Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services

1981/03/01 by Michael Lipsky · 16 citations
Social Sciences · #Healthcare innovation and challenges #Public Policy and Administration Research

paper · doi:10.2307/1288305

crossref issued 1981/03/01 · crossref published 1981/03/01 · crossref published-print 1981/03/01 · openalex publication_date 1981/03/01 · crossref created 2006/05/12 · crossref deposited 2018/05/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31

Abstract

The critical role of street-level bureaucrats -- Street-level bureaucrats as policy makers -- The problem of resources -- Goals and performance measures -- Relations with clients -- Advocacy and alienation in street-level work -- Rationing services : limitation of access and demand -- Rationing services : inequality in administration -- Controlling clients and the work situation -- The client-processing mentality -- The assault on human services : bureaucratic control, accountability, and the fiscal crisis -- The broader context of bureaucratic relations -- Support for human services : notes for reform and reconstruction -- On managing street-level bureaucracy.

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