Equity in Public Services: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Since the New Administration perspective was introduced by Dwight Waldo, equity has played a key role in public administration and public policy studies. Much research has focused on employment, politics, jurisprudence, voting and many other issues, while neglecting the role of public services. As gross societal inequities in the world still abound, this article aims at mapping the structure of the knowledge on equity in public services as well as the main conceptualizations and determinants of equity. Quantitative (bibliometrix) and qualitative (narrative) analyses are combined in the analysis of 145 articles from 69 journals. The greatest concentration areas and main drivers of equity (i.e., representative bureaucracy, administrative burden, horizontal and vertical decentralization, privatization, co‐production and performance management) are identified. The review contributes to the advancement of social equity in public administration scholarship and practice by improving the conceptual clarity of the term and by mapping the various literature streams.

Representative Bureaucracy, Environmental Turbulence, and Organizational Performance

“…Speaking more directly to public budgeting and finance, financial resource equity is a concern among underrepresented groups across policy areas from education to healthcare to water access and more (Boyne et al, 2001; Cepiku and Mastrodascio, 2021; McDonald and McCandless, 2022). Public funding cuts can contribute to enlarging outcome and output gaps between minority and majority communities.…”

The End of Evidence‐Based Everything at the Close of the Global Chapter: Plotting the Next Step on the Spiral

“…Their study reveals that the effects of representative bureaucracy on public organizational performance are positive, yet moderated by several contextual factors. The next contribution, a systematic literature review by Cepiku and Mastrodascio (2021), combines quantitative and qualitative analyses to analyze 145 articles from 69 journals. They improve the conceptual clarity of the term equity by mapping the various literature streams to identify the greatest concentration areas and primary drivers of equity (i.e., representative bureaucracy, administrative burden, horizontal and vertical decentralization, privatization, co-production, and performance management).…”

Strategic Decision Making and Implementation in Public Organizations in the Gulf Cooperation Council: The Role of Procedural Rationality

“…A high level of participation is also an important mechanism for increasing organizational adaptability to deal with unpredictable and uncertain situations in the external environment during the implementation process (Bryson et al 2013). Participation in decision making can also demonstrate the objectivity of decisions to a multitude of accountability forums (Aleksovska, Schillemans, and Grimmelikhuijsen 2021) and increase equity in public services (Cepiku and Mastrodascio 2021).…”