“It's Who You Know:” Bureaucratic Responsiveness in the Rural South
通过43名一线官僚的深度访谈，揭示美国南方农村社区的政治社会秩序如何破坏福利政策执行，对研究政策不平等和农村治理的学者有参考价值。
ABSTRACT Research examines how decentralized policy implementation creates unequal access to safety net programs in the US. Yet, scholars have not unpacked how community contexts shape how welfare agencies operate on the ground. This is especially the case for the rural South, an oft‐overlooked context where local influence has historically undermined the equitable provision of social welfare programs. We know surprisingly little about how “small‐town” norms, values, hierarchies, and politics make their way into the day‐to‐day life of welfare offices. Drawing from 43 in‐depth interviews with front‐line bureaucrats, I demonstrate how the political and social order of one southern rural community undermines policy implementation. Interviews show that this rural southern welfare office was (1) deeply affected by economic decline; (2) was situated in a community where strong rather than weak social ties determine economic opportunities, and (3) vulnerable to the influence of white power elites in county‐level government. These three factors can undermine effective policy implementation, harming vulnerable families.