The Influence of Legal Mandates on Public Participation
- 5 September 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in The American Review of Public Administration
- Vol. 52 (7), 486-497
- https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221123105
Abstract
Legal mandates are a common mechanism to stimulate government agencies to engage the public. Research shows managerial efforts can also affect civic engagement. We first examine whether local government departments that are legally mandated to engage the public have more public participation than departments that are not mandated to do so. We then explore the relationship between manager perceptions of public participation and the frequency of public participation. Finally, we analyze the interactive effect of legal mandates and managerial perceptions. To investigate our research questions, we use regression models on data from a 2018 nationally representative survey of 527 local government managers in the United States. The results indicate legal mandates are not significantly related to public participation, but managerial perceptions are a key factor. These findings support pursuing a managerial approach to advance public participation in local government.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Reflections on “Public Administrative Theory and the Separation of Powers”The American Review of Public Administration, 2013
- Public participation in health care priority setting: A scoping reviewHealth Policy, 2009
- Stakeholder involvement in NEPA scoping processes: evaluating practices and effects in transportation agenciesJournal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2008
- When Public Participation in Administration Leads to Trust: An Empirical Assessment of Managers’ PerceptionsPublic Administration Review, 2007
- Citizen Participation in Budgeting TheoryPublic Administration Review, 2006
- Normative and Instrumental Perspectives on Public ParticipationThe American Review of Public Administration, 2003
- Assessing Public Participation in U.S. CitiesPublic Performance & Management Review, 2001
- Insights and Applications Assessing Public Participation in U.S. Watershed Planning InitiativesSociety & Natural Resources, 1999
- Reconciling Public Administration and Democracy: The Role of the Responsible AdministratorPublic Administration Review, 1989
- The Twilight of Hierarchy: Speculations on the Global Information SocietyPublic Administration Review, 1985