The Thesis of Incongruent Implementation: Revisiting Pressman and Wildavsky

The more links can be observed in the vertical line between intentions and results as embodied by a policy process, the smaller the chance will be of a congruent implementation of the public policy concerned. Pressman and Wildavsky (1973) expressed this view on implementation in one of the longest and most famous subtitles in the study of public administration. In this article this view is addressed as the thesis of incongruent implementation. Although still common with policy makers, since Bowen’s (1982) critique it hardly has been investigated further. At the same time, however, scholars across different research communities have started to explore the effects of intermediary variables between government intentions and governmental performance. The objective in this article is to look at what is known about the impact of such variables currently and to explore the implications for the study of implementation.