FAJBMRCIWoboielu.docx

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ast Food, Race/Ethnicity, and Income
Geographic Analysis
ason P. Block, MD, MPH, Richard A. Scribner, MD, MPH,
Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc
ackground: Environmental factors may contribute to the
increasing prevalence of obesity, especially in
black and low-income populations. In this paper, the geographic
distribution of fast food
restaurants is examined relative to neighborhood
sociodemographics.
ethods: Using geographic information system software, all fast-
food restaurants within the city
limits of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2001 were mapped. Buffers
around census tracts were
generated to simulate 1-mile and 0.5-mile “shopping areas”
around and including each
tract, and fast food restaurant density (number of restaurants per
square mile) was
calculated for each area. Using multiple regression, the
geographic association between
fast food restaurant density and black and low-income
neighborhoods was assessed, while
controlling for environmental confounders that might also
influence the placement of
restaurants (commercial activity, presence of major highways,

and median home values).
esults: In 156 census tracts, a total of 155 fast food restaurants
were identified. In the regression
analysis that included the environmental confounders, fast-food
restaurant density in
shopping areas with 1-mile buffers was independently
correlated with median household
income and percent of black residents in the census tract.
Similar results were found for
shopping areas with 0.5-mile buffers. Predominantly black
neighborhoods have 2.4
fast-food restaurants per square mile compared to 1.5
restaurants in predominantly white
neighborhoods.
onclusions: The link between fast food restaurants and black
and low-income neighborhoods may
contribute to the understanding of environmental causes of the
obesity epidemic in these
populations.
(Am J Prev Med 2004;27(3):211–217) © 2004 American Journal
of Preventive Medicine
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ntroduction
hile obesity has a range of causes from ge-
netic to environmental, the environment is a
key factor in the rapid development of the
besity epidemic.1– 4 Increased food consumption may
e the most important of recent changes leading to an
besogenic environment.5 Despite stable physical activ-
ty patterns during the last 20 years,6,7 Americans are
ating more,8 portion sizes have increased substantial-
y,9 and inexpensive, high-calorie food is now
biquitous.
The growth of the fast-food industry has been an
mportant environmental inducement for increased
ood consumption. In the last 20 years, the percentage
rom the Tulane University School of Medicine, Department of
nternal Medicine (Block, DeSalvo), New Orleans, Louisiana,
and
ouisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Department
of
ublic Health and Preventive Medicine (Scribner), New Orleans,
ouisiana

Address correspondence to: Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc,
epartment of Internal Medicine, Tulane University School of
Med-
cine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, SL 16, New Orleans LA 70112. E-
mail:
[email protected]
The full text of this article is available via AJPM Online at
dww.ajpm-online.net.
m J Prev Med 2004;27(3)
2004 American Journal of Preventive Medicine • Published by
f calories attributable to fast-food consumption has
ncreased from 3% to 12% of total calories consumed
n the United States.10 U.S. spending on fast food has
isen from $6 billion to $110 billion over the last 30
ears.11
Fast food is notably high in fat content,12 and studies
ave found associations between fast food intake and
ncreased body mass index (BMI) and weight gain.13,14
hese same studies reported increased consumption of
ast food among nonwhite and low-income popula-
ions. Despite these relationships between income,
ace/ethnicity, obesity, and fast food, limited research
o date has examined such associations on an ecologic
evel. Morland et al.15 examined the relationship be-
ween fast-food restaurants, race/ethnicity, and wealth
s an ancillary analysis in a large ongoing study based in
he United States, and discovered no consistent rela-
ionship between wealth, measured with census tract
edian home values, and fast-food restaurants. Addi-
ionally, they found no difference between the num-

ers of fast-food restaurants in black and white neigh-
orhoods. Reidpath et al.16 found diverging results in a
tudy addressing fast-food restaurant density and me-
ian individual income in Melbourne, Australia. Resi-
2110749-3797/04/$–see front matter
Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2004.06.007
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2
ents of the lowest-income neighborhoods had 2.5
imes more exposure to fast-food restaurants than those
iving in the most affluent neighborhoods. The current
tudy was an assessment of whether black and low-
ncome neighborhoods have increased geographic ex-
osure to fast food restaurants.

ethods
efinition and Identification
esearchers defined fast-food restaurants as chain restaurants
hat have two or more of the following characteristics: expe-
ited food service, takeout business, limited or no wait staff,
nd payment tendered prior to receiving food. The national
hain restaurants included had at least two restaurants in
rleans Parish (parish is the unique Louisiana designation
or a county; the boundaries of Orleans Parish approximate
he City of New Orleans), and tend to be recognized as
ast-food restaurants in the media and by the general public.
dditionally, one local fast-food chain that has five restau-
ants in Orleans Parish was included (Table 1). These criteria
llowed for inclusion of the fast-food restaurants that cap-
ured the largest portion of the fast-food market.
Between August and October 2001, researchers identified
estaurants by examining the log books for the Orleans Parish
anitation Department, which inspects all chain food outlets
n the parish, by reviewing the local Yellow Pages phone book,
nd by accessing restaurant locator engines on fast food chain
ebsites.
eocoding and Census Tract Inclusion Criteria
sing geographic information system software, all fast food
estaurants were geocoded in Orleans Parish.17 Geocoding is
technique now widely used in public health research to
reate electronic mapping of exposure to physical structures
uch as toxic waste plants, alcohol outlets, or in this study,

able 1. Fast-food restaurant chains included in the
nalysis
ame
Number of
restaurants in
Orleans Parisha
ud’s Broiler 5
urger King 16
hick-fil-A 3
hurch’s Chicken 11
omino’s Pizza 11
entucky Fried Chicken (KFC) 7
cDonald’s 18
apa John’s 4
izza Hut 9
opeyes Chicken and Biscuits 23
ally’s Hamburgers 9
ubway 23
aco Bell 6
endy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers 10
otal 155
Parish is the unique Louisiana designation for a county; the
bound-
ries of Orleans Parish approximate the City of New Orleans.
ast-food restaurants. The geocoded restaurants were im- t
12 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 27, Num
orted onto a census tract map for Orleans Parish using
apInfo, version 6.2 (Matchware Technologies Inc., Troy NY,
000). Previous small-area research guided the selection of

ensus tracts as the model of a neighborhood in this
tudy.17,18
The analysis was restricted to those census tracts with
1) �500 people, (2) �2000 people per square mile, and
3) �200 alcohol outlets per 1000 people. Researchers used
lcohol outlet density as a proxy for commercial activity.
hese restrictions ensured that neighborhoods analyzed are
imilar (i.e., urban and residential). Despite these restric-
ions, fast-food restaurants in the excluded tracts are included
n the analysis when these restaurants were located within the
shopping area” (described below) of a neighboring census
ract that met the inclusion criteria.
evels of Analysis
ecause of interest in the association between environmental
actors and neighborhood demographics, researchers used
ariables on two geographic levels. The first level was the
ensus tract, where the population variables were measured.
hese variables—the percentage of black residents and me-
ian household income— describe the demographics of the
eighborhoods. The second level was the “shopping area.”
n this level were the environmental variables, which de-
cribe geographic exposures to those living in the neighbor-
oods: fast-food restaurant density (FFRD), alcohol outlet
ensity, presence of interstate or major state highways, and
edian home value as a proxy for property values.
We created “shopping areas” by producing buffers around
ensus tracts. These shopping areas, which included the area
f the census tract and the area between the buffer and the
order of the tract, provide a more realistic representation of
eographic exposure than census tracts alone because people

ften have to travel outside of their census tract to purchase
oods. For example, many of the fast-food restaurants were
ocated just beyond the border of a particular tract and would
ave been easily accessible to and patronized by many indi-
iduals living within that census tract. However, these restau-
ants would have been excluded in the calculation of geo-
raphic exposure for that tract unless buffers were used. In
act, 62% of the census tracts have no fast-food restaurants
ocated directly within their borders. However, only 2% of the
hopping areas with 1-mile buffers have zero fast food restau-
ants. For a sensitivity analysis, fast-food restaurant density was
xamined separately by creating buffers that were 1 mile and
.5 mile from the census tract borders.
ariables
sing multiple regression in SPSS (Graduate Pack 10.0 for
indows, SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, 1999), the geographic
ssociation between FFRD and black and low-income neigh-
orhoods was assessed after controlling for other key environ-
ental variables: alcohol outlet density, presence of highways,
nd median home value. These variables were included as
ovariates in the model because they might influence the
lacement of fast-food restaurants. All variables in the analysis
ere log transformed, except for the dichotomous highway
ariable, to adjust for skew and to allow for elasticity calcula-
ions. Elasticity calculations show that for a given percentage
ber 3

