Betwixt agency and accountability: re-visioning street-level bureaucrats

Abstract

This paper presents a critical assessment of the much-discussed tension between bureaucratic accountability and the contextual discretion of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (i.e. front-line public sector workers). Based on an extensive literature review, the paper outlines the implications of the exercise of agency by street-level bureaucrats in everyday settings. It also looks at the challenges this agency engenders: loss of accountability and divergence from stated policy goals. The paper underlines the need for future research on institutional structures and organisational cultures around street-level bureaucracy. It suggests possible lines of enquiry to steer the debate in new, and hopefully productive, directions.

Street‐level bureaucrats' discretion between individual and institutional factors: The analysis of the minimum income policy implementation in two Italian regions

“…The focus has been on identifying the factors that make up discretionary power, how that power is exercised, and its consequences. The literature highlighted: the "inevitability" of SLBs' discretion; the possible agency-accountability trade-offs; the range of actions and tactics that SLBs use for exercising discretion (Evans et al, 2020;Gofen, 2014;Gupta et al, 2022;Zacka, 2017).…”

“…The focus has been on identifying the factors that make up discretionary power, how that power is exercised, and its consequences. The literature highlighted: the “inevitability” of SLBs' discretion; the possible agency‐accountability trade‐offs; the range of actions and tactics that SLBs use for exercising discretion (Evans et al, 2020; Gofen, 2014; Gupta et al, 2022; Zacka, 2017). When dealing with SLBs' discretion, all studies highlighted the tension between two opposite needs: the necessity to control and reduce discretion on the one hand, and the need to enhance the empowerment of SLBs on the other.…”

The impact of New Public Management reforms on the delivery of secondary education in Tanzania

“…New Public Management in Tanzanian education CJLG September 2023 124 within bureaucracies which create an institutional context for maintaining professional norms and a client-focused approach to making the best decision (Lipsky 2022;Liljegren 2012;Lameck and Hulst 2019;Gupta et al 2022).…”

“…In Tanzania's education sector, NPM reforms involved new directives, guidelines and instructions to guide the implementation of public polices and in particular the work of teachers. This means that Tanzania's teachers, who are 'street-level bureaucrats' needing to exercise significant discretion in the way they perform their role in order to achieve the best possible results (Gupta et al 2022), may be hampered by excessive rules, regulations and direction from central government. They now face heavy workloads along with the need to comply with new regulations and performance standards.…”