Synonyms
Accountability; Answerability; Confidence; Duty; Integrity; Liability; Responsibility; Trust
Definition
Accountability is defined as accepting responsibility or accounting for one’s actions.
Introduction
A fundamental tenet of good governance is that we expect our elected and non-elected public officials to act honestly and with integrity. However, in far too many cases, personal self-interests, greed, and abuse of power have resulted in increasing calls for government reform. The focus of these reform efforts emphasizes creating an administrative environment that ensures government officials act in unity with society’s basic notions of ethics and probity. Regulatory changes impacting such aspects as political party financing, rules governing administrative discretion, and how citizens interact and access government are all meant to ensure public officials are held accountable for their actions.
What is Accountability?
Accountability is an amorphous concept that has been...
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References
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Clary, T., McCue, C. (2018). Governmental Accountability. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2248
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2248
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