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hange in the independent variable, the dependent variable
hanges by a certain percentage.
The dependent variable—FFRD—was calculated as the
umber of restaurants per square mile in the shopping area.
FRDs were evaluated separately for shopping areas with
-mile and 0.5-mile buffers.
The primary predictor variables were the following popu-
ation variables: neighborhood percentage of black residents
nd median household income. We used census tract esti-
ates for 1999, which were based on the 1990 census with
djustments made by a commerical vendor of census data
Claritas Trend Map, San Diego CA, 1999).
The environmental variables controlled for in the analysis
equired geocoding, and were collected at the level of the
hopping area. Despite the classification of median home
alue as an environmental variable, it was only available at the
evel of the census tract.
We calculated the alcohol outlet density in the same
anner as the FFRD for each shopping area. Locations of
lcohol outlets were available in 1999 from the Louisiana

lcohol Policy Needs Assessment Database.17 The database
haracterizes alcohol outlets as on-sale (sites where alcohol is
old for consumption on the premises, such as restaurants
nd bars) and off-sale (sites where alcohol is sold for con-
umption away from the premises, such as liquor or grocery
tores). A summary alcohol outlet variable was created includ-
ng both on-sale and off-sale outlets as a proxy variable for
ommerical activity. Controlling for commerical activity in
his study was necessary because fast-food chains may place
estaurants in highly commercial areas due to zoning restric-
ions. Alcohol outlets are an ideal proxy measure for com-
ercial activity in Louisiana because these outlets include
ars, restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores, drug stores,
nd convenience stores.
The highway variable accounted for the presence of an
nterstate highway or state highway in each shopping area.
he presence of highways may dictate fast food restaurant
ocation. Median home values also may influence the place-
ent of fast food restaurants because to control costs, chains
ay locate on land with lower property values.
egression Analysis
n the regression analysis, the researchers expected that the
nvironmental covariates would explain a large percentage of
he variance in FFRD. Therefore, a base regression model was
onstructed with FFRD as the dependent variable and the
nvironmental variables as the predictor variables. The pop-
lation variables—median household income and the per-
entage of black residents—were sequentially added to the
odel to determine their effect on explained variance in
FRD. All variables were part of the final model.

esults
escriptive
f the 184 census tracts, a total of 156 met the inclusion
riteria. Table 1 provides a list of fast food chains and
umbers of restaurants in Orleans Parish. The census
ract map of Orleans Parish in Figure 1 shows both the a
lacement of fast food restaurants as well as excluded
nd included census tracts.
The mean FFRD for shopping areas defined with a
-mile buffer was 2.48 fast food restaurants per square
ile; the mean FFRD for shopping areas defined with a
.5-mile buffer was 2.54 restaurants per square mile. In
ensus tracts, the mean percentage of black residents
as 60.6%. The mean household income at the census
ract level was $25,450. Table 2 contains all relevant
escriptive information.
ivariate Analysis
pearman’s rank correlation coefficients were signifi-
ant when comparing FFRD in the shopping areas with
-mile buffers to the neighborhood percent of black
esidents and median household income (r �0.160,
�0.046 for percent black; r ��0.275, p ��0.001 for
edian household income). Similarly, correlations
ere significant in shopping areas with 0.5-mile buffers
r �0.180, p ��0.024 for percent black; r ��0.266,
��0.001 for median household income). Correla-
ion coefficients also were significant when comparing
FRDs to the presence of highways and alcohol outlet

ensities (all p values �0.001).
egression
egression statistics are shown in Table 3. Using the
hopping areas with 1-mile buffers, the base model
Model 1: alcohol outlet density, presence of highways,
edian home value as predictor variables) explained
5.0% of the variance in FFRD. For Models 2 and 3,
edian household income and the percentage of black
esidents were added to the base model, respectively.
oth variables were significant predictors of FFRD after
ontrolling for the base model variables. Median house-
old income explained an additional 3.3% of the
ariance in FFRD above that of the base model (F test
hange�7.87; p �0.006), and the percentage of black
esidents explained 19.1% of the variance above that of
he base model (F test change�52.7; p �0.001). When
ll variables were included together in Model 4, median
ousehold income was no longer significant. However,
he percentage of black residents remained a signifi-
ant predictor of FFRD. Adding the percentage of black
esidents to Model 2 explained an additional 16% of
he variance (F test change�44.2; p �0.001).
The sensitivity analysis found similar results for the
hopping areas with 0.5-mile buffers. However, median
ousehold income was not a significant predictor of
FRD in Model 2 after controlling for the base model
ariables.
The regression equation for shopping areas with
-mile buffers demonstrates that for every 10% increase

n fast food restaurant density, neighborhood median
ousehold income decreased by 4.8% and the percent-
ge of black residents increased by 3.7%. The regres-
Am J Prev Med 2004;27(3) 213
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ion equation was solved to determine how many more
ast food restaurants are located in predominately black
eighborhoods compared to predominately white
eighborhoods. Neighborhoods with 80% black resi-
ents had 2.4 fast food restaurants per square mile
ompared to 1.5 restaurants per square mile in neigh-
orhoods with 20% black residents. In this study, the
ean size of a shopping area with a 1-mile buffer was
.2 square miles, with a range of 4.2 to 15.0 square
iles. Therefore, for an average-sized neighborhood
hopping area, predominantly black neighborhoods
ere exposed to six more fast food restaurants than
redominantly white neighborhoods.
iscussion
ast-food restaurants are geographically associated with
redominately black and low-income neighborhoods
fter controlling for commercial activity, presence of

ighways, and median home values. The percentage of
lack residents is a more powerful predictor of FFRD
igure 1. Census tract map of Orleans Parish, Louisiana.
han median household income. Predominantly black S
able 2. Population and environmental variable
escriptives
ariable Mean SD
opulation
Percentage of black
residents
60.6% 32.9%
Median household income $ 28,282 $17,211
nvironmental: shopping areas with 1-mile buffer
Fast-food restaurant density
(restaurants/square
mile)
2.48 1.6
Alcohol outlet density
(outlets/square mile)
30.8 25.7
Percentage of census tracts
with highway(s) in
shopping area

