Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Offices Of Goodness: Influence Without Authority In Federal Agencies, Margo Schlanger
Offices Of Goodness: Influence Without Authority In Federal Agencies, Margo Schlanger
Law & Economics Working Papers
Inducing governmental organizations to do the right thing is the central problem of public administration. If Congress or another principal wants a federal executive agency to pay attention to a value that constrains or conflicts with the agency’s overall mission — that additional value is here labeled, generically, "Goodness" — the principal often creates a subsidiary agency office — an "Office of Goodness." Both policymakers and scholars should care about how and when Offices of Goodness work. Yet while Offices of Goodness are frequently established in federal agencies, they are nearly invisible in scholarship. And the resulting knowledge gap is …