Linking Passive and Active Representation: The Case of Frontline Workers

There is a rich body of research addressing the issue of representative bureaucracy in the passive sense (i.e., the degree to which the social characteristics of the bureaucracy reflect the social characteristics of the populations the bureaucracy serves). More recently, a number of studies have sought to demonstrate a potential linkage between passive and active representation, whereby persons in the bureaucracy push for the needs and interests of the persons they are presumed to represent in the citizenry. The theory of active representation holds, for example, that women as compared with men working in the bureaucracy are more likely to push for programs and issues that benefit women in the general population. The purpose of this research is to test the theory of active representation in welfare offices. More specifically, relying on a model developed by Salzstein (1979), the research examines the linkage between social origins and attitudes or values, which are a critical antecedent to actions and ultimately policy outcomes. Survey data from eleven welfare offices across four states are relied upon to test for thi