Cited by 8,981Public Policy and Administration ResearchPublic Administration and GovernanceSocial Policy and Reform Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services

Open access

Lipsky, Michael·1981·Michigan Law Review

DOI 10.2307/1288305

Open this paper in CoChat — free account Open PDF

Abstract

The critical role of street-level bureaucrats -- Street-level bureaucrats as policy makers -- The problem of resources -- Goals and performance measures -- Relations with clients -- Advocacy and alienation in street-level work -- Rationing services : limitation of access and demand -- Rationing services : inequality in administration -- Controlling clients and the work situation -- The client-processing mentality -- The assault on human services : bureaucratic control, accountability, and the fiscal crisis -- The broader context of bureaucratic relations -- Support for human services : notes for reform and reconstruction -- On managing street-level bureaucracy.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2307/1288305

Cites

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Still being checked.

Sorted by citations

Items 201–300 of 1,014

Navigating the Eternally Unfolding Present
Cook, S. D. N., & Wagenaar, H. (2011) · The American Review of Public Administration · doi:10.1177/0275074011407404 · Cited by 186
Regime Threats and State Solutions
Hassan, M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108858960 · Cited by 188
Electronic Government
Grönlund, Å. (2002) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-93070-819-8 · Cited by 180
Standardisation—the end of professional discretion?
Ponnert, L., & Svensson, K. (2015) · European Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1080/13691457.2015.1074551 · Cited by 179
Locating Distributed Leadership
Thorpe, R., Gold, J., & Lawler, J. (2011) · International Journal of Management Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00303.x · Cited by 185
Drug shop regulation and malaria treatment in Tanzania why do shops break the rules, and does it matter?
Goodman, C. A., Kachur, S. P., Abdulla, S., Bloland, P. B., & MILLS, A. J. (2007) · Health Policy and Planning · doi:10.1093/heapol/czm033 · Cited by 178
Police Officer Job Satisfaction
Johnson, R. R. (2012) · Police Quarterly · doi:10.1177/1098611112442809 · Cited by 176
Understanding Sport Clubs as Sport Policy Implementers
Skille, E. A. (2008) · International Review for the Sociology of Sport · doi:10.1177/1012690208096035 · Cited by 176
Policy and Practice: The Dilemma
Cohen, D. K., Moffitt, S. L., & Goldin, S. (2007) · American Journal of Education · doi:10.1086/518487 · Cited by 175
Serving many masters: Public accountability in private policy implementation
Thomann, E., Hupe, P. L., & Sager, F. (2017) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12297 · Cited by 175
A Model of Learned Implementation
Schofield, J. (2004) · Public Administration · doi:10.1111/j.0033-3298.2004.00395.x · Cited by 177
Governing the gap: Forging safe science through relational regulation
Huising, R., & Silbey, S. S. (2011) · Regulation & Governance · doi:10.1111/j.1748-5991.2010.01100.x · Cited by 174
Professionals, discretion and public sector reform in the UK: re‐visiting Lipsky
Taylor, I., & Kelly, J. (2006) · International Journal of Public Sector Management · doi:10.1108/09513550610704662 · Cited by 173
Emotional Bureaucracies: Emotions Civil Servants, and Immigrants in the Swedish Welfare State
Graham, M. (2002) · Ethos · doi:10.1525/eth.2002.30.3.199 · Cited by 172
Stategraphy: Toward a Relational Anthropology of the State
Thelen, T., Vetters, L., & von Benda-Beckmann, K. (2014) · Social Analysis · doi:10.3167/sa.2014.580302 · Cited by 172
Recontextualising policy discourses: a Bernsteinian perspective on policy interpretation, translation, enactment
Singh, P., Thomas, S., & Harris, J. (2013) · Journal of Education Policy · doi:10.1080/02680939.2013.770554 · Cited by 171
Social Work at the Crossroads
Lymbery, M. (2001) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/31.3.369 · Cited by 171
Factors influencing implementation of the Community Health Fund in Tanzania
Kamuzora, P., & Gilson, L. (2007) · Health Policy and Planning · doi:10.1093/heapol/czm001 · Cited by 171
The New Politics of Social Work Practice: Understanding Context to Promote Change