81.4% 39.0%
Median home valuea $101,224 $61,947
nvironmental: shopping areas with 0.5-mile buffer
Fast-food restaurant density
(restaurants/square mile)
2.54 2.0
Alcohol outlet density
(outlets/square mile)
33.3 36.1
Percentage of census tracts
with highway(s) in
shopping area
66.7% 47.3%
Median home valuea $101,224 $61,947
Median home value is an environmental variable but was
available
nly at the level of the census tract.
D, standard deviation.
ber 3
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1
2
3
4
S
eighborhoods (i.e., 80% black) have one additional
ast-food restaurant per square mile compared with
redominantly white neighbohoods (i.e., 80% white).
hese findings suggest that black and low-income pop-
lations have more convenient access to fast food. More
onvenient access likely leads to the increased con-
umption of fast food in these populations,13,14 and
ay help to explain the increased prevalence of obesity
mong black and low-income populations.
Researchers chose to evaluate geographic associa-
ions with FFRD in shopping areas with 1-mile and
.5-mile buffers because of an uncertainty of how far
ndividuals were willing to routinely travel outside their
ensus tract to purchase food. The use of shopping
reas defined by 1-mile buffers seems more justified
ased on reports regarding McDonald’s strategy for
ranchise locations. McDonald’s has established a res-
aurant within a 3- to 4-minute trip for the average
merican.19 Under the assumption that an individual
rives 25 miles per hour, a McDonald’s should be
ocated within approximately 1.5 miles of the average
merican’s home. This distance is more consistent with

hopping areas with 1-mile buffers than those with
.5-mile buffers, thereby potentially explaining the
ore powerful results for the 1-mile buffer analysis.
eographic Associations
orland et al.15 reported contrasting results from the
urrent study, but their study diverged from this study
n several ways. First, they did not adjust their analysis
or other environmental factors that might influence
he placement of fast food restaurants. In the bivariate
nalysis, a significant (although weak) relationship be-
ween FFRD and the percentage of black residents
xisted, which increased substantially after controlling
able 3. Regression models for shopping areas with 1-mile b
Model Variables included
Coe
(�)
Alcohol outlet density 0
Highway 0
Median home value �0
Median household income �0
Highway 0
Median home value 0
Percentage of black residents 0
Highway 0
Median home value 0
Median household income �0
Percentage of black residents 0
Highway 0

Median home value 0
E, standard error.
or environmental confounders, including alcohol out- h
et density, presence of highways, and median home
alues. Second, they did not utilize shopping areas as
he area of geographic exposure for a neighborhood.
his method is important because many census tracts
o not have any fast food restaurants; however, people
esiding in these tracts are still geographically exposed
o restaurants that are nearby but not within the tract
oundaries. By creating shopping areas, geographic
xposure is more effectively modeled. Third, the mea-
ure of wealth in the current study was median house-
old income. No consistent relationships between
FRD and median home value (the measure of wealth
sed by Morland et al.15) were found in this study
ither.
Other geographic research has shown associations
etween neighborhood demographics and exposure to
onsumer goods that contribute to negative health
onsequences. As previously discussed, Reidpath et al.16
ound similar results to this study when comparing fast
ood restaurant density to median household income
mong neighborhoods in Melbourne, Australia.
aVeist and Wallace,20 as well as Scribner et al.,21 found
hat liquor stores are more commonly located in pre-
ominantly black and low-income neighborhoods.
ther studies have found links between higher densi-
ies of alcohol outlets and increased rates of alcohol-
elated outcomes, such as motor vehicle crashes22 and
ssaultive violence.23 For food availability, Morland et

l.15 found that wealthy and predominantly white
eighborhoods have more supermarkets and fewer
eighborhood grocery stores than poor and predomi-
antly black neighborhoods, an important finding be-
ause research indicates that supermarkets have more
heart-healthy” foods when compared to neighborhood
rocery stores and convenience stores.24 Still others
nt
SE
Two-
sided p
values
Adjusted r2
of model
0.065 0.006 0.250
0.071 �0.001
0.128 0.352
0.173 0.006 0.283
0.065 0.025
0.070 �0.001
0.214 0.089
0.051 �0.001 0.441
0.057 �0.001
0.061 �0.001
0.152 �0.001
0.158 0.221 0.442
0.053 �0.001
0.059 �0.001
0.062 �0.001
0.199 �0.001
uffer

fficie
.183
.407
.120
.485
.147
.375
.367
.368
.256
.364
.631
.195
.350
.238
.353
.790
ave demonstrated a positive association between in-

Am J Prev Med 2004;27(3) 215
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ome and the availability of “healthful products” in
rocery stores at the community (city or county) level.25
ast Food and Obesogenic Environment
esearchers have implicated environmental influences
n body weight as the primary contributor to the
evelopment of the obesity epidemic.3,4,26 The in-
reased availability and consumption of food is a major
omponent of an increasingly obesogenic
nvironment.
Despite a decrease in the fat content (as a percentage
f total calories) of the average American’s diet, Amer-
cans are consuming more calories. The U.S. Depart-
ent of Agriculture reported an increase in the average
aily food energy intake from 1854 calories to 2002
alories between 1977–1978 and 1994 –1996.8 The
rowth of “dining out” has significantly contributed to
his rise.10 In 1995, “away-from-home” foods provided
4% of total caloric intake and 38% of total fat intake
ompared to 18% for both categories in 1977–1978.
ast food is a major component of the away-from-home

ood category, accounting for 12% of total caloric
ntake for Americans in 1995 compared to only 3% in
977–1978.
Fast-food consumption is also related to obesity, and
his relationship is strongest among low-income indi-
iduals.13,14 All of this supporting evidence, coupled
ith the results of this study, suggests that fast food may
lay a role in the obesity epidemic among low-income
nd black communities.
ood Availability and Diet
hese results suggest that black and low-income neigh-
orhoods have increased exposure to fast food.
hether increased availability of fast food promotes
onsumption is not the subject of this study. However,
heoretically, more convenient access to fast food cou-
led with the decreased availability of healthy food in
lack and low-income neighborhoods may increase
onsumption of unhealthy foods. In keeping with this
heoretical construct, Cheadle et al.25,27 reported that
ood availability in grocery stores was linked to the diet
f residents in the nearby areas. They found that more
healthful products” in grocery stores were associated
ith increased consumption of “healthful products” by
ndividuals living near those stores. Another study18
eported that black Americans consume one third
ore fruits and vegetables for every additional super-
arket found in their census tract.
Evidence also suggests that low-income and nonwhite
ndividuals do consume more fast food and unhealthy

ood. French et al.13 noted that low income and non-
hite ethnicity were associated with increased fast food
onsumption. According to a British study, lower socio-
comic groups had diets with less vegetables and fruit, b
nd more meat products, fats, and sugars compared to
igher socioeconomic groups.28
One explanation for these findings is that restaurants
nd stores adapt their selection to the food preferences
f individuals living nearby. Therefore, they may not
ffer healthy food options in black and low-income
eighborhoods because their market research indicates
hat demand for such products is weak in those com-
unities. However, the opposite might also be true.
ood preferences could partly be dictated by available
election in a neighborhood, especially because of the
ower access to transportation in black and low-income
ommunities.15,29 Likewise, because of limited financial
esources, black and low-income populations may sim-
ly seek out the most calories for the lowest price.
imitations and Future Research
espite an exhaustive effort to identify all fast-food
estaurants in Orleans Parish by searching telephone
irectories, websites, and the Orleans Parish Sanitation
epartment records, we may have missed some restau-
ants. However, it is unlikely that we under-counted
estaurants disproportionately based on demographic

haracteristics of neighborhoods (i.e., nondifferential
election bias).
This study’s definition of fast-food restaurants also
xcludes some similar restaurants. Many local restau-
ants may have expedited food service but are not
onnected to a chain, and some national chains may
ave only one restaurant in Orleans Parish. In an
ngoing study of fast-food restaurants and full-service
estaurants, we have discovered that the fast-food res-
aurants included in this study comprise 67% of all
imilar restaurants in Orleans Parish (including restau-
ants that do not fit this study’s inclusion criteria such
s single-site, fast-food restaurants, and chain, full-
ervice restaurants identified as serving fried chicken,
po-boys,” sandwiches, fries, burgers, hot dogs, shakes,
izza). These excluded restaurants may be located in
reas of the parish that have different demographic
haracteristics than what was discovered for those res-
aurants included in this study. However, major fast-
ood chains with a significant presence in the area
hould serve the great majority of fast food meals and,
herefore, are most relevant to this analysis. Further-
ore, no data exist to suggest that these other restau-
ants serve different areas of the parish.
Despite this study’s recognition of an association
etween FFRD and black and low-income neighbor-
oods, the directionality of the relationship cannot be
etermined by this study. For example, neighborhood
emographics could be temporally shaped by the type
f restaurants in the area (making a neighborhood
ore or less desirable) or other local features associ-
ted with these restaurants. Likewise, restaurants could

