THE STATE OF PUBLIC-ADMINISTRATION - A PROFESSIONAL HISTORY, 1970-1995

This article surveys developments in the profession of public administ ration in Britain in the 1980s. It explores: publications by analysing the contents of the leading journal; research grants through an analy sis of ESRC awards; teaching through a resume of recent CNAA reports; and employment through a secondary analysis of the Political Studies A ssociation's survey of the political science profession. Where possibl e, I compare the results with the findings of equivalent surveys in th e US. These several surveys support five conclusions. The contents and methods of British Public Administration remained traditional, althou gh theoretical and empirical work was more prominent by the mid-1990s. Funded research declined markedly in the 1980s but revived in the 1990 s, mainly because of ESRC research programmes. Undergraduate teaching was based in the new universities and became increasingly 'bifurcated' between business schools and departments of political science or Publ ic Administration. Both undergraduate and postgraduate student numbers expanded rapidly. The total number of staff grew but did not keep pac e with student numbers and there was a shift from permanent to tempora ry posts. The article closes with some speculative comments on the fut ure of the subject of the profession.