Finding Exits and Voices: Albert Hirschman's Contribution to the Study of Public Services

Abstract

This paper assesses Albert Hirschman’s contribution to the study of public services, in particular his book Exit, Voice and Loyalty (1970). Hirschman argues that exit and voice are the two main responses to dissatisfaction. Voice is more effective and desirable; a lack of exit opportunities increases voice; and loyalty reduces exit. The exit, voice and loyalty (EVL) framework is very suitable for understanding how public services can perform effectively and responsively as there are a wide range of exits and voices available to citizens and employees when they are dissatisfied. Though there are extensive citations of Hirschman relatively few scholars directly apply the framework. The main exception is the literature on urban services and studies of intentions to exit by public employees. Yet the topics of service quality, performance, competition, choice and participation continue to be of core interest to scholars of public administration. Hirschman’s insights and framework can foster understanding of the relationships between different kinds of citizen responses and the quality of public services.

Keywords: voice, exit, public services, Hirschman