e established within neighborhoods that demograph-
ber 3
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2
cally fit a restaurant’s target audience. Future research
hould examine the association between fast food res-
aurants and neighorhood characteristics in a longitu-
inal manner. Only by tracking the demographics of
eighorhoods over time and identifying the establish-
ent date of fast food restaurants can researchers
etermine a temporal relationship.
This study’s focus on one parish/county limits the
eneralizability of results. Orleans Parish has a very
arge poor and black population. The link between
ast-food restaurants and these neighborhoods may
xist due to unique characteristics of this region. Fu-
ure research should attempt to duplicate this study’s
ndings in diverse regions.
Studies should also examine the geographic associa-
ion between neighborhood fast-food restaurant den-
ity and obesity rates at both the neighborhood and
ndividual levels. The ability to geocode and use multi-
evel designs now make this type of study possible.17
onclusions
ast-food restaurants are more commonly located in
lack and low-income neighborhoods. This link may
uggest environmental exposure to fast food as a con-
ributor to the high prevalence of obesity in black and
ow-income populations.
eferences
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2. Bouchard C. Current understanding of the etiology of
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nongenetic factors. Am J Clin Nutr 1991;53:1561S–5S.
3. Hill J, Peters J. Environmental contributions to the obesity
epidemic.
Science 1998;280:1371– 4.
What This Study Adds . . .
The connection between fast-food restaurants
and black and low-income neighborhoods may
contribute to the understanding of environmen-
tal causes of the obesity epidemic in these popu-
lations.
This study is the first to document that predom-
inantly black neighborhoods have higher densi-
ties of fast-food restaurants compared to largely
white neighborhoods.
Additionally, this study contributes to the body
of literature that has linked high fast-food restau-
rant density to low-income neighborhoods.
4. Koplan J, Dietz W. Caloric imbalance and public health
policy. JAMA
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5. Swinburn B, Egger G, Raza F. Dissecting obesogenic
environments: the
development and application of a framework for identifying and
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ing environmental interventions for obesity. Prev Med
1999;29:563–70.
6. Mortality Statistics Branch, National Center for Health
Statistics. Physical
activity trends—United States, 1990 –1998. MMWR Morb
Mortal Wkly Rep
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7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical activity
and health: a
report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta GA: U.S. Department of
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8. Tippett K, Cleveland L. How current diets stack up—
comparison with
dietary guidelines. In: Frazao E, ed. America’s eating habits:
changes and
consequences. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
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59 – 63 (Information Bulletin A1B-750).
9. Young L, Nestle M. The contribution of expanding portion
sizes to the US
obesity epidemic. Am J Public Health 2002;92:246 –9.
0. Lin B, Frazao E. Away-from-home foods increasingly
important to quality of
American diet. Washington DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1999
(Agriculture Information Bulletin 749).
1. Schlosser E. Fast food nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin,
2001.

2. Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Nutrition. Fast-
food fare.
N Engl J Med 1989;321:752– 6.
3. French S, Harnack L, Jeffery R. Fast food restaurant use
among women in
the Pound of Prevention study: dietary, behavioral and
demographic
correlates. Int J Obes 2000;24:1353–9.
4. Jeffery R, French S. Epidemic obesity in the United States:
are fast foods
and television viewing contributing? Am J Public Health
1998;88:277– 80.
5. Morland K, Wing S, Diez Roux A, Poole C. Neighborhood
characteristics
associated with the location of food stores and food service
places. Am J
Prev Med 2002;22:23–9.
6. Reidpath D, Burns C, Garrand J, Mahoney M, Townsend M.
An ecological
study of the relationship between social and environmental
determinants
of obesity. Health Place 2002;8:141–5.
7. Scribner R, Cohen D, Fisher W. Evidence of a structural
effect for alcohol
outlet density: a multilevel analysis. Alcohol Clin Exp Res
2000;24:188 –95.
8. Morland K, Wing S, Diez Roux A. The contextual effect of
the local food
environment on residents’ diets: the atherosclerosis risk in

communities
study. Am J Public Health 2000;92:1761–7.
9. Lubow A. Steal this burger. New York Times, 19 April 1998,
p. 38.
0. LaVeist T, Wallace J. Health risk and inequitable distribution
of liquor
stores in African American neighborhood. Soc Sci Med
2000;51:613–7.
1. Scribner R, Cohen D, Kaplan S, Allen S. Alcohol availability
and homicide
in New Orleans: conceptual considerations for small area
analysis of the
effect of alcohol outlet density. J Stud Alcohol 1999;66:310 – 6.
2. Scribner R, MacKinnon D, Dwyer D. Alcohol outlet density
and motor
vehicle crashes in Los Angeles County cities. J Stud Alcohol
1994;55:447–53.
3. Scribner R, MacKinnon D, Dwyer J. The risk of assaultive
violence and
alcohol availability in Los Angeles County. Am J Public Health
1995;85:335– 40.
4. Sallis J, Nader R, Atkins J. San Diego surveyed for heart
healthy foods and
exercise facilities. Public Health Rep 1986;101:216 – 8.
5. Cheadle A, Psaty B, Curry S, et al. Community-level
comparisons between
the grocery store environment and individual dietary practices.
Prev Med
1991;20:250 – 61.

6. Poston W, Foreyt J. Obesity is an environmental issue.
Atherosclerosis
1999;146:201–9.
7. Cheadle A, Psaty B, Curry S, et al. Can measures of grocery
store
environment be used to track community-level dietary changes?
Prev Med
1993;22:361–72.
8. James W, Nelson M, Ralph A, Leather S. The contribution of
nutrition to
inequalities in health. BMJ 1997;314:1545–9.
9. Turrell G. Structural, material, and economic influences of
the food
purchasing choices of socioeconomic groups. Aust N Z J Public
Health
1996;20:11–7.
Am J Prev Med 2004;27(3) 217
Fast Food, Race/Ethnicity, and
IncomeIntroductionMethodsDefinition and
IdentificationGeocoding and Census Tract Inclusion
CriteriaLevels of AnalysisVariablesRegression
AnalysisResultsDescriptiveBivariate
AnalysisRegressionDiscussionGeographic AssociationsFast
Food and Obesogenic EnvironmentFood Availability and
DietLimitations and Future ResearchConclusionsReferences
C H A P T E R 1
Intellectual Heritage and
Theoretical Developments

