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The Logic Of Uncertainty And Executive Discretion In Decision Making: The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Ebola Response, Abraham David Benavides, Laura M. Keyes 5457315, David Mcentire, Erin K. Carlson

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This paper addresses an important question: what can a highly complex public health situation such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Ebola outbreak tell us about the use of discretion by executive level public administrators? The public administration literature is rich with evidence of street-level bureaucratic discretion, but has not explored executive level discretion decision making. The authors argue that in highly complex situations of uncertainty, such as in the case of the Dallas-Fort Worth regional Ebola emergency response, the executive use of discretion translates to decisions under the conditions of uncertainty. This article theorizes a logic of uncertainty when two important …