Delegating Power to Bureaucracies: Evidence from the States

Craig Volden

The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 2002, vol. 18, issue 1, 187-220

Abstract: Empirical analysis has lagged behind theoretical advancement in the study of legislative delegation of power to bureaucracies. This article analyzes why state legislatures delegated advisory and policy-forming powers to bureaucracies for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program from 1935 through 1996. The analysis supports various theories of bureaucratic discretion, while painting a complex political picture of delegation decisions. Legislators rely on bureaucrats to resolve uncertainty, especially when internal legislative information is scarce. Contrary to recent wisdom, however, delegation is not found to be associated with the general condition of unified government. Rather, delegation occurs under both divided and unified government, but the procedures chosen and appointment powers granted vary under these two conditions. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:18:y:2002:i:1:p:187-220

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization is currently edited by Andrea Prat

More articles in The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization from Oxford University Press Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().