IS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AN ART
OR A SCIENCE?
It is necessary to deny . . . that empiricism is the essence of
science.
—Dwight Waldo, The Administrative State
The conclusions reached by a particular school of modern
philosophy—logical positivism—will be accepted as a starting
point.
—Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behavior
There are innumerable accounts of the historical develop-ments
in the field of public administration (see Frederickson
and Smith 2003; Stillman 1999).1 Every introductory textbook
in public
administration chronicles the various periods or stages of
development in
the field (e.g., the orthodox or classical period; the
administrative behavior
movement), especially from the standpoint of practice. Indeed,
the field of
public administration emanates from practice, or the practical
activity of
administration and management in the public sector. In the
United States,
Woodrow Wilson is generally credited with a shift in focus
toward ‘‘The
Study of Public Administration’’ as is further discussed below.
By all accounts there tends to be a consensus in the field that
there is
no single or central core theory of public administration but that
it can

instead be characterized by its rich intellectual heritage (see,
e.g., Rosen-
bloom 1983b). In effect there is a fundamental lack of
agreement regarding
the scope of public administration. Some have argued that this
dissonance
has led to an identity or intellectual crisis in the field (e.g.,
Ostrom 2008).2
But public administration is not unique here, and indeed, this
has not
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inquiry and philosophies of knowledge. Retrieved from
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE AND THEORETICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
diminished the stature of our applied field. As will be addressed
in this
book, other branches of the social sciences are afflicted by this
same multiple-
personality syndrome. For example, sociology has been
beleaguered by
conflicting theoretical perspectives, which have clouded its
intellectual
boundaries as a field (see Collins 1986). Moreover, the
dissention among
sociologists about their identity as a field is ‘‘exacerbated by
the philosophi-
cal and methodological controversies about the feasibility and
quality of
social scientific research’’ (Crane and Small 1992, 199). Thus,
other social
science disciplines face quandaries similar to that of public
administration.
The lack of a core theory has had implications for both the
practice and
study of public administration.3 In particular, it has led to a
multitude of
approaches to or theories about how public administrators
(practitioners)
ought to administrate and how public administrationists
(scholars) ought
to study public administration or engage in theory building and

testing.4
For example, in his seminal piece ‘‘The Study of Public
Administration,’’
Woodrow Wilson in 1887 endeavored to prescribe that in order
to promote
efficiency, public administrators should not engage in the
enterprise of
politics. Thus was born his famous (infamous?)
politics/administration
dichotomy, which continues to be addressed, ad nauseam, in
public admin-
istrative teachings today.
Other broad frameworks of public administration called for
different
administrative action or behavior. For example, the human
relations school
pointed to the importance of human behavior and in particular
the inter-
actions between workers and management. Motivational and
psychological
theories, as opposed to economic ones, were deemed critical for
studying
and understanding the behavior of people in organizations (see,
e.g., Follett
1924; Metcalf and Urwick 1942).
Wilson’s single piece of scholarship, which received virtually
no atten-
tion in its day, is ascribed to the advent of public administration
as a
‘‘discipline’’ or educational endeavor—what Waldo (1980) later
called the
‘‘self-conscious’’ study of public administration.5 However, it
is important

that Wilson’s discourse was clearly set in the context of
practice, not study.
It endorsed rational, instrumental behavior and was followed by
a series
of writings from others advancing the same prescriptions for
administrative
behavior, or the practice of public administration, which were
cumulatively
labeled ‘‘classical’’ or ‘‘orthodox’’ theory. Considered among
the most
notable are the deliberations of Frederick Taylor (1911) and his
call for
scientific management, a doctrine supporting a reliance on
‘‘science’’ for
determining the best way of performing jobs and then ensuring,
for the
sake of efficiency, that the jobs are performed according to that
‘‘one best
way.’’
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CHAPTER 1
The works of Gulick and Urwick (1937) were also praised at the
time
for generating a ‘‘science’’ of administration, whereby
adherence to a set of
prescribed principles, better known as the ‘‘principles of
administration,’’
would promote efficiency in government, much like scientific
management
or Taylorism would for private industry (see, e.g., Stivers
2000). These and
other orthodox theorists contributed conceptual themes to the
earliest
period of our field’s intellectual or theoretical development.6
And the con-
tinual calls for ‘‘science’’ revolved around the practice of
public administra-
tion, not the study.
It was in yet another iteration of the field’s intellectual
development
that a challenge was lodged against the so-called scientific
underpinnings
of the practice of public administration and, concomitantly,
offered pre-
scriptions for the study of public administration. Herbert

Simon’s (1947)
groundbreaking Administrative Behavior, along with his earlier
writings
(e.g., Simon 1946), debunked the principles of administration
and argued
that a science of public administration could never be built upon
a founda-
tion of practice, as Taylor, Gulick, and others had advocated.
For one thing,
Simon challenged the classic textbook accounts of
administrators’ ability to
make rational, economic, utility-maximizing decisions. Instead,
he makes it
clear that the ‘‘capacity of the human mind for formulating and
solving
complex problems is very small compared with the size of the
problems
whose solution is required for objectively rational behavior in
the real
world’’ (Simon 1957, 198). Administrators, according to Simon,
make
decisions that ‘‘satisfice,’’ that is, are both satisfactory and
sufficient for the
situation at hand. In effect, Simon replaced the maximizing goal
of choice
with that of satisficing.
Simon also argued that public administration could and should
be stud-
ied from the viewpoint of scientific principles as they were
rigorously
applied in other social sciences. Thus the administrative
behavior move-
ment in public administration and its principal architect, Simon,
paved
the way not solely for progress in the study and theory building

of public
administration but also for polemics.7 Simon fomented a debate
about the
appropriateness of certain epistemic traditions or approaches to
study and
theory building that continues to mire the field even today,
influencing
the development—or, more appropriately, the
conceptualization—of other
intellectual undertakings in the field (e.g., policy analysis and
public man-
agement, which are addressed in chapter 3). But could a field
built on
pragmatism be studied from the standpoint of ‘‘science,’’ as
traditionally
defined in the social sciences?
This was a question asked by another major figure in public
administra-
tion, Dwight Waldo, who took exception to many of Simon’s
claims about
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9
DEVELOPMENTS
‘‘scientific’’ inquiry into public administration (also see Dahl
1947). The
following section examines their ongoing exchange over
epistemology,
ontology, and methodology, which frame the core thesis of this
book—that
there is no one best way to study public administration.
T H E WA L D O – S I M O N D E B AT E
Herbert Simon’s Administrative Behavior, first published in
1947, marked
the beginning of a critical new movement or direction in the
field of public
administration, particularly from the standpoint of study or
theory. As a
direct attack against the orthodox theorists, Simon offered,
among other
concepts, a fact/value dichotomy. Many interpreted his
conceptualization
of a fact/value dichotomy as a direct analogue to the
politics/administration

dichotomy advanced by Wilson. And many, including Waldo,
viewed
Simon’s classification as a call for the adoption of scientific
‘‘principles’’
that could be used for the study of public administration.
Simon (1997, 48) argued that when studying organizations and
adminis-
trative behavior, ‘‘what is needed is empirical research and
experimentation
to determine the relative desirability of alternative
administrative arrange-
ments. The methodological framework for this research is
already at hand
in the principle of efficiency. If an administrative organization
whose activ-
ities are susceptible to objective evaluation can be studied, then
the actual
change in accomplishment that results from modifying
administrative
arrangements in these organizations can be observed and
analyzed.’’
The acquisition of knowledge about public administration,
according
to Simon, should be based in fact: empirically derived,
measured, and
verified. Values, he claimed, had no place in the study of public
administra-
tive phenomena. He urged scholars to take as their primary unit
of analysis
the decisions that administrators made. Decisions could be
studied scien-
tifically in terms of their effects as well as the processes for
making them.
Such inquiry, in his view, could be value free and morally

neutral, uncor-
rupted by the normative preferences of the people involved.
Simon (1997, 48) called for the necessity of objectivity and that
‘‘suffi-
cient experimental control be exercised to make possible the
isolation of
the particular effect under study from other disturbing factors
that might
be operating on the organization at the same time.’’ He went on
to say
that administrative studies heretofore have been devoid of
experimentation
and have not observed ‘‘fundamental conditions of
methodology.’’ As he
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stated: ‘‘In the field of public administration, research has been
carried out
without the benefit of control or objective measurements of
results . . .
[and thus] have had to depend for their recommendations and
conclusions
upon a priori reasoning’’ (Simon 1997, 49).
Parenthetically, Simon recognized that the administrators
involved in
decision making would not behave in this manner. The activities
of prac-
titioners, he and James March recognized, were circumscribed
by ‘‘bound-
aries of rationality’’ (March and Simon 1958, 171). Due to
human
limitations, decision makers in government did not maximize
their prefer-
ences or find optimal solutions, but rather they satisficed.8 In
practice, they
made decisions that met minimum standards of satisfaction,
sufficient for
the task at hand. Thus Simon expected persons engaged in the
study of
public administration to behave rationally and scientifically, but
not the
people toward whom those studies were directed.
Simon was heavily influenced by the behavioral revolution