Reisch, M. S., & Jani, J. S. (2012) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcs072 · Cited by 170
Value positions viewed through the lens of automated decision-making: The case of social services
Ranerup, A., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2019) · Government Information Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.giq.2019.05.004 · Cited by 169
Psychosocial work environment in human service organizations: A conceptual analysis and development of the demand-control model
Söderfeldt, B., Söderfeldt, M., Muntaner, C., O'Campo, P. J., Warg, L., & Ohlson, C. (1996) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00231-6 · Cited by 171
The Political Economy of Administrative Burdens: A Theoretical Framework for Analyzing the Organizational Origins of Administrative Burdens
Peeters, R. (2019) · Administration & Society · doi:10.1177/0095399719854367 · Cited by 169
Authoritarian Police in Democracy
González, Y. M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108907330 · Cited by 170
Holistic Effects in Social Control Decision-Making
Emerson, R. M. (1983) · Law & Society Review · doi:10.2307/3053588 · Cited by 168
When Bureaucracy Meets the Crowd: Studying “Open Government” in the Vienna City Administration
Kornberger, M., Meyer, R. E., Brandtner, C., & Höllerer, M. A. (2017) · Organization Studies · doi:10.1177/0170840616655496 · Cited by 167
Workers, Managers, and Customers
Lopez, S. H. (2010) · Work and Occupations · doi:10.1177/0730888410375683 · Cited by 172
China's low-carbon city initiatives: The implementation gap and the limits of the target responsibility system
Lo, K. (2014) · Habitat International · doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.01.007 · Cited by 165
INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF CORRECTIONAL OFFICER ATTITUDES TOWARD INMATES*
Jurik, N. C. (1985) · Criminology · doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1985.tb00352.x · Cited by 165
Emotion work and boundary maintenance in hospital-based midwifery
Hunter, B. J. (2005) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2004.12.007 · Cited by 165
Reform in the making: the implementation of social policy in prison
(2001) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.38-2800 · Cited by 165
Beyond the fear of discretion: Flexibility, performance, and accountability in the management of regulatory bureaucracies
Pires, R. R. C. (2010) · Regulation & Governance · doi:10.1111/j.1748-5991.2010.01083.x · Cited by 164
A Theory of Governance
Bevir, M. (2013) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 164
2007 Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture—What Makes Education Research “Educational”?
Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2007) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x07312896 · Cited by 164
Factors affecting tourism policy implementation: A conceptual framework and a case study in China
Wang, D., & Ap, J. (2013) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2012.11.021 · Cited by 163
Reconsidering the Urban Disadvantaged
Allard, S. W., & Small, M. L. (2013) · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · doi:10.1177/0002716213479317 · Cited by 163
Devolution, Discretion, and the Effect of Local Political Values on TANF Sanctioning
Fording, R. C., Soss, J., & Schram, S. F. (2007) · Social Service Review · doi:10.1086/517974 · Cited by 163
Epistemological Bricolage: How Practitioners Make Sense of Learning
Freeman, R. (2007) · Administration & Society · doi:10.1177/0095399707301857 · Cited by 169
Theory and interpretation in qualitative studies from general practice: Why and how?
Malterud, K. (2015) · Scandinavian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1177/1403494815621181 · Cited by 162
‘And the rest is implementation.’ Comparing approaches to what happens in policy processes beyond Great Expectations
Hupe, P. L., & Hill, M. J. (2015) · Public Policy and Administration · doi:10.1177/0952076715598828 · Cited by 161
Revanchist Sanitisation or Coercive Care? The Use of Enforcement to Combat Begging, Street Drinking and Rough Sleeping in England
Johnsen, S., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2010) · Urban Studies · doi:10.1177/0042098009356128 · Cited by 161
Discrimination and Administrative Burden in Public Service Markets: Does a Public–Private Difference Exist?
