Topic 11
Executive institutions and politics II: The bureaucracy

BUREAUCRACY IN THE PRINCIPAL-AGENT FRAMEWORK

1. Congress, which passes the authorizing legislation that establishes the "agency," that gives it its mandate, and that gives it its funding.
2. The president, who appoints top officials in the agency, such as the secretary of a cabinet department (with the advice and consent of the Senate).
 

HOW LARGE IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

Measure 1. Number of civilian federal employees.

1960 2.4 million
1965 2.5
1970 3.0
1975 2.9
1980 3.1
1985 3.1
1990 3.5
1995 2.9

In this period, total population has grown from 179 million to nearly 260 million.
(The growth of public employees has been much greater on the state and local level.)
Add military personnel (1.5million)
Private workers under government contracts or grants (7.9 million)
State and local government workers carrying out federal mandates (4.6 million)

Measure 2. Size of the federal budget (in billions of dollars

Year Current dollars Constant 1992 $
1960
92.2 
458.2
1965
118.2
530.9
1970
195.6
707.6
1975
332.3
847.6
1980
590.9
1,015.5
1985
946.5
1,209.0
1990
1,253.2
1,353.7
1995
1,515.7
1,410.6

Measure 3. Pages in the Federal Register (as a crude measure of the amount of regulation)

1960
14,479
1965
17,206
1970
20,032
1975
60,221
1980
87,012
1985
53,479
1990
53,618
1995
67,518