Accounting for Ministers
Scandal and Survival in British Government 1945–2007

Uses the tools of modern political science to analyse the factors which determine the fortunes of Cabinet ministers.

Samuel Berlinski (Author), Torun Dewan (Author), Keith Dowding (Author)

9780521519724, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 March 2012

208 pages, 19 b/w illus. 16 tables
23.4 x 15.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.45 kg

'Berlinski, Dewan and Dowding take the rich evidence of ministerial scandals and Prime Ministerial decision-making to provide a robust analysis of the accountability and effectiveness of British government. Using the tools of political science they build a powerful model of performance and responsibility which provides great insight into the nature and outcomes of British democratic politics.' Alistair McMillan, University of Sheffield

Accounting for Ministers uses the tools of modern political science to analyse the factors which determine the fortunes of Cabinet ministers. Utilising agency theory, it describes Cabinet government as a system of incentives for prime ministerial and parliamentary rule. The authors use a unique dataset of ministers from 1945 to 2007 to examine the structural and individual characteristics that lead to the selection and durability of ministers. Sensitive to historical context, it describes the unique features of different Prime Ministers and the sorts of issues and scandals that lead to the forced exit of ministers. The authors identify the structural factors that determine ministerial performance and tenure, seeing resignation calls as performance indicators. Probing the nature of individual and collective responsibility within Westminster forms of government, its rigorous analysis provides powerful new insights into the nature of Cabinet government.

1. Introduction
2. Managing the Cabinet: principal-agent relations in government
3. The structure of British government
4. Who serves in government and how long do they last?
5. The Prime Minister and Cabinet
6. Performance measures and forced exits
7. Ministerial performance and tenure
8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Politics & government [JP]