Jilke, S., Dooren, W. V., & Rys, S. (2018) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/muy009 · Cited by 168
Modern Police Tactics, Police-Citizen Interactions, and the Prospects for Reform
Mummolo, J. (2018) · The Journal of Politics · doi:10.1086/694393 · Cited by 161
Public Service Sector: The Compassionate Workplace—The Effect of Compassion and Stress on Employee Engagement, Burnout, and Performance
Eldor, L. (2018) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/mux028 · Cited by 159
Norwegian home care in transition - heading for accountability, off-loading responsibilities
Vabø, M. (2012) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2524.2012.01058.x · Cited by 159
Dealing with the Local State: The Informal Privatization of Street-Level Bureaucracies in Senegal
Blundo, G. (2006) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00502.x · Cited by 159
Asylum Determination in Europe
Gill, N., & Good, A. (2018) · Palgrave socio-legal studies · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94749-5 · Cited by 158
Deserving to a point: Unauthorized immigrants in San Francisco’s universal access healthcare model
Marrow, H. B. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.08.001 · Cited by 157
How Ideas and Institutions Shape the Politics of Public Policy
Béland, D. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108634700 · Cited by 171
Reinforcing Deficit, Journeying Toward Equity
Ishimaru, A. M., Torres, K. E., Salvador, J. E., Lott, J., Williams, D. M., & Tran, C. N. (2016) · American Educational Research Journal · doi:10.3102/0002831216657178 · Cited by 174
Street-Level bureaucracy in public administration: A systematic literature review
Chang, A., & Brewer, G. A. (2022) · Public Management Review · doi:10.1080/14719037.2022.2065517 · Cited by 155
Children's services in the iron cage of performance management: street‐level bureaucracy and the spectre of Švejkism
Wastell, D. G., White, S., Broadhurst, K., Peckover, S., & Pithouse, A. (2010) · International Journal of Social Welfare · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2397.2009.00716.x · Cited by 154
Transparency in search of a theory
Fenster, M. (2015) · European Journal of Social Theory · doi:10.1177/1368431014555257 · Cited by 164
The changing status of school sport and physical education: explaining policy change
Houlihan, B., & Green, M. (2006) · Sport Education and Society · doi:10.1080/13573320500453495 · Cited by 154
Understanding Football Hooliganism : A comparison of Six Western European Football Clubs
Spaaij, R. (2006) · Amsterdam University Press eBooks · doi:10.5117/9789056294458 · Cited by 154
Public Management in Time: A Longitudinal Examination of the Full Range of Leadership Theory
Oberfield, Z. W. (2012) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/mus060 · Cited by 153
Managing collaborative innovation in public bureaucracies
Agger, A., & Sørensen, E. (2016) · Planning Theory · doi:10.1177/1473095216672500 · Cited by 167
Market Orientation and Public Service Performance: New Public Management Gone Mad?
Walker, R. M., Brewer, G. A., Boyne, G. A., & Avellaneda, C. N. (2011) · Public Administration Review · doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02410.x · Cited by 152
Cooptation or Transformation? Local Policy Networks and Federal Regulatory Enforcement
Scholz, J. T., & Wang, C. (2005) · American Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5907.2006.00171.x · Cited by 152
Colonialism, legitimation, and policing in Ghana
Tankebe, J. (2008) · International journal of law, crime and justice · doi:10.1016/j.ijlcj.2007.12.003 · Cited by 152
ONE‐STOP SHOPS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE: THE ADAPTATION OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL FORM IN THREE COUNTRIES
Askim, J., Fimreite, A. L., Moseley, A., & Pedersen, L. H. (2011) · Public Administration · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01933.x · Cited by 150
The Moral Economy of Violence in the US Inner City
Karandinos, G., Hart, L. K., Castrillo, F. M., & Bourgois, P. I. (2013) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/674613 · Cited by 150
Expanding beyond individualism: Engaging critical perspectives on occupation
Gerlach, A., Teachman, G., Rudman, D. L., Aldrich, R. M., & Huot, S. (2017) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1080/11038128.2017.1327616 · Cited by 150
How iron is the iron cage of new penology?
