Bureaucracy as a Representative Institution: Toward a Reconciliation of Bureaucratic Government and Democratic Theory

Abstract

Theory: Scholars have long debated the question of what assurance the populace can have that government bureaucracies, operating on the basis of specialized knowledge and exercising considerable discretionary authority, will act in a manner consistent with the public interest. One approach to this problem involves the representation of certain groups, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, in the public work force. This research systematically explores the potential for by examining how minority employment or passive representation is translated into the active representation of minority interests in the decisions of public agencies. The article proposes as the crucial intermediary concept in this process the assumption of a minority representative role perception by public administrators. Hypotheses: The article presents a model to explain the minority representative role as well as its likely consequences for decision-making affecting minority groups. Adherence to a minority representative role is influenced by an individual's personal characteristics, including race and ethnicity, organizational factors, and perceived expectations of their work obligations. To the degree that public administrators adopt a minority representative role they will be more likely to make decisions that reflect the interests of minorities. Methods: Ordinary least squares regression is used to test the hypotheses in data collected from a sample of county supervisors from the Farmer's Home Administration (FmHA) responsible for making loan determinations. This assessment offers a rigorous test of a theory of representative bureaucracy since the FmHA has not demonstrated great sensitivity to minorities in either employment or policy implementation. Results: Race, education, age, party identification, years employed by the federal government, and perceived work obligations are found to affect adherence to a minority representative role among the sample of FmHA administrators. Assumption of this role, in turn, increases the likelihood that these officials will make loan decisions favoring minority applicants. These results provide strong confirmation for the minority representative role concept and the underlying theoretical linkages of representative bureaucracy.