Presidential control over administration : a new historical analysis of public finance policymaking, 1929-2018 / Patrick O'brien.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Brien, Patrick R., author.

Series:

Studies in government and public policy.

Studies in Government and Public Policy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--History.

Presidents.

Executive power--United States--History.

Executive power.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2022]

Summary:

"The United States Constitution recognizes the president as the sole legal head of the executive branch and thus the one in charge of the administration. Despite this constitutional authority, the president's actual control over administration varies significantly in practice from one president to the next. Through extensive empirical analysis, Patrick O'Brien argues that presidential control over administration operates as a historical variable and functions as a key component of policymaking. To explain the different configurations of presidential control that recur throughout history and to test the argument, this book develops a new theory and then traces the policymaking process in the domain of public finance across nearly a century of history, beginning with the Great Depression and ending with the first two years of the Trump presidency. O'Brien shows that the initial efforts of Obama and Trump to change the established course during a period of unified party control of the government were largely undercut-or "effectively blocked," respectively-by their own limited control over administration. Due to factors such as time, knowledge, government structure, and incentives, O'Brien demonstrates that presidential control over administration conforms to four configurations that recur in succession: collapse, innovation, stabilization, and constraint. He then shows how these configurations played out in the New Deal, Reagan, and Great Recession eras, thus providing readers with an empirically tested theory for how unilateral and legislative policymaking differs over time. Presidential Control over Administration is a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of the presidency and policymaking"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Part I: A New Historical Approach for Studying the Presidency and Policymaking

1. Introduction

2. A Theory of Historical Variation in Presidential Control

Part II: A Quantitative Overview of Historical Variation in Public-Finance Policymaking

3. Public-Finance Problems, Prioritization, Administration, and Policy

Part III: Historical Variation in Presidential Control during the New Deal Era

4. Collapse: The Failing New Era Apparatus Limits Hoover's Control

5. Innovation: Roosevelt Strengthens His Control in Restructuring the Policy Domain

6. Stabilization: Truman Relinquishes His Control in Securing the Policy Domain

7. Constraint: The New Deal-Era Apparatus Limits Eisenhower's Control

Part IV: Historical Variation in Presidential Control during the Reagan Era

8. Collapse: The Failing New Deal-Era Apparatus Limits Carter's Control

9. Innovation: Reagan Strengthens His Control in Restructuring the Policy Domain

10. Stabilization: Bush Relinquishes His Control in Securing the Policy Domain

11. Constraint: The Reagan-Era Apparatus Limits Clinton's Control

Part V: Historical Variation in Presidential Control during the Great Recession and Beyond

12. The Reagan-Era Apparatus Limits Obama's Control in Managing the Great Recession

13. A Preliminary Examination of Trump's Control

14. Conclusion

Appendix: A Statistical Analysis of Public-Finance Administration

Notes

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Obrien, Patrick Presidential Control over Administration

ISBN:

9780700632978

OCLC:

1313075686