The central problem in any bureaucratic organization, whether in the public or private sector, is how to delegate sufficient authority to agents who have expertise and are close to sources of local knowledge, while at the same time maintaining overall control over their behavior.  In an ideal organization, the principals set the organization’s overall goals, […]

I’ve been going on a lot lately about time. My editor’s note for the forthcoming Autumn 2013 issue of The American Interest focuses down on that, and since not everyone who reads this blog also reads the magazine (shame on those of you to whom this applies….we need your money), I offer it here in […]

Both Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant media have for years been drawing public attention to the persecution of Christians in many countries. Secular media have been less attentive; some have ascribed this to an anti-Christian bias; I rather doubt this—more likely it comes from the fact that many otherwise well-informed journalists are less informed on […]

Sometimes it’s not what a statesman says in public that matters most, but both how he says it and the context in which he says it.  Case in point: Secretary Kerry’s remarks yesterday in Islamabad.Having written speeches for two Secretaries of State, I am particularly sensitive to such nuances. I am also sensitive to the […]

Secretary of State John Kerry went uncomfortably off-message yesterday in Pakistan, voicing a surprising level of support for Egypt’s military to journalists in Islamabad: “In effect, they were restoring democracy,” Mr. Kerry said of Egypt’s military to Pakistan’s Geo News during a South Asia tour on Thursday. “The military did not take over, to the […]

The title of this post is taken from a 1994 article by John DiIulio (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 4(3), 1994: 277-320), which criticized the principal-agent framework being used by economists to understand organizational behavior, governance, and political corruption.Under principal-agent, organizations (whether public or private sector) are hierarchical structures in which principals have […]

For my money (no serious pun intended, as you’ll see), today’s big news is yesterday’s District Court decision by Richard J. Leon to slap down the Federal Reserve’s violation of Congress’ intent in implementing the order in Dodd-Frank to reduce the fees banks can charge for the use of debit cards. This sounds arcane, I […]

Pope Francis has been widely praised for his simple ways and modest demeanor. When he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he traveled by public transport. He is now living in a Vatican guest house instead of the lavish Papal Apartments. He also wears ordinary leather shoes, not the traditional velvet slippers. (As far as I […]

It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it’s stunning nonetheless: an entrepreneur in India has managed to bring down the cost of a coronary bypass surgery to $1,583; the same procedure costs $106,385 in one clinic in the United States. Devi Shetty has opened a series of medical centers all across India to serve a population of […]

Media reports indicate that the White House is rethinking President Obama’s travel to Moscow in early September for a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin immediately before Russia hosts the G20 summit in St. Petersburg. Obama indeed should not go to meet with Putin, but the reasons for such a cancelation go well beyond those suggested […]