beginning
to sweep the social sciences. This revolution found its historical
roots in
the philosophical movement known first as positivism, as
advanced by
Auguste Comte, and later as logical positivism, as advanced by
the Vienna
Circle.9 Rudolph Carnap, of whom Simon was an acolyte, was a
major
proponent of the logical positivist movement. Carnap (1996)
called for
‘‘The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of
Language.’’
Through his work and that of a number of others, particularly
Simon’s,
logical positivism in public administration became synonymous
with quan-
titatively empirically based research traditions, subject to
verifiability or
validity. As noted, Simon opined that public administration
should be
based in fact: empiricism, measurement, verification. This and
related
issues will receive greater attention in chapter 4.
In sum, whereas leaders of the early public administration
movement
sought to discover principles of administration founded in
practice, Simon
and his followers championed research about administration
based on
scientific principles.
Dwight Waldo emerged as one of Simon’s chief critics. In The
Adminis-
trative State, Waldo (1948, 1984) sought to understand why the

scientific
perspective had played such a large role in early efforts to
understand the
administrative state.10 Waldo recognized that from Luther
Gulick’s efforts
to classify administrative studies as a social science to
Frederick Taylor’s
promotion of ‘‘scientific management,’’ scholars in the newly
emerging
field had embraced the philosophy of scientific inquiry (also see
Waldo
1968 and, more generally, Charlesworth 1968). Waldo (1984,
177–78)
observed that empiricism and experimentalism ‘‘have a
prominent place
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DEVELOPMENTS
in the methods of physical science.’’ However, he strongly
argued, ‘‘there
is much in scientific method which is nonempirical and
nonexperimental.’’
Why then had administrative scholars so enthusiastically
adopted the lan-
guage of science? As was typical for his work as a whole,
Waldo saw the
phenomenon in cultural terms. Administrative studies, he
observed, were
distinctly pragmatic, often drawing knowledge from common
experience.
Yet administrative scholars wanted people to respect that
experience. What
better way, Waldo (1984, 168–69) suggested, than to mask
pragmatism in
‘‘the prestige of the ‘philosophy of science’ ’’?11
Waldo maintained that Simon and his followers unjustifiably
sought
‘‘to place large segments of social life—or even the whole of
it—upon a
scientific basis’’ (Waldo 1984, 57). Waldo (1984, 171)
elaborated that
although some administrative matters may lend themselves to
‘‘treatment
in the mode of natural science, . . . administration is generally
suffused

with questions of value.’’ He stated that ‘‘a physical science
problem is a
problem of ‘What is the case?’ An administrative problem is
characteristi-
cally a problem of ‘What should be done?’ Administrative
study, as any
‘social science,’ is concerned primarily with human beings, a
type of being
characterized by thinking and valuing’’ (Waldo 1984, 171,
emphasis in
the original).12 For him, many of the most important issues
affecting the
development of the administrative state were simply not
amenable to the
methods advanced or supported by logical positivism (see
Dubnick 1999).
An explicit, explosive tête-à-tête erupted between Waldo and
Simon in
1952 in a series of antagonistic, vitriolic commentaries
published in the
American Political Science Review.13 It centered on a few
issues but, most
prominently, on philosophies of science from the standpoint of
ontology,
epistemology, and, by inference, methodology.14 The debate
often devolved
into ad hominem invective and antipathies.
Waldo, a political theorist, not surprisingly stakes an
ontological claim
on public administration as democratic theory. He states: ‘‘If
administra-
tion is indeed ‘the core of modern government,’ then a theory of
democracy
in the twentieth century must embrace administration’’ (Waldo

1952a, 81).
He makes a case for democracy as the core value of public
administration,
a sort of triumph of democracy over efficiency, the latter having
consumed
the classical or orthodox theorists in the first half of the
twentieth century.
He methodically critiques classical theories of public
administration and
goes on to say that ‘‘Herbert Simon’s recent Administrative
Behavior pre-
sents a closely reasoned defense of the notion of an abstract
science of
administration centered on efficiency’’ (Waldo 1952a, 87–88).
He then
presents a forceful argument that the principal obstacle to the
further
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development of a democratic theory of public administration is
the belief
that ‘‘efficiency is a value-neutral concept’’ and that the field
must accept
‘‘efficiency as the central concept in our ‘science’ ’’ (Waldo
1952a, 97).
In a coup de grâce Waldo (1952a, 97) goes on to say that ‘‘to
maintain
that efficiency is value-neutral and to propose at the same time
that it be
used as the central concept in a ‘science’ of administration is to
commit
one’s self to nihilism, so long as the prescription is actually
followed.’’
Waldo’s (1952a, 97) footnote to this statement reads: ‘‘I believe
that there
is no realm of ‘factual decisions’ from which values are
excluded. To decide
is to choose between alternatives; to choose between
alternatives is to
introduce values. Herbert Simon has patently made outstanding
contribu-
tions to administrative study. These contributions have been
made, how-
ever, when he has worked free of the methodology he has
asserted.’’

Simon responded to Waldo’s assertions with his own blend of
sarcasm
and diatribe. He begins by stating: ‘‘I am impelled to do this in
part because
the faults of Waldo’s analysis are characteristic of the writings
of those who
call themselves ‘political theorists’ and who are ever ready to
raise the
battle cry against positivism and empiricism’’ (Simon 1952,
494). He goes
on to say:
Study of logic and empirical science has impressed on me the
extreme care
that must be exercised, in the search for truth, to avoid logical
booby traps.
For this reason the kind of prose I encounter in writings on
political theory,
decorated with assertion, invective, and metaphor, sometimes
strikes me as
esthetically pleasing, but seldom as convincing. Since I am
unable to discover
definitions in Mr. Waldo’s paper for his key terms, since he
does not set
forth his basic premises in any systematic fashion, and since his
propositions
appear to skip from philosophy to psychology to history and
back, I have not
succeeded in reconstructing the syllogisms by which I presume
he reached his
conclusions. (Simon 1952, 494).
In a final blow, Simon takes aim at Waldo’s philosophy of
science in the
broader context of an attack on political theorists and their

contributions to
public administration. Simon (1952, 496) argues: ‘‘Quite apart
from
whether Mr. Waldo’s premises are right or wrong, I do not see
how we
can progress in political philosophy if we continue to think and
write in
the loose, literary, metaphorical style that he and most other
political
theorists adopt. The standard of unrigor that is tolerated in
political theory
would not receive a passing grade in the elementary course in
logic, Aristo-
telian or symbolic.’’
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DEVELOPMENTS
Waldo (1952b, 501) gets the proverbial last word with this
mordant
admission:
According to my philosopher friends who regard themselves as
empiricists,
logical positivism has performed a useful function as an
apparatus of criti-
cism; but we have already reached a point from which it can be
viewed in
perspective, not as the end of philosophy, not as The
Philosophy, not even
as the Philosophy of Science, but merely as another chapter in
the history
of philosophy. Presently, three ‘‘generations’’ contest for
leadership of a
movement that is seriously divided. May I state for the record,
though I had
hoped that I had made it clear, that I am not opposed to
positivism and
empiricism as whole bodies of thought or techniques of
investigation or
action. I am indebted to self-labelled positivists and empiricists
for much
information, clarification, and stimulation.
It is interesting to note that in ‘‘The Administrative State
Revisited,’’ a
retrospective examination of Waldo’s treatise, that appeared in