Cheliotis, L. K. (2006) · Punishment & Society · doi:10.1177/1462474506064700 · Cited by 150
The Political Economy of Bureaucratic Overload: Evidence from Rural Development Officials in India
Dasgupta, A., & Kapur, D. (2020) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s0003055420000477 · Cited by 155
Compliance Regimes and Barriers to Behavioral Change
Weaver, R. K. (2013) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12032 · Cited by 148
How to start thinking about investigating power in the organizational settings of policy implementation
Erasmus, E., & Gilson, L. (2008) · Health Policy and Planning · doi:10.1093/heapol/czn021 · Cited by 148
The Anthropology of Power-Wielding Bureaucracies
Heyman, J. (2004) · Human Organization · doi:10.17730/humo.63.4.m9phulu49a1l2dep · Cited by 147
Misalignment in Supervision
Viglione, J., Rudes, D. S., & Taxman, F. S. (2014) · Criminal Justice and Behavior · doi:10.1177/0093854814548447 · Cited by 154
Bureaucratic Activism: Pursuing Environmentalism Inside the Brazilian State
Abers, R. N. (2019) · Latin American Politics and Society · doi:10.1017/lap.2018.75 · Cited by 149
Relational public administration: a synthesis and heuristic classification of relational approaches
Bartels, K. P. R., & Turnbull, N. (2019) · Public Management Review · doi:10.1080/14719037.2019.1632921 · Cited by 147
Street-Level Bureaucrats and the Welfare State
Rice, D. C. (2012) · Administration & Society · doi:10.1177/0095399712451895 · Cited by 146
Engaging with Carol Bacchi
Bletsas, A., Beasley, C., Mackinnon, A., Bacchi, C. L., Goodwin, S. P., Marshall, N., Coveney, J., Putland, C., Gill, Z., & Rönnblom, M. (2012) · University of Adelaide Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9780987171856 · Cited by 146
Decision Making: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry.
Meindl, J. R., Ungson, G. R., & Braunstein, D. N. (1984) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2393045 · Cited by 146
Still Blue‐Collar after all these Years? An Ethnography of the Professionalization of Emergency Ambulance Work
McCann, L., Granter, E., Hyde, P., & Hassard, J. S. (2012) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.12009 · Cited by 145
The Effects of Educational Accountability on Teachers: Are Policies Too Stress Provoking for Their Own Good?
Berryhill, J. C., Linney, J. A., & Fromewick, J. (2009) · International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership · doi:10.22230/ijepl.2009v4n5a99 · Cited by 145
Agency at the Managerial Interface: Public Sector Reform as Institutional Work
Cloutier, C., Denis, J., Langley, A., & Lamothe, L. (2015) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/muv009 · Cited by 145
Dealing with Law in Migration Control
Alpes, M. J., & Spire, A. (2013) · Social & Legal Studies · doi:10.1177/0964663913510927 · Cited by 154
Local policies toward migrants as an expression of Host-Stranger relations: A proposed typology
Alexander, M. (2003) · Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies · doi:10.1080/13691830305610 · Cited by 144
Weaving Straw into Gold: Managing Organizational Tensions Between Standardization and Flexibility in Microfinance
Canales, R. (2013) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2013.0831 · Cited by 144
Excluding illegal migrants in The Netherlands: Between national policies and local implementation
van der Leun, J. (2006) · West European Politics · doi:10.1080/01402380500512650 · Cited by 143
‘They're not the same as us’: midwives' stereotypes of South Asian descent maternity patients
Bowler, I. (1993) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.ep11346882 · Cited by 143
Toward a Theoretical Framework for Ethical Decision Making of Street-Level Bureaucracy: Existing Models Reconsidered
Loyens, K., & Maesschalck, J. (2010) · Administration & Society · doi:10.1177/0095399710362524 · Cited by 142
Calibrating Public Sector Accountability: Translating experimental findings to public sector accountability
Schillemans, T. (2015) · Public Management Review · doi:10.1080/14719037.2015.1112423 · Cited by 142
Multi-level governance of an intractable policy problem: migrants with irregular status in Europe
Spencer, S. (2017) · Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies · doi:10.1080/1369183x.2017.1341708 · Cited by 142
When Risks Cannot Be Seen: Regulating Uncertainty in Emerging Technologies
