Abstract
This chapter examines discretion in the policy process. On the basis of an examination of the theoretical literature, some specific insights are identified. First, discretion concerns the freedom to act as granted in a set of rules. Second, the way a rule is applied leaves the rule intact. Third, norms aimed to prescribe action stem from many sources in addition to formal rules. Fourth, cultural standards and the institutional context are important sources. Fifth, the degree of legitimacy of practised discretion will vary. This theoretical examination leads on to an exploration of where discretion is located in the policy process. Discretion can be found in street-level implementation, but not only there. It appears to be granted as well as exercised at a multiplicity of points within an overall context, in which both vertical and horizontal power relationships may apply. Hence from an ‘output’ perspective, the study of discretion concerns the question how laws or other norms ‘work’ within a multi-layered structure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allison, G.T. (1971). Essence of decision: Explaining the Cuban missile crisis. Boston, MA: Little Brown.
Baker Collins, S. (2016). The space in the rules: Bureaucratic discretion in the administration of Ontario Works. Social Policy and Society, 15(2), 221–235.
Brodkin, E.Z. (2011). Policy work: Street level organizations under New Managerialism. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(2), 253–277.
Bull, D. (1980). The anti-discretion movement in Britain: Fact or phantom? Journal of Social Welfare Law, 2(1), 65–83.
Cohen, N. (2016). How culture affects street-level bureaucrats’ bending the rules in the context of informal payments for health care: The Israeli case. American Review of Public Administration, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016665919.
Davis, K.C. (1969). Discretionary justice: A preliminary inquiry. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Dicey, A.V. (1915). Introduction to the study of the law and the constitution (8th ed.). London: Macmillan.
Dworkin, R.M. (1977). Taking rights seriously. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Elazar, D.J. (1995). Federalism. In S.M. Lipset (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of democracy. London: Routledge.
Evans, T. (2015). Professionals and discretion in street-level bureaucracy. In P.L Hupe, M.J. Hill & A. Buffat (Eds), Understanding street-level bureaucracy (pp. 279–293). Bristol: Policy Press.
Freidson, E. (1970). Professional dominance. New York: Atherton.
Galligan, D.J. (1986). Discretionary powers. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Galligan, D.J. (1990). Discretionary powers: A legal study of official discretion. Chapter 1 ‘Senses of discretion’ retrieved from Oxford Scholarship Online https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198256526.001.0001 Subscriber: Erasmus University Library. Date: 7 September 2015.
Garrow, E. & Grusky, O. (2013). Institutional logic and street-level discretion: The case of HIV test counseling. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 23(1), 103–131.
Gouldner, A. (1954). Patterns of industrial bureaucracy. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Hall, P.A. (1986). Governing the economy: The politics of state intervention in Britain and France. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hanf, K. (1993). Enforcing environmental laws: The social regulation of co-production. In M.J. Hill (Ed.), New agendas in the study of the policy process (pp. 88–109). Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Harrison, S. (2015). Street-level bureaucracy and professionalism in health services. In P.L. Hupe, M.J. Hill & A. Buffat (Eds), Understanding street-level bureaucracy (pp. 61–78). Bristol: Policy Press.
Harrison, S. & Pollitt, C. (1994). Controlling health professionals. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Hewart, L. (1929). The new despotism. London: Ernest Benn.
Hill, M.J. (Ed.) New agendas in the study of the policy process. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Hill, M.J. & Varone, F. (2017). The public policy process. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hill, M.J. & Hupe, P.L. (2003). The multi-layer problem in implementation studies. Public Management Review, 5(4), 471–490.
Hood, C. (1995). Contemporary public management: A new global paradigm? Public Policy and Administration, 10(2), 104–117.
Huber, J.D. & Shipan, C.R. (2002). Deliberate discretion? The institutional foundations of bureaucratic autonomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hupe, P.L. (1993). The politics of implementation: Individual, organizational and political co-production in social services delivery. In M.J. Hill (Ed.), New agendas in the study of the policy process (pp. 130–151). Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Hupe, P.L. (2013). Dimensions of discretion: Specifying the object of street-level bureaucracy research. Der Moderne Staat. Zeitschrift für Public Policy, Recht und Management, 6(2), 425–440.
Hupe, P.L. (Ed.) (2019). Research handbook on street-level bureaucracy: The ground floor of government in context. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hupe, P.L. & Hill, M.J. (2007). Street-level bureaucracy and public accountability. Public Administration, 85(2), 279–299.
Hupe, P.L., Hill, M.J. & Buffat, A. (Eds) (2015) Understanding street-level bureaucracy. Bristol: Policy Press.
