METROPOLITAN REGIONAL COUNCIL PERFORMANCE IN HOUSING ASSISTANCE POLICY: A TEST OF TWO MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate which of two completing models--one from political science, the other from public administration--more effectively predicts regional council performance redistributing multifamily housing assistance in metropolitan areas since the passage of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The Act sets forth a national policy of deconcentrating assisted housing and provides regional councils new opportunities to influence metropolitan allocation policy in that direction. Political science and public administration literature offer contrasting hypotheses about council performance. According to the latter, stronger organizations will be more effective. Political science does not discount the value of organizational strength, but predicts that without political power councils will be unable to perform effectively. A sample of thirty-six councils was surveyed about their organizational characteristics and involvement in housing assistance. Initial cross tabulations of twenty-two organizational variables and redistribution produced the following finding. Only council use of two nationally inspired intergovernmental policy instruments was related to redistribution. Council use was voluntary, however. Thus, to extend the analysis the effect of a third variable was tested. It was defined as "regional predisposition to accept the redistribution policy" and was measured by the following proxies: regional liberalism, economic balance, and racial homogeneity. Tests showed that while the relationship between council use of the instruments and redistribution was not spurious, it was contingent on regional predispositions. Only in the regions favoring the policy were councils effective. This suggests that councils are unlikely to make a difference in the critical issues troubling urban politics unless national, state, and local governments cede to them the requisite political power. Without it, they are likely to continue to reflect the policy positions of the governments upon whom they depend.