Political Orientations and Behavior of Public Employees: A Cross-National Comparison

Using data from 18 countries, we study the attitudes, behavior, and characteristics of government employees. Researchers have found mixed support when attempting to determine whether public employees differ from the general population, and they have speculated about the ramifications of any differen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public administration research and theory 2009-10, Vol.19 (4), p.709-730
Main Authors: Jensen, Jason L., Sum, Paul E., Flynn, David T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Budgets
Bureaucrats
Civil Service
Comparative analysis
Corporate bureaucracy
Cross-national analysis
Crossnational Analysis
Employment
Government agencies
Government bureaucracy
Government employees
Ideology
Political Attitudes
Political behavior
Political behaviour
Political candidates
Political ideologies
Political parties
Population
Public administration
Public employment
Public policy
Public sector
Public servants
Studies
Voter behavior
Voter turnout
Voting
Voting Behavior
Voting behaviour
Worker Attitudes
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Summary:Using data from 18 countries, we study the attitudes, behavior, and characteristics of government employees. Researchers have found mixed support when attempting to determine whether public employees differ from the general population, and they have speculated about the ramifications of any differences, including growth in the size of government and budget maximization. We assess whether government employees are comparatively more left leaning in their political ideology, vote at a higher rate, and vote for candidates on the left. In many countries, we find support for the prediction that public employees are more left leaning but we find much less support for the two behavioral predictions related to voting.
ISSN:1053-1858
1477-9803
DOI:10.1093/jopart/mun031