such as Taiwan and South Korea - that this would tend to equalize the distribution of income and reduce poverty.

In fact, in the immediate aftermath of trade liberalization, income inequality and poverty clearly increased. These findings are based on a very thorough and detailed analysis of the original data from INEGI's 1989 Income-Expenditure Survey and comparison of these results to those based on 1984 data. It is unusual in the literature on the relationship between income distribution and trade policies to find such an extensive examination of original data from a developing country.

Diana Alacon finds that there was an unambiguous deterioration in the distribution of income in Mexico between 1984 and 1989, mainly due to the greater concentration of income among the richest 10 percent of the population, which was reflected in the rising share of national income of industrial and commercial profits and income from professional services. At the same time the relative position of wage earners deteriorated and agricultural income contracted sharply.

The overall drop in per capita income and intensifying inequality drove increasing numbers of Mexicans into extreme poverty in the countryside. Rural poverty increase not only in terms of the number of people living below the threshold of extreme poverty, but also in terms of the depth and severity of their poverty.

The author concludes that policies of macroeconomic stabalization intensified Mexico's recessionary conditions during the 1980s and hampered whatever economy-wide reallocation of resources could have been generated by trade reform. Yet her examination of the effective rates of protection across sectors of the Mexican economy in 1989 reveals that the extent of substantive trade reform remained in fact quite limited. These factors help to explain why both distribution of income and poverty worsened subsatantially during the late 1980s.
--- from book's back cover

Critical Issues in Asian Development: Theories, Experiences and Policies (Asian Development Bank Book)

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Critical Issues in Asian Development: Theories, Experiences and Policies (Asian Development Bank Book)

Manufacturer: An Asian Development Bank Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Focusing on Asia, location of many of the world's most dynamic economies, Critical Issues in Asian Development brings new insights to long standing development issues. Ten leading authorities in development economics and international trade theory address themes of rural poverty, sustainable development, and the relationships between trade and development.

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Economics, an Intorductory Analysis
Paul a Samuelson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J5BZD2

Foreign Trade Strategies, Employment, and Income Distribution in Brazil

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Foreign Trade Strategies, Employment, and Income Distribution in Brazil
Benedict J. Clements
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Exports & Imports | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0275928659

Book Description

In this groundbreaking new study, Clements assesses the impact of alternative foreign trade strategies--export promotion and import substitution--on employment and income distribution in Brazil. The first work to evaluate specifically the impact of Brazil's foreign trade policies on income distribution, this volume uses a modified input-output technique to assess income distribution questions.

The Global Economic Mismatch: High Technology and Low Pay

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The Global Economic Mismatch: High Technology and Low Pay
Henry B. Schechter
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

In this study, labor economist Henry Schechter concludes that there is a need for greater international prohibitions and for keeping open channels for collective bargaining for higher wages. He presents an analysis of recent changes in the United States and elsewhere, highlighting the spread of automated production technology to lesser developed, low-wage areas of the world, which leads to global demand-supply imbalances and downward pressure on wages. This circumstance, he charges, is aggravated as multinational corporations affiliate with one another, lessening competition and increasing monopolistic influences worldwide. This work will be of interest to the scholars and policymakers in academia, government, business, and the labor movement concerned with fiscal and labor economic policies.

Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality: An Alternative Perspective (New Horizons in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics Series)

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Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality: An Alternative Perspective (New Horizons in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics Series)

Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1858988918

Book Description

Evolutionary economics gained acceptance for the study of industrialized countries during the 1990s but has, as yet, contributed little to the study of world income inequality.

The expert contributors gathered here approach underdevelopment and inequality from different evolutionary perspectives. It is argued that the Schumpeterian processes of `creative destruction' may take the form of wealth creation in one part of the globe and wealth destruction in another. Case studies explore and analyze the successful 19th century policies that allowed Germany and the United States to catch up with the UK and these are contrasted with two other case studies exploring the deindustrialization and falling real wages in Peru and Mongolia during the 1990s. The case studies and thematic papers together explore, identify and explain the mechanisms which cause economic inequality. Some papers point to why the present form of globalization increases poverty in many Third World nations.

