Potential for comparative public opinion research in public administration

Abstract

Public administration and public services have always taken a marginal place in political scientists’ behavioural research. Public administration students, in contrast, tend to focus on political and administrative elites and institutions and have largely ignored citizens in comparative research. In this article, we make a plea for international comparative research on citizens’ attitudes towards public administration from an interdisciplinary perspective. Available international survey material is discussed and main trends in empirical practice and theoretical approaches are outlined, especially those with a potential impact on public sector reform.