Roca, J. B., Vaishnav, P., Morgan, M. G., Mendonça, J., & Fuchs, E. R. H. (2016) · Research Policy · doi:10.1016/j.respol.2017.05.010 · Cited by 150
In The Land of the Chiefs : Customary Law, Land Conflicts, and the Role of the State in Peri-Urban Ghana
Ubink, J. (2008) · Amsterdam University Press eBooks · doi:10.5117/9789087280413 · Cited by 142
Mirage of Police Reform: Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy
University at Albany, S., Worden, R. E., McLean, S. J., & John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety, U. (2017) · Luminos · doi:10.1525/luminos.30 · Cited by 141
Risk, responsibility and reconfiguration
McNeill, F., Burns, N., Halliday, S., Hutton, N., & Tata, C. (2009) · Punishment & Society · doi:10.1177/1462474509341153 · Cited by 141
The Australian Landcare movement: towards ‘post-productivist’ rural governance?
Wilson, G. A. (2004) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2004.03.002 · Cited by 141
THE NEW DIVIDED CITY: CHANGING PATTERNS IN EUROPEAN CITIES
van Kempen, R., & Murie, A. (2009) · Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9663.2009.00548.x · Cited by 141
Prevention at the Front Line: How home nurses, pedagogues, and teachers transform public worry into decisions on special efforts
Harrits, G. S., & Møller, M. Ø. (2013) · Public Management Review · doi:10.1080/14719037.2013.841980 · Cited by 148
The Politics of Institutional Weakness in Latin America
Brinks, D. M., Levitsky, S., & Murillo, M. V. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108776608 · Cited by 143
Digital Discretion: Unpacking Human and Technological Agency in Automated Decision Making in Sweden’s Social Services
Ranerup, A., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2022) · Social Science Computer Review · doi:10.1177/0894439320980434 · Cited by 139
Staff‐Prisoner Relationships, Staff Professionalism, and the Use of Authority in Public‐ and Private‐Sector Prisons
Crewe, B., Liebling, A., & Hulley, S. (2014) · Law & Social Inquiry · doi:10.1111/lsi.12093 · Cited by 139
A contingency approach to representative bureaucracy: power, equal opportunities and diversity
Groeneveld, S., & de Walle, S. V. (2010) · International Review of Administrative Sciences · doi:10.1177/0020852309365670 · Cited by 135
Promoting sustainable compliance: Styles of labour inspection and compliance outcomes in Brazil
Pires, R. R. C. (2008) · International Labour Review · doi:10.1111/j.1564-913x.2008.00031.x · Cited by 139
Leadership, Service Reform, and Public-Service Networks: The Case of Cancer-Genetics Pilots in the English NHS
Martin, G. P., Currie, G., & Finn, R. (2008) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/mun016 · Cited by 140
The Strategic Action Field Framework for Policy Implementation Research
Moulton, S., & Sandfort, J. R. (2016) · Policy Studies Journal · doi:10.1111/psj.12147 · Cited by 139
Bureaucratic Job Mobility and The Diffusion of Innovations
Teodoro, M. P. (2008) · American Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00364.x · Cited by 139
État, bureaucratie et gouvernance en Afrique de l'Ouest francophone
de Sardan, J. O. (2004) · Politique africaine · doi:10.3917/polaf.096.0139 · Cited by 138

Authors: Lipsky, M.
Corresponding author: Lipsky, Michael
Venue: Michigan Law Review
Publisher: JSTOR
Published: 1981-03
Volume: 79
Issue: 4
Pages: 811
ISSN: 0026-2234 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.2307/1288305
OpenAlex: W2058869603
Cited by: 8,981
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 126 · 2025: 414 · 2024: 492 · 2023: 496 · 2022: 597 · 2021: 628 · 2020: 670 · 2019: 601 · 2018: 458 · 2017: 407 · 2016: 410 · 2015: 403 · 2014: 419 · 2013: 335 · 2012: 314
FWCI: 67.37
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.gbv.de
Locations: Michigan Law Review (publishedVersion)
Ethics
Topics: Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Public Administration and Governance
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Social Policy and Reform Studies
Keywords: street-level bureaucracy, public service delivery, human services, bureaucratic control, customer relationships, access to public services, bureaucratic accountability, fiscal crisis, public policy implementation, service delivery reform

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Self-check

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks