Bridging bureaucracy and democracy in Europe: A comparative study of perceived managerial excellence, satisfaction with public services, and trust in governance

Abstract

The cross-country study of public administration based on citizens' surveys in Europe is a relatively novel approach to analyzing the social and political dynamics of the continent. The goal of this study is to examine some aspects of bureaucracy and democracy as perceived by knowledgeable citizens in six countries (Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, and Spain). A rationale is developed to support hypotheses about the relationship between democracy and bureaucracy. The study also proposes hypotheses about differences between the countries in terms of satisfaction with public services, trust in governance and public administration agencies, and a set of managerial-oriented variables of the public sector (i.e. perceived innovation, responsiveness, professionalism, organizational politics, leadership and vision, ethics and morality). The study's findings indicate that various aspects of bureaucracy and democracy differ across countries and that democratic longevity may be a good explanation for these differences.

Public administration and citizen satisfaction with democracy: cross-national evidence

“…This found, for example, that citizens' democratic values were linked to their trust in local government. Looking beyond the average citizen, Vigoda-Gadot et al (2010) have also noted the existence of analogous relations among senior/mid-level managers of third-sector organizations across Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, and Spain, this study confirming the general existence of a positive relationship between affirmative perceptions of bureaucracy and democratic values.…”

Legal Corruption and Dissatisfaction with Democracy in the European Union

“…Most studies only explained such democratic disconnect in socioeconomic terms (see for e.g. Ehin 2007;Vigoda-Gadot et al 2010). It is clear that a poor macroeconomic performance affects perceptions of the quality of experienced democracies (see Armingeon and Guthmann 2014;Clarke et al 1993;Weßels 2015), especially in a period of crisis.…”

Why People (Dis)like the Public Service: Citizen Perception of the Public Service and the NPM Doctrine

“… The cross‐national analysis adopted indicates for associations between the variables and cannot claim for causality. Such causal relations still constituting a puzzle (Van de Walle and Bouckaert 2003; Yang and Holzer 2006), multilevel cross‐national longitudinal analysis is essential to establish causality. Studies measuring citizen perceptions of the public service (Vigoda‐Gadot, Shoham, and Vashdi 2010) use more sophisticated scales than those employed in this research. Conceptually speaking, the scales are limited in their ability to measure all the various dimensions related to the evaluation of the public service.…”

“…Studies measuring citizen perceptions of the public service (Vigoda‐Gadot, Shoham, and Vashdi 2010) use more sophisticated scales than those employed in this research. Conceptually speaking, the scales are limited in their ability to measure all the various dimensions related to the evaluation of the public service.…”

“…In methodological terms, virtually all previous studies have been single‐country analyses. Very few (Van de Walle 2007; Vigoda‐Gadot, Shoham, and Vashdi 2010) looked at attitudes toward the public sector from a cross‐national perspective (Bouckaert, Van de Walle, and Kampen 2005). Yet cross‐national investigation is important both for offering explanations beyond a specific national context and for the theoretical innovation it introduces.…”