GOVERNMENT FAILURE: When a public policy results in an inefficient or inequitable outcome.
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTERPRISES (GSEs): Off-budget government agencies that
reallocate resources in credit markets.
GRANTS: Transfers of money (and/or property) from one government to another.
GROSS FEDERAL DEBT: The debt held by federal government agencies plus that held by the
public.
GROSS INCOME: Sum of all income sources subject to taxation.
HIERARCHY: A characteristic of formal bureaucratic organizations; a clear vertical "chain of
command" in which each unit is subordinate to the one above it and superior to the one below it; one
of the most common features of governmental and other bureaucratic organizations.
HOME RULE: Provision allowing cities greater autonomy over local activities.
HORIZONTAL EQUITY: All individuals with identical abilities to pay are assigned identical tax
burdens.
HUMAN RELATIONS THEORIES OF ORGANIZATION: Theories stressing workers' noneconomic
needs and motivations on the job that seek to identify these needs and how to satisfy them;
focused on working conditions and social interactions among workers.
IMPLICIT FEDERAL GUARANTEES: Unstated or indirectly stated promises by the federal
government to cover any losses in cases of default by government-sponsored enterprises.
IMPOUNDMENT: Withholding of funds authorized and appropriated by law.
INCREMENTALISM: A model of decision making that stresses making decisions through limited
successive comparisons, in contrast to the rational model; also focuses on simplifying choices rather
than aspiring to complete problem analyses, on "satisfying" rather than "maximizing."
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES: Agencies intentionally created outside the normal cabinet
organization.
IN-KIND INCOME: Income in the form of goods and services rather than cash.
INTEREST GROUP: A private organization representing a portion (usually small) of the general
adult population; it exists in order to pursue particular public policy objectives and seeks to influence
government activity so as to achieve its particular objectives.