Jewell, C.J. (2007). Agents of the welfare state. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Johnson, T.J. (1972). Professions and power. London: Macmillan.
Jowell, J. (1973). The legal control of administrative discretion. Public Law, 178–220.
Jowell, J. & Oliver, D. (Eds.) (2000). The changing Constitution (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Keiser, L.R., Mueser, P.R. & Choi, S.-W. (2004). Race, bureaucratic discretion, and the implementation of welfare reform. American Journal of Political Science, 48(2), 314–327.
Key, V.O. Jr. (1942). Politics, parties and pressure groups. New York: Crowell.
Klijn, E.-H.. (1997). Policy networks: An overview. In W.J.M. Kickert, E.-H. Klijn & J.F.M. Koppenjan (Eds), Managing complex networks: Strategies for the public sector (pp. 14–34). London: Sage
Knoepfel, P. & Weidner, H. (1982). Formulation and implementation of air quality control programmes: Patterns of interest consideration. Policy and Politics, 10(1), 85–109.
Knoepfel, P., Larrue, C., Varone, F. & Hill, M.J. (2007). Public policy analysis. Bristol: Policy Press.
Knoke, D. (1990). Policy networks: The structural perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Koppenjan, J.F.M. & Klijn, E.-H. (2004). Managing uncertainties in networks. London: Routledge.
Kuhlmann, S. & Wollmann, H. (2014). Introduction to comparative public administration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Lane, J.-E. & Ersson, S.O. (2000). The new institutional politics: Performance and outcomes. London: Routledge.
Lijphart, A. (1999). Patterns of democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Lipsky, M. (1980). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
May, P.J. (2015). Implementation failures revisited: Policy regime perspectives. Public Policy and Administration, 30(3–4), 277–299.
May, P.J. & Jochim, A.E. (2013). Policy regime perspectives: Policies, politics and governing. Policy Studies Journal, 41(3), 426–452.
May, P.J. (1995). Can cooperation be mandated? Implementing intergovernmental environmental management in New South Wales and New Zealand. Publius, 25(1), 89–113.
May, P.J. & Burby, R.J. (1996). Coercive versus cooperative policies: Comparing intergovernmental mandate performance. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 15(2), 171–201.
Painter, M. & Peters, B.G. (Eds) (2010). Tradition and public administration. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Pollitt, C. & Bouckaert, G. (2000). Public management reform: A comparative analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sabatier, P.A. & Weible, C.M. (2007). The advocacy coalition framework: Innovations and clarifications. In P.A. Sabatier (Ed.), Theories of the policy process (pp. 189–220). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Scharpf, F.W. (1978). Interorganizational policy studies: Issues, concepts and perspectives. In K.I. Hanf & F.W. Scharpf (Eds), Interorganizational policy making: Limits to coordination and central Control (pp. 345–370) London: Sage.
Smith, M.J. (1993). Pressure, power and policy. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Sosin, M.R. (2010). Discretion in human service organizations: Traditional and institutional perspectives. In Y. Hasenfeld (Ed.), Human services as complex organizations (2nd ed., pp. 381–403). London: Sage.
Swidler, A. (1986). Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review, 51, 273–286.
Taylor, I. & Kelly, J. (2006). Professionals, discretion and public sector reforms in the UK: Re-visiting Lipsky. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19(7), 629–642.
Thomann, E., Hupe, P. & Sager, F. (2018). Serving many masters: Public accountability in private policy implementation. Governance, 31(2), 299–319.
Tummers, L.L.G. (2012). Policy alienation of public professionals: The construct and its measurement. Public Administration Review, 72(4), 516–525.
Tummers, L.L.G., Steijn, A. & Bekkers, V.J.J.M. (2012). Explaining the willingness of public professionals to implement public policies. Public Administration, 90(3), 716–736.
Tummers, L.L.G. & Bekkers, V.J.J.M. (2014). Policy implementation, street-level bureaucracy, and the importance of discretion. Public Management Review, 16(4), 527–547.
Tummers, L.L.G., Bekkers, V.J.J.M., Vink, E. & Musheno, M. (2015). Coping during public service delivery: A conceptualization and systematic review of the literature. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(4), 1099–1126.
Wilson, W. (1887). The study of administration. Political Science Quarterly, 2, 197–222.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hupe, P., Hill, M. (2020). Discretion in the Policy Process. In: Evans, T., Hupe, P. (eds) Discretion and the Quest for Controlled Freedom. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19566-3_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19566-3_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19565-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19566-3
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)