a 1965 issue
of Public Administration Review, Waldo softened his criticism
somewhat.
He had been ‘‘bludgeoned,’’ he said, by Simon in the early
1950s, causing
him to examine more closely the central tenets underlying the
philosophy
of logical positivism. Upon closer examination, Waldo
recognized that
there was a tendency for many, including himself, to view
public adminis-
tration as ‘‘normative theory, i.e., theory about how
organizations should
be constructed.’’ A more contemporaneous treatment, he
confessed, would
recognize the possibility of an administrative theory that was
‘‘nonnorma-
tive’’ (Waldo 1965, 13; emphasis in the original).
Waldo concluded that although he found the philosophy of
logical
positivism to be ‘‘acute and useful’’ in some ways, it was
‘‘limited and
misleading in others.’’ He went on to say that ‘‘Logical
Positivism is content
to take one area of human experience and treat it as the whole’’
(Waldo
1965, 13 n. 14). In the end, he recognized that public
administration might
benefit from a combination of different methodologies.
Parenthetically, the Waldo–Simon debate was followed by other
deliber-
ations that underscored the question of how to appropriately
study public
administration. For example, the new public administration

(NPA) was a
conscious effort to neutralize the effects of the behavioral
revolution
spurred by Simon. The NPA was a movement that grew out of
the Minnow-
brook Conference, where a group of scholars led by Dwight
Waldo gathered
in 1968 to study the relevance of public administration to social
problems
of the day such as the civil rights movement (see Box 2007). In
particular,
it sought to shift the locus of public administration away from
efficiency
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CHAPTER 1
and toward social equity (see Marini 1971; Frederickson 1971).
But it also
attacked the notion of a value-free public administration and the
diminu-
tion of politics to its essence. The NPA challenged the
administrative behav-
iorists in that it sought to move public administration study and
theory
toward postpositivism, where precise measurement and
verifiable observa-
tion are illusive. For the new public administrationists, it is
simply not
possible to divorce people and politics from values, ethics, and
morality,
and hence it is implausible that public administration can be
studied
objectively.
Another post Waldo–Simon debate emerged in 1973 with an
exchange
between Chris Argyris and Simon. It appeared in Public
Administration
Review, and couched the philosophy of science question in the
context
of humanism, which centers on the complex emotive and
psychological
attributes of humans.15 Argyris and other humanists maintained
that the
positivist, value-free, and ‘‘rational’’ methods of studying
organizational
behavior advanced by behaviorists such as Simon failed to

capture the
intricacies of human conduct (or misconduct, especially
irrationality) and,
in effect, failed to advance administrative theory in any
significant way.
The rational component of human behavior, according to
Argyris, was
eclipsing its emotional and motivational components. Argyris
(1973b, 253)
argued:
Organizational theory in public administration may be
undergoing an
important transformation. The new critics find much
administrative
descriptive theory to be nonrelevant to many critical problems
of
organization. . . . The new stirrings in public administration
may be seen
as part of a broader intellectual debate that has evolved in the
field of
organizational behavior. Scholars on both sides of the issue are
in agree-
ment that it is important to design organizations that are more
effective.
One side believes that this can be best accomplished through
increasing
rationality and descriptive research; the other on increasing
humane
dimensions and therefore normative research.
Simon (1973b) countered with his philosophy on the nature of
evidence,
especially the importance of scientific empirical evidence, laced
with reason
and facts, as compared with ‘‘normative activity’’ and anecdotal

evidence
for the advancement of organizational theory. He stated: ‘‘My
mind boggles
at how I might reach common ground with Argyris on the nature
of
evidence. He reacts to empirical data describing a decision
process with: ‘I
found another scenario more plausible.’ To which I can only
answer with
the punchline of an ancient joke: ‘Vas you dere Charlie (or
Chris)?’ . . .
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15

DEVELOPMENTS
The point simply is that when particular data conflict with a
priori feelings
of plausibility, the latter must yield’’ (Simon 1973a, 484).16
The metaphysi-
cal tug of war between Simon and Argyris resulted in the same
stalemate,
hooded by complementary entrenched positions, as that
produced by
Simon and Waldo.
I S P U B L I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N A S C I E N C E ?
The debates between Waldo and Simon and between Simon and
Argyris
over the fact/value dichotomy intersect with the question of
whether public
administration is an art or science. Lurking behind both debates,
we have
seen, is the question of the appropriate epistemic traditions for
the field
(see Riccucci 2006). This issue has both a practical and
scholarly compo-
nent, raising these questions:
1. Is public administration as practiced primarily an art,
requiring in-
tuition and experience, or can it can be based on scientifically
derived
knowledge?
2. Does the search for public administration theory require
artful

insight, or can it be made wholly scientific?
The debate over the first question begets another question: Are
adminis-
trators ‘‘born’’ or can they be ‘‘made,’’ that is, trained? The
development
of educational programs for public service in the first half of
the twentieth
century proceeded from the belief that a body of knowledge
could be
derived that, when taught to novices, could help them become
better execu-
tives (see, e.g., Mosher 1975). Yet a contrary belief maintains
that innate
or ‘‘inborn’’ talents predispose certain persons to become
leaders or exem-
plary managers, meaning that they are ‘‘natural-born leaders.’’
As Simon and others maintained, the futile struggle that
characterized
the early study of public administration demonstrated that
governmental
management could not be reduced to easily derived and
trainable principles
that described ‘‘one best way.’’ The practice of public
administration con-
tinues to require the art-like qualities associated with wisdom
and experi-
ence. But the practice of public administration also requires
scientific
training insofar as persons need technical preparation to become
public
administrators. Few people argue that untrained public servants
would on
the whole perform as well as people trained in administrative
skills. Indeed,

the very existence of the master of public administration degree
(MPA)
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16
CHAPTER 1
represents a scientific and analytic endeavor (never, of course,
sans poli-
tics). As Leonard White (1929, 1955) tells us, a society that
becomes com-
plex and mutable must continually rely on the technical and
scientific

training of government administrators. The common conception
treats the
practice of public administration as both art and science.
The second question asks whether public administration, in the
schol-
arly search for theory or understanding, is an art or a science.
Due to the
inevitable presence of human beings, public administration can
never be
reduced to certainties such as those found in the natural or
physical sci-
ences (e.g., chemistry, astronomy, and physics). Instead, as
most would
agree, public administration is a branch of the social sciences
(see, e.g.,
Box 1992).
Beyond this simple taxonomy, the resolution of the art/science
issue in
the study of public administration intersects the perdurable
debate over
philosophies of science. From ontological and epistemological
standpoints,
one might approach the question as it is depicted in figure 1.1.
Where
exactly does public administration fit into this disciplinary
framework?
Here one can find three identifiable camps. The first group
claims that
public administration theory can and must be scientific; the
second group
asserts that it has been, historically, an art and, hence, is value
laden; and
the third group sees elements of both art/values and
science/facts.

