Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-gtxcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T05:08:29.470Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Corrective policy reactions: positive and negative budgetary punctuations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2018

Carla M. Flink  and
Scott E. Robinson
Carla M. Flink*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Administration & Policy, School of Public Affairs, American UniversityWashington, D.C. USA
Scott E. Robinson
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: flink@american.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Punctuated equilibrium theory seeks to explain policy volatility and stability in government attention. In previous research into the temporal dynamics of punctuations, scholars found that punctuations occur in clusters – a recent budgetary punctuation increases the likelihood of a subsequent punctuation. This article examines the direction, positive or negative, of budgetary punctuations over time. Are budgetary punctuations corrective, grouping positive and negative changes? Or, do budgetary punctuations occur in cumulative trends of positive or negative changes? These questions address the heart of the theoretical metaphor for punctuated equilibrium. In an analysis of over 1,000 Texas school districts for nearly a 20-year-period, results support the notion of reactive patterns of budgetary punctuations – positive and negative budgetary punctuations pair up at a rate much higher than expected by chance. The findings demonstrate that even though it is likely to see consecutive positive and negative punctuations, they are not always fully corrective.

Keywords

policy processpublic budgetingpunctuated equilibrium theory
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 96 - 115
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baumgartner, FR, Breunig, C, Green-Pedersen, C, Jones, BD, Mortensen, PB, Nuyte-mans, M Walgrave, S (2009) Punctuated Equilibrium in Comparative Perspective. American Journal of Political Science 53(3): 603–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, FR Jones, BD (2009) Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Berry, WD (1990) The Confusing Case of Budgetary Incrementalism: Too Many Meanings for a Single Concept. Journal of Politics 52(1): 167–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breunig, C (2006) The More Things Change, the More Things Stay the Same: A Comparative Analysis of Budget Punctuations. Journal of European Public Policy 13(7): 1069–1085.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breunig, C Koski, C (2006) Punctuated Equilibria and Budgets in the American States. Policy Studies Journal 34(3): 363–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breunig, C Koski, C (2012) The Tortoise or the Hare? Incrementalism, Punctuations, and their Consequences. Policy Studies Journal 40(1): 45–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epp, DA Baumgartner, FR (2017) Complexity, Capacity, and Budget Punctuations. Policy Studies Journal 45(2): 247–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flink, CM (2017) Rethinking Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: A Public Administration Approach to Budgetary Changes. Policy Studies Journal 45(1): 101–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, JL, Mortensen, PB Serritzlew, S (2016) The Dynamic Model of Choice for Public Policy Reconsidered: A Formal Analysis With an Application to US Budget Data. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 26(2): 226–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, P Bevan, S (2012) What are Policy Punctuations? Large Changes in the Legislative Agenda of the UK Government, 1911–2008. Policy Studies Journal 40(1): 89–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, BD Baumgartner, FR (2005) The Politics of Attention: How Government Prioritizes Problems. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jones, BD, Baumgartner, FR, Breunig, C, Wlezien, C, Soroka, S, Foucault, M, François, A, Green-Pedersen, C, Koski, C, John, P, Mortensen, P, Varone, F Walgrave, S (2009) A General Empirical Law of Public Budgets: A Comparative Analysis. American Journal of Political Science 53(4): 855–873.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, BD, Baumgartner, FR True, JL (1998) Policy Punctuations: U.S. Budget Authority, 1947-1995. Journal of Politics 60(1): 1–33.10.2307/2647999CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, BD, Sulkin, T Larsen, HA (2003) Policy Punctuations in American Political Institutions. American Political Science Review 97(1): 151–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, BD, True, JL Baumgartner, FR (1997) Does Incrementalism Stem from Political Consensus or from Institutional Gridlock? American Journal of Political Science 41:(4) 1319–1339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, MM (2003) Punctuations and Agendas: A New Look at Local Government Budget Expenditures. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 22(3): 345–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, G, Tomz, M Wittenberg, J (2000) Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation. American Journal of Political Science 44(2): 347–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindblom, C (1959) The Science of Muddling Through. Public Administration Review 19(2): 79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, KJ O’Toole, LJ (2009) The Dog That Didn’t Bark: How Public Managers Handle Environmental Shocks. Public Administration 87(3): 485–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, SE (2004) Punctuated Equilibrium, Bureaucratization, and Budgetary Changes in Schools. Policy Studies Journal 32(1): 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, SE, Caver, F, Meier, KJ O’Toole, LJ Jr (2007) Explaining Policy Punctuations: Bureaucratization and Budget Change. American Journal of Political Science 51(1): 140–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, SE, Flink, CM King, CM (2014) Organizational History and Budgetary Punctuation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 24(2): 459–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryu, JE (2009) Exploring the Factors for Budget Stability and Punctuations: A Preliminary Analysis of State Government Sub-Functional Expenditures. Policy Studies Journal 37(3): 457–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryu, JE (2011 a) Bounded Bureaucracy and the Budgetary Process in the United States. London, UK: Routledge Books.Google Scholar
Ryu, JE (2011 b) Legislative Professionalism and Budget Punctuations in State Government Sub-Functional Expenditures. Public Budgeting & Finance 31(2): 22–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulman, PR (1975) Nonincremental Policy Making: Notes Toward an Alternative Paradigm. American Political Science Review 69(4): 1354–1370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, HJ (1982) Incremental Budgeting: Myth or Model? The Western Political Quarterly 35(3): 327–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanat, J (1974) Bases of Budgetary Incrementalism. The American Political Science Review 68(3): 1221–1228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wildavsky, AB (1964) The Politics of the Budgetary Process. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Wildavsky, A Caiden, N (1988) The New Politics of the Budgetary Process. Glenview, IL: Scott & Foresman.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Flink and Robinson supplementary material

Flink and Robinson supplementary material
Download Flink and Robinson supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 60.8 KB
Supplementary material: Link

Flink and Robinson Dataset

Dataset

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/SBVFUL
Link