Unraveling Representative Bureaucracy

Abstract

Scholars have provided great theoretical insight and empirical understanding to the concept of representative bureaucracy, documenting the changing makeup of the civil service and demonstrating the importance of representative bureaucracy toward democratic governance. Yet, important questions remain. What specifically does bureaucratic representation mean? Is descriptive representation necessary for policy representation? What characteristics are important? How do we measure representation? Finally, are there any negative effects of representative bureaucracy? This article provides an overview and analysis of the literature focusing on how scholars define and measure representative bureaucracy. Efforts are made to emphasize achievements and highlight areas that need attention.