Representative bureaucracy and social equity: Bias, perceived fairness and efficacy

Meier, Kenneth J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6378-0855 2023. Representative bureaucracy and social equity: Bias, perceived fairness and efficacy. Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration 1 (1) , pp. 23-38. 10.24926/jsepa.v1i1.4814

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (179kB) | Preview

Abstract

This article on representative bureaucracy and social equity addresses three normative questions in the literature. First, concerns that active representation creates biases in what are normally unbiased, rational bureaucratic processes both fail to understand the process of bureaucratic representation and have little empirical support. Representative bureaucracy is unlikely to be a threat to orderly democratic government. Second, that what appears to be active representation rarely has negative consequences for others and is difficult to frame as unfair. Third, while the literature on representative bureaucracy may be overly optimistic about its efficacy given the various constraints and limits, it frequently produces results that increase social equity and is a valuable strategy toward that end.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
ISSN:	2832-9287
Related URLs:	https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v1i1.4814
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 January 2023
Date of Acceptance:	4 May 2022
Last Modified:	03 May 2023 17:57
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/155843

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item