Balancing Equity and Equality in Street-Level Bureaucracy: Comparative Perspectives

𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦

Balancing Equity and Equality in Street-Level Bureaucracy: Comparative Perspectives

𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹:
Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿:
Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group

𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:
28 February 2026

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:
30 September 2026

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice invites submissions for a Special Issue titled “Balancing Equity and Equality in Street-Level Bureaucracy: Comparative Perspectives.”

Street-level bureaucrats—including social workers, educators, police officers, healthcare professionals, and other frontline public service providers—play a critical role in translating public policies into real-world outcomes. In doing so, they frequently confront the complex challenge of balancing equity and equality in service delivery.

While equity focuses on responding differently to individuals based on their specific needs to achieve fairness, equality emphasizes treating all individuals in the same manner. Navigating these competing principles creates significant ethical, political, and operational dilemmas for frontline workers and managers across public service systems worldwide.

This Special Issue seeks to advance understanding of how street-level bureaucrats interpret, negotiate, and implement equity and equality across diverse policy sectors, institutional environments, and national contexts.

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 & 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Although social equity has become a central concern in public administration research, comparative studies examining how frontline public servants operationalize equity and equality remain limited.

This Special Issue aims to address this gap by encouraging theoretical and empirical research that investigates the tensions, trade-offs, and decision-making processes involved in frontline public service delivery. The issue welcomes comparative perspectives that reveal patterns, contradictions, contextual differences, and policy implications across countries, sectors, organizations, and governance systems.

Researchers are encouraged to employ cross-national, cross-sectoral, intra-organizational, or interdisciplinary approaches that deepen understanding of fairness, discretion, and social equity in policy implementation.

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀

Manuscripts are invited on topics including, but not limited to:

• Comparative analyses of public service values such as equity, equality, fairness, and efficiency
• Equity and equality in frontline service delivery across education, healthcare, welfare, policing, and related sectors
• Comparative perspectives on public, private, and third-sector service provision
• Interpretations of fairness among street-level bureaucrats and managers across organizational and cultural settings
• The role of discretion in promoting or hindering social equity
• Perceptions of deservingness and their influence on service allocation and treatment of clients
• National and subnational policy environments shaping frontline decision-making
• Comparative analyses of equity and equality in policy design and policy implementation
• Organizational, institutional, and cultural influences on frontline governance practices
• Ethical dilemmas and accountability in public service delivery

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 & 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲

This Special Issue builds upon discussions from an international workshop held in Israel in 2023, where scholars examined the tensions between equity and equality in frontline governance and public administration.

The workshop highlighted the growing need for comparative and systematic research exploring how street-level bureaucrats across the globe manage competing public values while implementing policies in increasingly diverse and complex social environments.

The editors welcome submissions from scholars across disciplines, geographical regions, and career stages.

𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Prof. Nissim Cohen
University of Haifa, Israel
Email: nissimcohen@poli.haifa.ac.il

Prof. Gabriela Lotta
FGV EAESP, Brazil
Email: gabriela.lotta@fgv.br

Ms. Ofek Edri-Peer
University of Haifa, Israel
Email: ofekedri@gmail.com

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

Call for Abstracts: December 2025

Abstract Submission Deadline: 28 February 2026

Notification of Accepted Abstracts: March 2026

Internal Feedback Process: 31 August 2026

Full Paper Submission Deadline: 30 September 2026

Expected Publication of Special Issue: 2027 (subject to journal schedule)

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

Authors are invited to submit abstracts of 250–300 words that clearly outline:

• Working title of the article
• Research focus and objectives
• Methodological approach
• Data sources
• Comparative framework or analytical lens

Submissions should align with the mission, aims, and comparative policy focus of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis.

Abstracts and inquiries should be sent directly to the Guest Editors via email.

All full manuscripts must comply with the journal’s author guidelines and will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹

The Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice is a leading international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing comparative policy research. The journal publishes innovative theoretical, methodological, and empirical studies that enhance understanding of policy processes, governance, public administration, and policy implementation across different national and institutional contexts.

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 — 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

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