Publication
"Professor Moffitt's argument is entirely novel and has changed the way I think about the relationship between elected officials and government agencies. Her multimethod approach is outstanding, and readers gain a real appreciation for the historical work, the data collection, the archival work, and the interviews."
- David Lewis, Vanderbilt University
This book challenges the conventional wisdom that government bureaucrats inevitably seek secrecy and demonstrates how and when participatory bureaucracy manages the enduring tension between bureaucratic administration and democratic accountability. Looking closely at federal level public participation in pharmaceutical regulation and educational assessments within the context of the vast system of American federal advisory committees, this book demonstrates that participatory bureaucracy supports bureaucratic administration in ways consistent with democratic accountability when it focuses on complex tasks and engages diverse expertise. In these conditions, public participation can help produce better policy outcomes, such as safer prescription drugs. Instead of bureaucracy's opposite or alternative, public participation can work as its complement.
