Capacity Traps: Selection, Discretion, and the Persistence of Bureaucratic Capacity

• In Event: Formal Models of American Politics

Brief Overview

By undermining bureaucratic capacity in the short run, presidents can affect the selection of policy-motivated bureaucrats into (or out of) government. We develop a formal model that provides a strategic foundation for “sticky” capacity.

Authors

• Lindsey Gailmard, Stanford University

• Sean Gailmard, University of California-Berkeley