A Model of Representative Bureaucracy: Three Essays on Representation

Literature on representative bureaucracy has examined the effects of having bureaucratic representation at different levels of organizations in various policy areas. Even though extensive research indicated that disadvantaged citizens and marginalized groups benefit from having bureaucrats who share the same identities, the mechanisms of representation and what leads to the transitions among different types of representation remain understudied. This dissertation contributes to the literature on representative bureaucracy by examining the factors influence active and symbolic representation through a mixed-method design. The second chapter proposes a Bayesian theoretical framework of bureaucrat’s decision-making on representation. The third chapter applies a part of that framework in the context of healthcare using Florida impatient data. The fourth chapter examines how the identity matching between bureaucrats and clients affects active and symbolic representation by interviewing clients. The fifth chapter explores the links between active and symbolic representation.