Background
Derthick, Martha Ann was born on June 20, 1933 in Cleveland. Daughter of Everest Plum and Mabel Esther (Carmichael) Derthick.
(Prize-winning author Martha Derthick draws on the recent ...)
Prize-winning author Martha Derthick draws on the recent experience of the Social Security Administration to examine the quality of policymaker's guidance and the feasibility of their policies. Derthick concludes that many structural features of American government hinder good administration, that policymakers lack concern for administration, and that they often miscalculate the administrative consequences of their policy choices. To illustrate this argument, Agency Under Stress analyzes two much-publicized cases of poor performance by one of the biggest and best established of U.S. government agencies, the Social Security Administration. The first case is that of the supplemental security income program to support needy blind, aged and disabled persons. Given responsibility of administering the program in 1974, the Social Security Administration was unequal to the task: many payments were made in error; many eligible persons were not paid; computer systems were not ready; field employees worked millions of hours of overtime; and other agency programs suffered. The second case is that of an eligibility review that Congress ordered the Social Security Administration to conduct for disability insurance recipients in the 1980s. The results were similarly traumatic: of over 1.2 million cases examined, 495,000 had benefits terminated, and, flooded with appeals, the courts ruled overwhelmingly against the agency. Derthick's analysis and conclusions have far-reaching implications for how the government can effectively serve its clients.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815718233/?tag=2022091-20
( The standard wisdom among political scientists has been...)
The standard wisdom among political scientists has been that "iron triangles" operated among regulatory agencies, the regulated industries, and members of Congress, all presumably with a stake in preserving regulation that protected the industries from competition. Despite almost unanimous agreement among economists that such regulation was inefficient, it seemed highly unlikely that deregulation could occur. Yet between 1975 and 1980 major deregulatory changes that strongly favored competition did take place in a wide range of industries. The results are familiar to airline passengers, users of telephone service, and trucking freight shippers, among others. Martha Derthick and Paul J. Quirk ask why this deregulation happened. How did a diffuse public interest prevail over the powerful industry and union interests that sought to preserve regulation? Why did the regulatory commissions, which were expected to be a major obstacle to deregulation, instead take the initiative on behalf of it? And why did influential members of Congress push for even greater deregulation? The authors concentrate on three cases: airlines, trucking, and telecommunications. They find important similarities among the cases and discuss the implications of these findings for two broader topics: the role that economic analysis has played in policy change, and the capacity of the American political system for transcending narrow interests.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815718179/?tag=2022091-20
Derthick, Martha Ann was born on June 20, 1933 in Cleveland. Daughter of Everest Plum and Mabel Esther (Carmichael) Derthick.
Bachelor, Hiram College, 1954. Master of Arts, Radcliffe College, 1956. Doctor of Philosophy, Radcliffe College, 1962.
Historian, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, 1957-1958;
lecturer, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 1963;
lecturer, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 1963-1964;
from instructor to assistant professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1964-1970;
associate professor, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 1970-1971;
senior fellow, Brookings Institute, Washington, 1971-1983;
director governmental studies, Brookings Institute, Washington, 1978-1983;
Julia Allen Cooper professor government and foreign affairs, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, since 1983. Member Congressional Panel on Social Security Organisation, Washington, 1984. Member President Commision on Campus Unrest, Washington, 1970.
Member Administrative Conference of the United States.
( The standard wisdom among political scientists has been...)
(Prize-winning author Martha Derthick draws on the recent ...)
(Book by Derthick, Martha)
(Book by Derthick, Martha)
(Book by Derthick, Martha)
(Book by Derthick, Martha)
Trustee Hiram (Ohio) College, since 1979. Member American Political Science Association (vice president 1979, Kammerer prize 1980, Gaus award 1992), National Academy Social Insurance, American Academy Arts and Sciences.