The Effects of Deregulation on State Government Personnel Administration

In: Review of public personnel administration, Band 20, Heft 4, S. 24-40

Abstract

Using a cross-sectional design, this research examines the effects ofpersonnel deregulation on several measures of state government personnel administration In particular, the article examines personnel deregulation's relationship to the economy (measured by per capita wages) and efficiency (measured by the percentage of state spending devoted to state salaries and wages) of the states' personnel function, and to the states' use of discretion over the personnel function (measured as the percentage of part-time employees in a state's workforce) Findings suggest no direct relationship between personnel deregulation and the economy or efficiency of state personnel administration There does appear to be a significant relationship, however, between personnel deregulation and the utilization of discretion states with higher levels of personnel deregulation have significantly higher percentages of part-time employees Findings also suggest the utility of traditional theories (i e , political, economic, and contextual) in explaining measures of state personnel administration Overall, the article argues that it would be prudent to abandon the cost-savings rhetoric that typically accompanies personnel deregulation proposals