Book: Why Government Fails So Often

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Why Government Fails So Often: 
And How It Can Do Better

Peter H. Schuck, the Simeon E. Baldwin Professor Emeritus of Law

(Princeton University Press)

In this book, Peter Schuck provides a wide range of examples and a substantial body of evidence to explain why so many domestic policies go awry and suggests possible solutions that would rectify these issues.

Schuck argues that Washington’s failures are due not to episodic problems or partisan bickering, but rather to deep structural flaws that undermine every administration, Democratic and Republican. These recurrent weaknesses, he maintains, include unrealistic goals, perverse incentives, poor and distorted information, systemic irrationality, rigidity and lack of credibility, a mediocre bureaucracy, powerful and inescapable markets, and the inherent limits of law. To counteract each of these problems, Schuck proposes numerous achievable reforms, from avoiding moral hazard in student loan, mortgage, and other subsidy programs, to empowering consumers of public services, simplifying programs and testing them for cost-effectiveness, and increasing the use of “big data.” The book also examines successful policies — including the G.I. Bill, the Voting Rights Act, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and airline deregulation — to highlight the factors that made them work.

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