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Organizational Capacity

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  • Michael M. Ting

Abstract

Organizational capacity is critical to the effective implementation of policy. Consequently, strategic legislators and bureaucrats must take capacity into account in designing programs. This article develops a theory of endogenous organizational capacity. Capacity is modeled as an investment that affects a policy's subsequent quality or implementation level. The agency has an advantage in providing capacity investments and may therefore constrain the legislature's policy choices. A key variable is whether investments can be "targeted" toward specific policies. If it cannot, then implementation levels decrease with the divergence in the players' ideal points and policy-making authority may be delegated to encourage investment. If investment can be targeted, then implementation levels increase with the divergence of ideal points if the agency is sufficiently professionalized, and no delegation occurs. In this case, the agency captures more benefits from its investment, and capacity is higher. The agency therefore prefers policy-specific technology. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael M. Ting, 2011. "Organizational Capacity," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 27(2), pages 245-271.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:27:y::i:2:p:245-271
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ewp021
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Charles M. Cameron & John M. de Figueiredo & David E. Lewis, 2016. "Public Sector Personnel Economics: Wages, Promotions, and the Competence-Control Trade-off," NBER Working Papers 22966, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Martino Maggetti & Christian Ewert & Philipp Trein, 2017. "Not Quite the Same," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 670(1), pages 152-169, March.
    3. Greg Sasso, 2020. "Delegation and political turnover," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 32(2), pages 262-288, April.
    4. Foarta, Dana & Ting, Michael M., 2023. "Organizational capacity and project dynamics," Working Papers 339, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    5. Kudzanai CHINOGWЕNYA & Reward UTETE, 2023. "An Assessment Of The Effect Of Strategic Procurement Practices On Organizational Performance Within The Public Sector: Case Of State Entity In Zimbabwe," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(4), pages 31-46, December.
    6. Christopher Carrigan, 2018. "Clarity or collaboration: Balancing competing aims in bureaucratic design," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 30(1), pages 6-44, January.
    7. Ian R Turner, 2017. "Working smart and hard? Agency effort, judicial review, and policy precision," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 29(1), pages 69-96, January.
    8. Dana Foarta, 2021. "How Organizational Capacity Can Improve Electoral Accountability," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 21156, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    9. Rebecca Mino & Kimberly Chung & Dru Montri, 2018. "A look from the inside: perspectives on the expansion of food assistance programs at Michigan farmers markets," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(4), pages 823-835, December.

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