The Future of Public Administration

Abstract

Public administration finds itself in a difficult position. On one hand, effective administration of governmental programs has become even more central to restoring trust in government and improving public productivity. On the other hand, the study of public administration has struggled to convince political science that public administration is scientific. There are signs that public administration is finding new and engaging ways of balancing these cross-pressures. Indeed, public administration is likely to become even more important to both governance and political science. But it must find new ways of connecting to modern political science. And political science must grapple with public administration's basic issues if it is to have any serious claim on the study of governance.