Public Meetings for Efficient Administrative Performance in the United States

The relationship between public participation and administrative performance is controversial. Several studies argue that there is a trade-off between democratic values and administrative efficiency, whereas others find evidence that public participation promotes agency performance. Public meetings are the most widespread method of public participation, but their relationship to administrative performance has rarely been examined statistically. This article uses data on U. S. federal agencies to examine the effect of public meetings on judicial challenges and rulemaking productivity. The results show that public meetings can improve administrative performance by limiting litigation and rulemaking stalemates.