The True Size of GovernmentBrookings Institution Press, 1999 - 238 pages This book addresses a seemingly simple question: Just how many people really work for the federal government? Official counts show a relatively small total of 1.9 million full-time civil servants, as of 1996. But, according to Paul Light, the true head count is nearly nine times higher than the official numbers, with about 17 million people actually providing the government with goods and services. Most are part of what Light calls the " shadow of government" nonfederal employees working under federal contracts, grants, and mandates to state and local governments. In this book--the first that attempts to establish firm estimates of the shadow work force-- he explores the reasons why the official size of the federal government has remained so small while the shadow of government has grown so large. Light examines the political incentives that make the illusion of a small government so attractive, analyzes the tools used by officials to keep the official headcount small, and reveals how the appearance of smallness affects the management of government and the future of the public service. Finally, he points out ways the federal government can better manage the shadow work force it has built over the past half-century. |
Table des matières
The Illusion of Smallness | 1 |
Counting Heads | 2 |
Estimating the True Size of Government | 6 |
Overview of the Book | 9 |
The True Size of Government | 13 |
Comparing Apples to Apples | 16 |
Exploring the Shadow of Government | 37 |
Conclusion | 44 |
Conclusion | 136 |
The Took for Sorting Out | 138 |
How Presidents Manage Head Counts | 139 |
The Definitional Tangle | 143 |
Sorting the Shadows | 155 |
Sorting by Competency | 170 |
Conclusion | 173 |
Managing a Government that Looks Smaller and Delivers More | 175 |
The Politics of Illusion | 46 |
The Market for Smallness | 48 |
Presidential Incentives | 61 |
Congressional Incentives | 75 |
Party Incentives | 84 |
Civil Service Incentives | 92 |
Conclusion | 97 |
The Tools for Staying Small | 99 |
A History of Head Counts | 103 |
The Big Chill | 112 |
The Consequence of Counting Heads | 129 |
A Brief Review | 176 |
Illusions upon Illusions | 179 |
Managing the New Public Service | 194 |
Conclusion | 196 |
Appendixes | 197 |
Estimated Gains and Losses in the Shadows of Government 198496 | 198 |
Public Opinion toward Government Reform | 200 |
Head Count Ceilings Freezes and Thaws 194097 | 207 |
Notes | 211 |
225 | |
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Academy of Public Accounting Office agen Americans analysis argued assistant secretary big government Bill Clinton budget buyouts campaign Chief of staff civil servants civil service civilian Clinton administration Committee Congress congressional contract work force contractors contracts and grants core competencies costs created David Pryor Defense Department Democrats Dennis Kucinich departments and agencies devolvers dollars downsizing eral ernment estimates Executive federal employees federal government federal work force freezes full-time-equivalent goals Gore head count constraints hiring illusion of smallness incentives inherently governmental function input-output model Jonathan Walters mandates ment million NASA National nonprofit percent performance personnel Pew Research Center political Political action committee pork barrel president presidential private sector Pryor public service Reagan reduce reinventors Republicans responsibilities Senate shadow casting shadow of government shadow work force Social Security Administration Subcommittee targets tion waste Whitten Amendment Workforce Restructuring Act