Politicians’ involvement in street-level policy implementation: Implications for social equity
| Published date | 01 July 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09520767211024033 |
| Author | Maayan Davidovitz,Nissim Cohen |
| Date | 01 July 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Politicians’ involvement
in street-level policy
implementation:
Implications for
social equity
Maayan Davidovitz
The Department of Public Administration and Policy, School
of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel
Nissim Cohen
The Department of Public Administration and Policy, School
of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel
Abstract
The study explores whether elected officials’ involvement in the way street-level
bureaucrats implement policy affects social equity. This question is addressed empiri-
cally through interviews and focus groups with 84 Israeli educators and social workers.
Findings indicate that elected officials involve themselves directly and indirectly in
street-level bureaucrats’ policy implementation and their involvement reduces social
equity in the provision of services. The study contributes to the literature on policy
implementation by enabling a deeper understanding of the factors that shape the
decision-making process of street-level bureaucrats when providing services and
their ultimate impact on policy outcomes.
Keywords
Policy implementation, politicians’ involvement, social equity, street-level bureaucrats
Corresponding author:
Maayan Davidovitz, The Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Political Sciences,
University of Haifa, Israel.
Email: maayandavidovitz@gmail.com
Public Policy and Administration
!The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/09520767211024033
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2023, Vol. 38(3) 309–328
310 Public Policy and Administration 38(3)
Introduction
Since Michael Lipsky’s (2010) groundbreaking work, numerous studies have
addressed the factors that shape the discretion of street-level bureaucrats when
implementing policies (Davidovitz, Cohen and Gofen 2021; Hupe, 2014; Jilke and
Tummers, 2018), as well as investigated the implications of their work for promot-
ing or reducing social equity (Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2012). Studies
emphasize the importance of factors that control the actions of street-level bureau-
crats, such as managerial influences (Gassner and Gofen, 2018), socialization
(Moyson et al., 2018) and supervisors (Keulemans and Groeneveld, 2020).
Research has examined how political control shapes the discretion of street-level
bureaucrats (May and Winter, 2009). However, the literature has not yet system-
atically addressed the possibility that elected officials’ involvement in policy imple-
mentation by street-level bureaucrats leads to a decline in social equity in the
delivery of services.
There is broad consensus among public administration scholars that the
public and political arenas should be distinct. It is the role of elected
officials to design policies (Wilson, 1887) and the role of bureaucrats to
implement them (Meyers and Vorsanger, 2007). Nevertheless, it has long
been clear that there is considerable overlap between the two realms (Peters and
Pierre, 2004). Political considerations influence bureaucrats’ behavior (Wood
and Waterman, 1993) and affect those who operate at the street level (May and
Winter, 2009).
Street-level bureaucrats are dominant players in the public service environment,
with extensive discretion that allows them to influence significant aspects of citi-
zens’ lives (de Boer, 2020; Davidovitz and Cohen, 2021; Lipsky, 2010; Lavee and
Strier, 2019). Their decisions shape the distribution of resources in society and
have a strong impact on social equity (Ca
´rdenas and Ram
ırez de la Cruz, 2017;
Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2012). What is unclear is what happens when
elected officials intervene in how street-level bureaucrats implement policy.
The goal of this study is to examine the involvement of elected officials in the
practices of street-level bureaucrats, particularly how such involvement impacts
social equity in the street level service delivery process. The underlying assumption
is that when political considerations influence the discretion of street-level bureau-
crats, the latter may favor certain groups of clients over others and impair the
welfare of society (Keiser and Soss, 1998).
This issue is examined empirically through the case of Israeli education and
social welfare providers, using in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus
groups. The context is particularly relevant because it offers insight into the
unique dynamics between political figures in local government and street-level
organizations, from the perspective of front-line workers. It also allows us to
investigate the impact of political involvement on policy outcomes as implemented
on the street level.
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