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Bureaucratic Growth

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  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

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Synonyms

Administrative state; Budget maximizing model; Bureaucratic inefficiency; Fourth branch of government

Definition

Expansion in the size and scope of public sector responsibilities. Ever enlarging duties of agencies in an executive branch of federal, state, or local government.

Introduction

For a nation founded on the principle of opposition to tyranny, the growth of the bureaucracy is ironic, and for many citizens it is alarming. Cultural predispositions that prioritize individual freedom, self-reliance, property, privacy, and free enterprise justify limited government. At the same time as citizens defend limited government, countervailing pressures prod government to expand their ever-growing list of public sector responsibilities. These public sector responsibilities include but are not limited to promoting justice, protecting the nation from invasion, ensuring domestic tranquility, stabilizing the economy, limiting environmental pollution, providing a safety net for the...

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References

  • Brennan G, Buchanan J (1980) The power to tax: analytical foundations of a fiscal constitution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

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  • Wilson JQ (1975) The rise of the bureaucratic state. Public Interes 41:77–103

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urban and Public Affairs, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Steven G. Koven

Authors
  1. Steven G. Koven
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven G. Koven .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

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Koven, S.G. (2018). Bureaucratic Growth. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_651-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_651-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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