The first camp, comprising early behaviorists and more lately
people
applying economic theories to the analysis of public policies,
advocated a
logical positivist approach. According to this group, there is no
room for
the metaphysical speculation, reason, or innate ideas that early
rationalists
allowed. Rather, the creation of administrative theory must be
deductive
and based on value-free, rationally derived, testable hypotheses.
The goal
of knowledge, they insist, is simply to describe the phenomena
experienced.
Empirically based, quantitative research is the only way, the
‘‘one best
way,’’ to seek and discover truth and reality. For some in this
camp, quanti-
tative data and research method drive ideas, concepts, and
theory, rather
than vice versa.
The second camp views the study of public administration as an
art.
For the members of this group, metaphysical concerns have a
prominent
place in administrative research and theory building. They leave
room for
reasoning, dialectic, and induction, and research that can be
descriptive—
even empirically so—prescriptive, and normative. The chief
source of
knowledge, they argue, is reason. As noted above, the new
public adminis-
tration, reacting in the late 1960s against the behavioral

movement in
public administration, is representative of this coterie (see
Marini 1971).
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u
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1
.1

A
D
is
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p
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n
ar
y
C
o
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m
:
F
ro
m
S
ci
en

ce
to
A
rt
P
h
ys
ic
s
C
h
em
is
tr
y
B
io
lo
gy
E
co
n
o
m

ic
s
P
sy
ch
o
lo
gy
P
o
li
ti
ca
l
Sc
ie
n
ce
So
ci
o
lo
gy
A

n
th
ro
p
o
lo
gy
H
u
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an
it
ie
s
F
in
e
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ci
en

ce
S
ou
rc
e:
A
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ap
te
d
fr
o
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D
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p
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er
1
9
9
8
.

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18
CHAPTER 1
The third group in public administration sees the field as both
art and
science (see, e.g., Raadschelders 1999). Given the variegated
and applied
nature of the field, they maintain, public administrative research
should
be pluralistic (e.g., see Ventriss 1989). In their view, room
exists not only
for logical positivism and metaphysical speculation but also for

realism,
relativism, rationalism, postmodernism, and even
reductionism17 (see
Fernández-Armesto 1997; Kitcher 2001). For this camp, there is
no one
best way to do research, and given the lack of a unified theory,
public
administration should not strive for an ‘‘appropriate’’
methodology. As
Frederickson has suggested, the field can greatly benefit from
‘‘a rapproche-
ment between the . . . administrative sciences and the
humanities.’’ He
goes on to say: ‘‘The analytical tools of social sciences help us
know how
organizations operate and how public managers function. But to
know
public organizations and their management is not to understand
them.
Understanding requires perspective, experience, judgment, and
the capac-
ity to imagine. These qualities have less to do with analytical
skills and
more to do with philosophy, language, art, and reason’’
(Frederickson
2000, 51–52). For this group, a diversity of methods is the key
to the
acquisition of knowledge, perspective, and truth (see, e.g.,
Raadschelders
2005; Stivers 2000; White and Adams 1994a, 1994b; Adams
1992).
C O N C LU S I O N
The Waldo–Simon debates were instrumental at the time in the
develop-

ment of public administrative theory. They led to further
questions about
whether public administration did or did not have a
paradigmatic base,
which is the subject of chapter 2. These dialectical exchanges
helped to
significantly push the field further in its evolution as one of
scientific
inquiry. Interestingly enough, however, the same old exchanges
perdure
today. A series of commentaries appearing in such journals as
Administra-
tion and Society, Public Administration Review, and
Administration Theory
and Praxis have been inflammatory, sometimes offensive, and,
perhaps due
to a smidgen of obstinate hubris, intellectually futile.18 They
are counter-
productive, they add little to what Waldo and Simon set forth in
the
1950s, and thus they have contributed only marginally to the
evolution of
knowledge and theory in the field.
Indeed, the dogmatic persistence of particular research
traditions has
been detrimental to theory building in public administration.
Bozeman
(2007, 1–2) addresses this issue in the context of public interest
theory:
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DEVELOPMENTS
‘‘The reasons for a decline in public interest argument and
theorizing are
many and varied. Social and academic fashion seems to have
played a
role. The development of quantitative social sciences and its
inexhaustible
demand for empirical evidence lessened our patience for topics
that seem
to hold little possibility of precise answers. The harshest critics
of public
interest theory rail loudest about its ambiguities and a seeming
inability to
determine when and if public interest theory has progressed.’’

These contemporary debates on the supremacy of one research
tradition
over another have resulted in a metaphysical dyspepsia, and
ultimately a
Balkanization of knowledge. They will not be regurgitated here.
My goal
is to emulsify the various epistemic traditions and quite simply
help us
turn the page.
N O T E S
1. It should be noted at the outset that this book accepts as fact
the existence
of public administration as a field or discipline. This issue had
been subjected to
heated debates over the course of public administration’s
history; see, e.g., Waldo
1980. The two terms, field and discipline, will be used
interchangeably hereafter.
2. See Raadschelders (1999) for a review of the identity crisis
of public adminis-
tration in Europe.
3. The lack of a coherent, core theory relates to the question of
public adminis-
tration’s paradigmatic basis, which is addressed in chapter 2.
4. Some argue that qualitative research (e.g., cross-case
comparisons) is mainly
for theory building and quantitative research (e.g., multiple
regression analysis) is
for theory testing. This distinction is not made in this book,
which holds that

qualitative and quantitative research can both build and test
theory. See Kenworthy
2008; and the discussion in chapter 4, esp. n. 3.
5. As Stillman (1999) points out, the self-conscious study of
public administra-
tion occurred much earlier in other countries such as France.
6. See White 1929; Willoughby 1927; Fayol 1916, 1917, 1937.
7. It also articulated the importance of decision making as a
sine qua non of
public administration in practice.
8. It should be noted, however, that in his later teachings around
artificial
intelligence, Simon suggested that it might be possible to find
rational decision
makers. He is considered to be one of the cofounders of the
field of artificial
intelligence, whereby computers and computer programs can be
relied on to per-
form functions normally associated with human intelligence.
But artificial intelli-
gence goes further to suggest that the computer programs can
perform with greater
intelligence than human action, particularly around reasoning
and optimization.
See Simon 1995; Simon and Kadane 1975.
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20
CHAPTER 1
9. Logical empiricism is sometimes used synonymously with
logical positivism.
This approach is not adopted here. For a discussion, see
Hardcastle 2005.
10. Waldo also advanced a democratic theory of public
administration in his
book The Administrative State, which was based on his
dissertation at Yale Univer-
sity. And Waldo, like Simon, also challenged various aspects of
classical public
administration theory such as POSDCORB (planning,
organizing, staffing, direct-
ing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting), advanced by
Luther Gulick (1937) in

‘‘Notes on the Theory of Organization,’’ as universal functions
of all administrators.
11. It should be noted that Waldo (1965, 11) treats
‘‘pragmatism’’ as empiricism,
or as he later refers to it, a ‘‘garden variety’’ of positivism.
12. Waldo (1984, 171) went on to say that ‘‘it is submitted that
the established
techniques of science are inapplicable to thinking and valuing
human beings.’’
However, when he revisited these arguments in 1965, he stated
that this was a
‘‘half-truth,’’ confessing that ‘‘it is simply not the way I would
now put and argue
my opinions’’ (Waldo 1965, 13).
13. Peter Drucker’s (1952) participation and commentary in the
initial debate
was eclipsed by the acrimony between Waldo and Simon.
Drucker’s commentary
does not engage the issue of science, but rather addressed the
concept of democracy
from an industrial or large organization perspective.
14. For a review of the various issues, see Harmon 1989.
15. See Argyris 1973a, 1973b; Simon 1973a, 1973b.
16. In the 1930s, a radio program featured an actor, Jack Pearl,
portraying the
part of ‘‘Baron Munchausen.’’ During the program, someone
would question his
outlandish stories, at which point he would ask in jest: ‘‘Vas
you dere, Charlie?’’
17. These concepts will be elaborated upon in chapter 4.

18. See, e.g., Luton 2007a; Lynn, Heinrich, and Hill 2008;
Spicer 2007. Some of
these commentaries appear in books, e.g., Lynn 1996. But see
Raadschelders 2005,
who admirably calls for an acceptance of methodological
pluralism; also see White
and Adams 1994a, 1994b.
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