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Delegating Power to Bureaucracies: Evidence from the States

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  • Craig Volden

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig Volden, 2002. "Delegating Power to Bureaucracies: Evidence from the States," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 187-220, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:18:y:2002:i:1:p:187-220
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriele Gratton & Luigi Guiso & Claudio Michelacci & Massimo Morelli, 2017. "From Weber to Kafka: Political Instability and the Rise of an Inefficient Bureaucracy," EIEF Working Papers Series 1708, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised May 2017.
    2. Srinivas C. Parinandi, 2020. "Policy Inventing and Borrowing among State Legislatures," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(4), pages 852-868, October.
    3. Vincent Anesi & Daniel J. Seidmann, 2009. "Optimal Delegation with a Finite Number of States," Discussion Papers 2009-20, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    4. Saori Chiba & Kaiwen Leong, 2023. "Countervailing Conflicts of Interest in Delegation Games," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Stéphane Lavertu, 2015. "For fear of popular politics? Public attention and the delegation of authority to the United States executive branch," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 160-177, June.
    6. Shawn L. Ramirez, 2018. "Mediation in the shadow of an audience: How third parties use secrecy and agenda-setting to broker settlements," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 30(1), pages 119-146, January.
    7. Peter Grajzl, 2011. "A property rights approach to legislative delegation," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 177-200, June.

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