POLS 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Path Dependence, Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties
5 May 2018
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o Mechanic (agent) Principal (You) hire a mechanic to fix car, but in reality he
ight’e doe a poor jo ou lak koledge i ars
o Relationship between bureaucratic agency and elected members of the
government
▪ They can shirt their duties, misrepresent their effort, steal from
taxpayers; may not always execute laws in a manner that Congress or
President wants; they cannot observe everything
o Incentives for this not to occur: Congress requires bureaucratic agencies to
document administrative decisions, mechanic have warrantees on repair work so
they want to avoid returns
• Bureaucrat: any government employee who is not part of the ruling powers
• Bureaucracy: an agency or office devoted to carrying out tasks for the government in a
manner consistent with the law
• Public policies: programs and decisions by the government that are enforced by the rule
of law
o Ex: how much we pay in sales tax, turn right on a red light
• Constitution lays out the long-term set of rules (institutions) for making the everyday
rules (policies)
• Path dependence: notion that earlier events or decisions deeply affect current and
future policy decisions or outcomes
o Past decisions about institutions leave legacies for the present that make it
difficult to change direction, even if that change seems desirable in the present
Types of Government Institutions
• Authoritarianism: no expectation that the government represents the people, and the
institutions of government do not give the people a direct voice in who will lead
• Dictatorship: sovereign power in one individual (ex. Libya)
• Monarchies: ruler (king or queen) chosen by virtue of being the heir of previous ruler
(ex. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, England)
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