Public administration as the subject matter for institutional analysis

Research in public and municipal administration (PMA) is generally considered to be interdisciplinary, drawing on a range of sciences and combining their typical methods.At the same time, in different countries these studies are influenced by different fundamental sciences: political science predominates in some places; legal science in others; and economics plays no role anywhere.We proceed from the assumption that modern economics, including a range of institutional research programs, has the potential to contribute to PMA research, which could significantly expand both theoretical and applied research opportunities, thereby enhancing productivity and effectiveness of state policy implementation.Based on an analysis of foreign and domestic literature, the first section of this article examines the experience of applying institutional analysis in PMA studies, evaluating its alternative approaches and outcomes, including inadequate assessments of new institutional economics applications in this field.In particular, we focus on principal-agent economic models and principal-agent sociological theory, frequently confused and mistaken for a unified concept, which leads to misunderstandings.This section also analyzes the main tenets of organizational (sociological) institutionalism, often perceived as being the sole form of institutionalism.A second section of the article suggests two areas for PMA investigation where significant potential exists for generating useful outcomes through the application of new institutional economics -an area currently underutilized in public administration research.We conclude with a summary of our findings.