Members of the anti-globalization movement will find the explanations given in this book insightful, as will employees of international organizations due to the important policy messages. The theoretical interest within the book will appeal to development economists and evolutionary economists, and policymakers and politicians will find the explanations of the present failure of many small nations in the periphery invaluable

Book Description

Annelee Woodstrom was twenty years old when she immigrated to America in 1947. These kind people in America wanted to hear about Adolf Hitler, the man who was despised everywhere in the world. During her adolescene, constant propaganda and strictly enforced censorship influenced her thinking. As a young adult, the bombings and all the consequential suffering caused by World War II affected Annelee deeply. How could Annelee tell them that as a child, during 1935, she wanted nothing more than to be a member of Adolf Hitler's Jung Maidens' organization?

Customer Reviews:

Can hardly wait for the sequel!.......2004-04-22

I was honored to be able to buy this book directly from the author when she attended our women's Spring Luncheon as our Guest Speaker. She was so kind as to sign it for me with a German dedication. Although I was born an American, my children both carry German passports. I am glad for this opportunity to share with them the story of their country through the eyes of someone who was there to experience it all first hand.

We are already planning to buy her next book, War Bride, and read more about her experiences with immigration.

letter to the author - former student.......2003-09-12

What a book! What a storyteller! I remember a few snippets from freshman English class that you shared with us, but the opportunity to glimpse the whole picture was a rare treat I've been looking forward to.

I once read an account by an "undercover" war correspondent- who attended a speech by Hitler, and found himself so moved and overwhelmed by his speaking prowess that he suddenly found himself cheering and shouting with the rest of the crowd. You communicated that same spirit, that same awesome power of the prevailing tide. I feel one lesson that Nazi Germany teaches us is how dangerous unchecked government can be: how it can creep into and start to control our daily lives -with the best of intentions- and soon compromise our freedoms and even our right to independent thought. I very much appreciate and value your perspective as one who has lived through such a strict (and successful!) propaganda machine. I strongly feel if we just trust in our elected leaders and let them satisfy our wants and desires in exchange for ever-increasing tax rates the United States will soon cease to exist as we know and love it.

On the other hand, I'm forced to be impressed by what the Third Reich was able to accomplish; how a broken and defeated nation at the end of WWI was able to come within a stone's throw of conquering the world. It's been said that if Hitler hadn't imprisoned all of the (Jewish) scientists... Germany would have developed the A-bomb before the United States and ended the war on their terms. Germany already had a more reliable rocket (V-2) than we did! What also strikes me is the wealth of development that Germany saw before and early in the war - the autobahn, fine, new schools (for loyal party members of course), the housing and works programs and impressive social motivations to join the Nazi party always reflected Hitler's genius side (not the other side of his personality that wrought great suffering and evil). How insightful he was regarding human nature though - how else could he have enticed so many to join his crusade.

In one part of your book I actually stopped reading and contemplated how beautiful the writing is - how descriptive and wonderful the wording; when you described the morning of your departure and the breathtaking surroundings you were so familiar with that I truly felt the natural wonder - and the love you had for your home.

Thank you again for letting me share in your story. I will be recommending this book to my friends!!

War Child by Annelee Woodstrom.......2003-09-06

We are grateful to have learned of this book when it was first published in spring 2003. It gives an unusual and unfortunately rarely noted perspective about German life from 1933-45 as experienced by an ordinary person and family in a small town. Annelee tells her own story in a very open and honest way, from the early days when she wanted to wear the uniform of the Hitler Youth, to the terrifying end days of the war when urban Germany was virtually destroyed. This is not an academic study of war theories; it is about what really happens to a people when their government chooses a tragic course.

An interesting reflection of a childhood in Nazi Germany.......2003-04-12

Ms. Woodstrom's first publication will help you understand the reason so many Germans viewed Hitler and his promises the way they did before and during WWII. This book is a first hand account from the author, presented in her voice at the various stages of her life during this time. She tells of the day-to-day life of her family and community and captures the perceptions that people had about Hitler, the economy, the reasons for this war and the drastic changes in their lives. It's a real insight into the struggles and the challenges and yes, even the joyful times. "War Child" not only kept me reading far into the night, it also left me feeling like I want to know more...what happened to her family, her neighbors and her town after she left? I have a new appreciation for the freedom and abundance here in America. This book is suitable for all ages.

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