Casting Light on Shadow Government: A Typological Approach

Our fascination with the growth of special purpose entities has garnered substantial theoretical and empirical attention in the last several decades. Unfortunately, we still know very little about the unique characteristics of various special purpose entities. Our lack of understanding regarding special purpose entities has contributed to both their categorization as ''shadow government'' and a tendency for distinct types of special purpose entities to be generalized. The resulting perception is that the terms ''public authorities,'' ''special districts,'' ''government corporations,'' and the like are interchangeable or synonymous. Because accurate understanding is necessary to achieve precise evaluation, this article explores the theoretical underpinnings of these complex entities and offers a typology based on these theories. The typology is then compared to the extant literature and individual special purpose entities.