PS 1 Module 7 Bureaucracy

Principal-agent problem

fundamental challenge in any relationship where one party delegates authority to another party to act on their behalf, but the agent has their own interests that may diverge from the principal's. In American politics, it is a central framework for understanding the relationships among voters, elected officials, and bureaucrats.

Asymmetric information

a situation in which one party in a transaction or relationship has more or better information than the other. It is a foundational concept in political science and economics that explains why markets fail, why government regulation exists, and why voters struggle to hold politicians accountable.

Agency costs

the costs that arise from the principal-agent problem — specifically, the costs of trying to ensure that an agent acts in the principal's interest rather than their own. They are the unavoidable inefficiencies created whenever one person delegates authority to another.

Dual principal problem

a situation in which an agent must answer to two or more principals with conflicting interests, making it impossible to fully satisfy both. It is a specific and important variant of the principal-agent problem that arises frequently in American political institutions.

Delegation dilemma for Congress

the fundamental tradeoff Congress faces when deciding whether to write detailed, specific laws or to write broad, vague laws that delegate significant discretion to administrative agencies. It is a core concept in the study of Congress and the bureaucracy.

Spoils system

The practice of awarding government jobs, contracts, and benefits to political supporters and allies rather than based on merit or qualifications. It is rooted in the phrase "to the victor belong the spoils," attributed to Senator William Marcy in 1832.

Pendleton Act

The landmark federal law that ended the spoils system and established a professional, merit-based civil service in the United States. It is presented as a classic case of reform triggered by a focusing event — the assassination of President James Garfield.

Merit system

The system of hiring and promoting government employees based on demonstrated qualifications, competence, and performance rather than political loyalty, personal connections, or patronage. It is the direct successor to the spoils system, established by the Pendleton Act of 1883.

Iron triangle

The stable, mutually beneficial relationship among three key actors in a specific policy area: a congressional committee or subcommittee, a federal bureaucratic agency, and an interest group. These three actors form a closed, self-reinforcing network that dominates policy-making in that area, largely insulated from broader political control.

Bureaucratic capture

a situation in which a regulatory agency created to act in the public interest instead acts in favor of the industry or interests it is supposed to regulate. The agency becomes "captured" by the very actors it oversees.

Issue network

a broader, more fluid, and more inclusive set of actors who participate in a particular policy area, in contrast to the closed, stable, and mutually beneficial relationships of an iron triangle. The concept was developed by political scientist Hugh Heclo in the 1970s to describe how policy-making had become more complex and contentious than the iron triangle model suggested.

Police patrol oversight

Congress actively and directly monitors agency behavior; Congress patrols the bureaucracy looking for problems.

Fire alarm oversight

Congress relies on third parties (interest groups, citizens, whistleblowers, media) to alert them when an agency does something wrong. Congress sits back and waits to hear news, then acts

Subprime mortgage crisis

a case study in bureaucratic failure, regulatory capture, and the consequences of fragmented oversight. It is not taught as an economics lesson, but as a political science lesson about how government institutions failed to prevent a catastrophic policy failure.

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

a case study in crisis decision-making, delegation, and the political logic of bailouts. It illustrates how Congress delegates vast authority to the executive branch under conditions of urgency and uncertainty, and how that delegation creates its own political consequences.

UET and the bureaucracy

(UET) asserts that the U.S. President has absolute control over the entire federal bureaucracy, viewing the executive branch as a hierarchy reporting solely to them. It is used to justify replacing independent agency autonomy with centralized presidential direction, thereby making the bureaucracy more accountable to the elected president.