Management, Law, and the Pursuit of the Public Good in Public Administration

The tension between managerialism and legalism in public administration has been a recurring theme at Minnowbrook conferences. This tension, increasingly evident in the literature, is couched in the often-conflicting values of efficiency and performance, on one hand, and legal and democratic values such as accountability, equality, and transparency, on the other hand. Building on conversations we began at Minnowbrook III, we specify a three-part proposal through which the legal and managerial approaches to US public administration might be better integrated. At a time when public administrative reforms potentially exacerbate the law management tension, our proposal's primary implication is the simultaneous achievement of public service delivery that is efficient, effective, and defendable in the US constitutional democracy.