So You Want to Be In Government?
(December 2000)
A Handbook for Appointed Officials In America's Governments Richard P. Nathan - Author
In American governments, unlike in other countries, there are thick layers of officials who serve on a short-term basis as high officials in appointive offices. Thousands of people serve in these roles. They are “inners and outers” who serve “at the pleasure” of the officials who appointed them.
This small book, really a long essay, is intended to inform people who should be interested in these exciting, challenging leadership ...(Read More)
This book presents a lively retrospective account of a career as an inner and outer in American government and academe by a social scientist who has spent many years conducting evaluation studies of what works and what doesn’t work in domestic public affairs. It uses rich histories of prominent policy issues and descriptions of major studies of welfare and job programs to bring to life crucial questions about how social science can best serve social...(Read More)
Examines the implementation of the 1996 national welfare reform act and summarizes field-research findings.
Focusing on what happens to national policies after they are made, the authors discover that there are surprises in the implementation of the 1996 Personal Responsibility Act and its connections to other social agencies and programs. Bureaucracies typically don’t change this much and this fast. Why did it happen this time around?...(Read More)
Revitalizing America's Cities
(June 1984)
Neighborhood Reinvestment and Displacement Michael H. Schill - Author Richard P. Nathan - Author
In many American cities, middle and upper income people are moving into neighborhoods that had previously suffered disinvestment and decay. The new residents renovate housing, stimulate business, and contribute to the tax base. These benefits of neighborhood revitalization are, in some cases, achieved at a potentially serious cost: the displacement of existing neighborhood residents by eviction, condominium conversion, or as a result of rent incr...(Read More)