Weathering the cutbacks: the buffering role of representative bureaucracy in environmental policy implementation

Abstract

ABSTRACT With a focus on environmental policy implementation in the U.S., this study argues that resource constraints in a more racially and ethnically representative government have a less severe impact on policy implementation outputs for minority-populated communities. The analysis suggests that while a more representative government enhances regulatory enforcement outputs for communities with large minority populations in states with sufficient financial resources for environmental agencies, agencies facing spending cutbacks diminish those outputs as bureaucratic representation increases. There are no discernible effects of staffing levels or cutbacks on policy implementation outputs, regardless of the minority representation in the public workforce.