96 research outputs found
Replication Data for: Policy Failures, Blame Games, and Changes to Policy Practice
No full textResearch examining the policy implications of elite polarization usually concentrates on policy formulation and change, but neglects the impact of polarization on the day-to-day application of policies. Applying the method of causal process-tracing to the Swiss ‘Carlos’ case, a blame game triggered by the reporting about an expensive therapy setting for a youth offender, this article exposes and explains a hitherto neglected, but highly important, mechanism between political elites engaging in blame-generation and changes in policy practice. A policy’s distance and visibility to mass publics, as well as the incentives and resources of elites to engage in blame-generation, explain the dynamics within blame games, which, in turn, effect organizational and behavioral changes that help to institutionalize a more politicized policy practice. Politicized policy practice can make an important difference to policy target populations, as well as damage output legitimacy and undermine democracy
The long and winding road to fiscal adjustment: how the IMF judges austerity programmes
No full textIMF judgements on whether government austerity programmes can be successfully implemented are carefully followed by international financial markets. Markus Hinterleitner, Fritz Sager and Eva Thomann analyse the way the organisation has judged the credibility of austerity programmes in 14 European countries. They find that the IMF considers implementation credibility in its evaluations of austerity programs, and uses these to push its own agenda
Blame, Reputation, and Organizational Responses to a Politicized Climate
No full textHinterleitner and Sager conceptualize how public sector organizations (PSOs) react to elite polarization, which is as an increasingly common phenomenon in Western democracies. For politicians operating under polarized conditions, PSOs are a primary blame-deflection target. Since blame from politicians presents a threat to the reputation of PSOs, they react to these threats. While research has made progress in examining specific responses to reputational threats, the authors argue that an overarching categorization of responses is missing. The chapter adapts the concept of anticipatory blame avoidance to the decision-making of PSOs, using it as an umbrella concept to categorize and systematize the reactions of PSOs. PSOs that prioritize crafting responses to reputational threats may neglect tasks and duties potentially decisive for effective and problem-oriented public service delivery
Salami tactics and the implementation of large-scale public projects
No full textThis article builds on the literature on policy failure and blame management to analyse the implementation of large-scale public projects, which frequently suffer from cost overruns and delays. The article addresses a hitherto neglected blame management strategy used by politicians overseeing implementation: the stepwise announcement of delays and/or cost overruns, often referred to as ‘salami tactics’. I assert that politicians apply salami tactics in order to reduce and deflect the blame for a project that turns out to be more expensive, or takes longer to complete, than initially communicated. The empirical section examines the use of salami tactics in two large-scale public projects that resulted in delays and cost overruns: the Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Germany and the Swiss National Exposition Expo.02. Both cases confirm my arguments regarding the blame-reducing and blame-deflecting effects of salami tactics and reveal that this strategy can cause projects to lock-in on a self-undermining path.</p
Reconciling Perspectives on Blame Avoidance Behaviour
No full textBlame avoidance behaviour (BAB) has become an increasingly popular topic in political science. However, the preconditions of BAB, its presence and consequences in various areas and in different political systems largely remain a black box. In order to generate a better understanding of BAB and its importance for the workings of democratic political systems, the scattered literature on BAB needs to be assessed and structured. This article offers a comprehensive review of the literature on blame avoidance. It departs from Weaver’s concept of blame avoidance and subsequently differentiates between work on BAB in comparative welfare state research and work on BAB in public policy and administration. It is argued that between these two strands of literature a bifurcation exists since both perspectives rarely draw on each other to create a more general understanding of BAB. Advantages from existing approaches must be combined to assess the phenomenon of blame avoidance in a more comprehensive way
Governing elites under pressure: Blame avoidance strategies and welfare state retrenchment
No full textPolicy failures, blame games and changes to policy practice
No full textStudies examining the policy implications of elite polarisation usually concentrate on policy formulation and change, but neglect the impact of Polarisation on the day-to-day application of policies. Applying the method of causal process tracing to the Swiss “Carlos” case, a blame game triggered by the reporting about an expensive therapy setting for a youth offender, this article exposes and explains a hitherto neglected, but highly important, mechanism between political elites engaging in blame generation and changes in policy practice. A policy’s distance and visibility to mass publics, as well as the incentives and resources of elites to engage in blame generation, explain the dynamics within blame games, which, in turn, effect organisational and behavioural changes that help institutionalise a more politicised policy practice. Politicised policy practice can make an important difference to policy target populations, as well as damage output legitimacy and undermine democracy
How Do Rating Agencies Rate? The Assessment of Austerity Programs during the European Debt Crisis
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