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Assessing the Accountability of Government-Sponsored Enterprises and Quangos

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Abstract

Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations (quangos) comprise a powerful organizational sector that has been criticized for its lack of accountability to governments and their citizens. These organizations are established to serve the public as a whole by targeting the needs of particular groups or fulfilling specific functions. Often they use practices adopted from the business sector, and sometimes they enter the marketplace as profit-making enterprises. In light of the contribution of GSE Fannie Mae to the 2008 world economic crisis, the impact of this sector on effective democratic government bears further examination. In this article, I present a systems model that suggests how researchers might comprehensively assess the accountability of organizations in this sector, here termed the “gray sector,” with respect to their government missions. I focus on four systems dimensions: mission, organizational design, organizational outcomes, and the information feedback process. Organizational design and the nature of the sector population are cited as emerging issues of particular importance.

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Abbreviations

GSE:

Government-sponsored enterprise

GSO:

Gray-sector organization

Quango:

Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Carl W. Nelson and several anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of this article.

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  1. Northeastern University, Boston, MA, U.S.A.

    Rae André

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Correspondence to Rae André.

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André, R. Assessing the Accountability of Government-Sponsored Enterprises and Quangos. J Bus Ethics 97, 271–289 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0509-y

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