Good Enough for Government Work - The Public Reputation Crisis in America (and What We Can Do to Fix It) (Paperback)

American government is in the midst of a reputation crisis. An overwhelming majority of citizens--Republicans and Democrats alike--hold negative perceptions of the government and believe it is wasteful, inefficient, and doing a generally poor job managing public programs and providing public services. When social problems arise, Americans are therefore skeptical that the government has the ability to respond effectively. It's a serious problem, argues Amy E. Lerman, and it will not be a simple one to fix. With Good Enough for Government Work, Lerman uses surveys, experiments, and public opinion data to argue persuasively that the reputation of government is itself an impediment to government's ability to achieve the common good. In addition to improving its efficiency and effectiveness, government therefore has an equally critical task: countering the belief that the public sector is mired in incompetence. Lerman takes readers through the main challenges. Negative perceptions are highly resistant to change, she shows, because we tend to perceive the world in a way that confirms our negative stereotypes of government--even in the face of new information. Those who hold particularly negative perceptions also begin to "opt out" in favor of private alternatives, such as sending their children to private schools, living in gated communities, and refusing to participate in public health insurance programs. When sufficient numbers of people opt out of public services, the result can be a decline in the objective quality of public provision. In this way, citizens' beliefs about government can quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy, with consequences for all. Lerman concludes with practical solutions for how the government might improve its reputation and roll back current efforts to eliminate or privatize even some of the most critical public services.

General

Imprint:	University of Chicago Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Chicago Studies in American Politics
Release date:	June 2019
Authors:	Amy E. Lerman
Dimensions:	229 x 152mm (L x W)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	304
ISBN-13:	978-0-226-63020-5
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Public administration Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > Central government policies
LSN:	0-226-63020-X
Barcode:	9780226630205

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!