Accounting for ministers
Subtitle: scandal and survival in British government, 1945-2007
By: Samuel Berlinski, Torun Dewan, Keith Dowding
Contributors: Dewan, Torun A. (Torun Andreas), 1967-; Dowding, Keith M.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521519724
Subjects: Cabinet officers; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / General; Cabinet system
Description: "Accounting for Ministers uses the tools of modern political science to analyse the factors which determine the fortunes of cabinet ministers. Utilizing agency theory, it describes cabinet government as a system of incentives for prime ministerial and parliamentary rule. The authors use a unique dataset of ministers from 1945 to 2007 to examine the structural and individual characteristics that lead to the selection and durability of ministers. Sensitive to historical context, the book describes the unique features of different prime ministers and the sorts of issues and scandals that lead to the forced exit of ministers. The authors identify the structural factors that determine ministerial performance and tenure, seeing resignation calls as performance indicators. Probing the nature of individual and collective responsibility within Westminster forms of government, the book's rigorous analysis provides powerful new insights into the nature of cabinet government"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. Managing the Cabinet: principal-agent relations in government; 3. The structure of British government; 4. Who serves in government and how long do they last?; 5. The Prime Minister and Cabinet; 6. Performance measures and forced exits; 7. Ministerial performance and tenure; 8. Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.