The Use of Economic Criteria in the Goods Provision Decisions of City Managers and Administrators

Abstract

What are the decision-making criteria used by public admin istrators in recommending which goods and services should be provided by local governments? Do city managers and administrators base their decisions on political criteria such as citizen support, elected official buy in, and special interest group advocacy, or do they focus on transaction and regulation costs and cost-benefit analysis? These ques tions are part of the ongoing debate in public administration about the relative importance of economic and political criteria in budget decision making. Empirical evidence at the local level has informed this largely normative discussion. In this article, survey methodol ogy is used to explore classic economic and budgeting theories in the context of budget decision making, with particular attention paid to economic and political criteria.

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