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ABSTRACTA methodology for determining the relative technical efficiency of public decision making units is described. The methodology allows the identification of those units which are most efficient at converting physical inputs to physical outputs, and the calculation of the relative efficiency of less efficient units based on the results obtained by the most efficient. An illustration of the methodology is supplied using data from 469 municipal police agencies. Some policy suggestions based on the illustration are offered.

A methodology for determining the relative technical efficiency of public decision-making units is described. The methodology allows identification of those units most efficient at converting physical inputs to physical outputs, & calculation of the relative efficiency of less efficient units based on results obtained by the most efficient ones. An illustration of the methodology is supplied using data from 469 municipal police agencies. Some policy suggestions based on this illustration are offered. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 9 References. HA.

Despite advances in measurement and the sophistication of statistical technique, quantitative studies of police behavior seems to have reached the limits of their capacity to explain variance, develop and test theory, and inform policy choices. This paper suggests that further advances in observational studies of police behavior require that researchers account for the cognitive decision processes police use in exercising their discretion. A method for debriefing officers after encounters with the public is described. The results of a preliminary test of the method indicate that valuable in formation can be obtained with quite limited reactivity effects.

One important extension of the IAD framework has been to the study of local public economies. These are multi‐organizational, multi‐level arrangements defined as the set of governmental jurisdictions, public and nonprofit agencies, and private firms that interact in various patterns to provide and produce public goods and services within a specific locality or region. Commonly, the localities or regions studied from this perspective have been U.S. metropolitan areas, often defined as a central city and its surrounding or adjoining county. Localities can be delineated, however, on various terms, and in the IAD framework, it is the geo‐physical nature of a locality that, in substantial part, drives the analysis. One of the strengths of the approach is its capacity to explain local variations in public organization as a function of the geo‐physical diversity of localities, while at the same time developing empirical generalizations and normative principles that apply across diverse regions. What, for example, might the organization and governance of a complex metropolitan area have in common with the organization and governance of a complex protected area, such as the greater Yellowstone eco‐region or the Adirondack Park? Construing both sorts of regions as local public economies can enhance our overall understanding of public organization at the same time that it permits a more nuanced understanding of diverse localities. Such work contributes to the ongoing IAD project of "understanding institutional diversity."