Ethics, Government, and Public Policy: A Reference Guide

[T]his is much more than a conventional reference guide. The 12 carefully written chapters examine significant issues and contemporary views of many of the basic problems in the field. Topics are approaches to the study of ethics in government, ethical dilemmas and standards for public officials, techniques for incorporating ethical considerations in policy-making, and several substantive problems--professional ethics, the ethical use of quantitative analysis, several forms of corruption, and morality in foreign policy-making. The volume assimilates most of the contemporary literature, presents a number of interesting cases, and is ideally suited as a text for upper-division or graduate courses in public administration and public policy. . . . an essential item in any collection that deals with the subject of ethics and public policy. Choice

Although democracy in the United States was founded upon ethical principles that Americans continue to hold sacrosanct, these values are seldom explicitly heeded in the policy-making processes that affect the destiny of the country and its citizens. With the professionalization of public administration during the past one-hundred years, managerial efficiency and scientific methods have been promoted at the expense of both ethics and politics. In this important new work, a distinguished group of social scientists, management scholars, attorneys, and philosophers explores the implications of neglecting these vital concerns. The authors focus on the difficult questions facing policymakers, administrators, and elected officials and suggest approaches to reconciling bureaucratic necessity with democratic values.

The first part of the volume examines contemporary ethical perspectives and establishes a framework for analysis. The moral dilemmas faced by public servants and the ethical standards governing the conduct of legislators are considered next. Chapters devoted to the techniques and methods of ethical policy-making discuss such issues as risk analysis, negotiation of rules and standards, the ombudsman in conflict resolution, and equal opportunity and affirmative action legislation. Chapters exploring systemic issues include professionalism in politics and administration; quantitative analysis in decision-making; waste, fraud, and abuse in government; and morality in the making of foreign policy. The volume concludes with an overview of ethics and public policy from a comparative perspective. Addressing the fundamental ethical relations between organizational authority and public employees, this unique new study is pertinent to many of the most pressing problems of our time. It will be of interest to scholars, students, practitioners, and other readers concerned with public administration, public policy, ethics in government, and professional ethics.