Budgeting has long been considered a rational process using neutral tools of financial management, but this outlook fails to consider the outside influences on leaders' behavior. Steven G. Koven shows that political culture (moralistic, traditionalistic, individualistic) and ideological orientations (liberal vs. conservative) are at least as important as financial tools in shaping budgets.

Koven examines budget formation at the national, state, and local levels to demonstrate the strong influence of attitudes about how public money should be generated and spent. In addition to...

Koven examines how political philosophy shapes public policy. In particular, he emphasizes the influence of ideology on one policy area--budgeting in the public sector. That political beliefs greatly affect the type of policy implemented appears obvious, as would the benefit of rational--not ideological--policymaking. Yet, the question of whether policy is developed by politically biased appointees or by neutral administrators is not so easily answered. Koven asserts that government policy determined by philosophical factors directly contradicts the view that public policy should be...

In a down-to-earth review of the often-contentious subject of ethics, Public Sector Ethics: Theory and Applications presents personal accounts of individuals who faced moral dilemmas and how they resolved them. It moves the study of ethics away from a box checking exercise of what to do/not to do to a discussion that creates understanding of existential choices that people make. The book supplements discussion of the literature with practical examples of ethical dilemmas that public servants face.

Through detailed case studies the book argues that the concept of ethics is not...

Growth, Decline, and Regeneration in Large Cities sheds light on why some cities prosper, others implode and still others are able to reverse their downward trajectories. The book focuses on three major American metropolitan areas: Austin, Detroit, and Boston. It explores how distinctive political and cultural forces in these cities affected economic growth or decline. Theoretical frameworks to explain economic development in urban areas are identified. The book addresses important subjects such as response to deindustrialization, disruption caused by gentrification, globalization...

Growth, Decline, and Regeneration in Large Cities sheds light on why some cities prosper, others implode and still others are able to reverse their downward trajectories. The book focuses on three major American metropolitan areas: Austin, Detroit, and Boston. It explores how distinctive political and cultural forces in these cities affected economic growth or decline. Theoretical frameworks to explain economic development in urban areas are identified. The book addresses important subjects such as response to deindustrialization, disruption caused by gentrification, globalization...