Accounting for accountability

2010

This paper examines the status of the accountability research and practice in Public Administration. It focuses on issues related to the widespread and growing use of the concept in PA and related sectors, highlighting the various promises of accountability that make it so attractive to those seeking reform and improvement in governance and administration. It reviews some of the major problems encountered by those studying accountability and concludes with a discussion of some prospects for enhancing our understanding of the subject.

Accountability ensures actions and decisions taken by public officials are subject to oversight so as to guarantee that government initiatives meet their stated objectives and respond to the needs of the community they are meant to be benefiting, thereby contributing to better governance and poverty reduction.

2009

West European Politics, 2010

This paper distinguishes between two main concepts of accountability: accountability as a virtue and accountability as a mechanism. In the former case, accountability is used primarily as a normative concept, as a set of standards for the evaluation of the behaviour of public actors. Accountability or, more precisely, being accountable, is seen as a positive quality in organisations or officials.

Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation, 2023

Accountability is considered a central concept in public administration. Accountability refers to a mechanism that consists of key elements, including the information provision by an agency to its principal, debating between the agency and the principal, and the following consequences based on debate (Bovens, 2007; Brandsma & Schillemans, 2013). This conceptualization of accountability can be looked at in terms of a mechanism rather than a virtue or public value (Bovens, 2010). To pursue the mechanism in an effective and thorough manner could improve the performance of public agencies (Han, 2020). Accountability as a mechanism is related to accountability as a virtue. For example, the more agencies provide quality information about their activities to their principals such as government or citizens, debate the information with them, and achieve the relevant consequences, such as a budget increase or blame, the more the agencies' performance can be enhanced. Transparency and liability in the policy evaluation process can contribute to the accountability mechanism (Koppell, 2005). If enhanced agency performance via the accountability mechanism is what citizens demand, it indicates that agencies' responsiveness to citizens is obtained. As a result, citizens can support the government, which implies democratic accountability as a virtue is ensured. According to the principal-agent perspective, public agencies need to meet the needs of citizens-that is, the principals-which is a critical configuration of public accountability (ibid.). As such, accountability as a mechanism can be a tool to achieve accountability as a value (Dubnick, 2005).

Public Administration, 2008

2005

Journal of Advance Research in Business Management and Accounting (ISSN: 2456-3544), 2019

This research examined the question of accountability; new forms or a democratic deficit. The study examined specially examines the relationship between transparency and accountability, relationship between technocratic decision making and accountability and finally the relationship between proper coordination and accountability. The study is an exploratory study that used mainly secondary sources of information obtained from journals, text books and from the internet. The findings from the review shows that public accountability is important because it provides a democratic means to monitor and control government conduct, prevent the development of concentrations of power, and enhance the learning capacity and effectiveness of public administration. This is because rulers can be investigated and held to account for actions that transgress the law or result in personal enrichment or violate common mores. These tenets are lacking in our public institutions and in broader perspective ...

Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation, 2023

Accountability is considered a central concept in public administration. Accountability refers to a mechanism that consists of key elements, including the information provision by an agency to its principal, debating between the agency and the principal, and the following consequences based on debate (Bovens, 2007; Brandsma & Schillemans, 2013). This conceptualization of accountability can be looked at in terms of a mechanism rather than a virtue or public value (Bovens, 2010). To pursue the mechanism in an effective and thorough manner could improve the performance of public agencies (Han, 2020). Accountability as a mechanism is related to accountability as a virtue. For example, the more agencies provide quality information about their activities to their principals such as government or citizens, debate the information with them, and achieve the relevant consequences, such as a budget increase or blame, the more the agencies' performance can be enhanced. Transparency and liability in the policy evaluation process can contribute to the accountability mechanism (Koppell, 2005). If enhanced agency performance via the accountability mechanism is what citizens demand, it indicates that agencies' responsiveness to citizens is obtained. As a result, citizens can support the government, which implies democratic accountability as a virtue is ensured. According to the principal-agent perspective, public agencies need to meet the needs of citizens-that is, the principals-which is a critical configuration of public accountability (ibid.). As such, accountability as a mechanism can be a tool to achieve accountability as a value (Dubnick, 2005).

Journal of Education and Research