In this timely critique of federal procedures, the authors identify the underlying causes of the current overload of information/paper-work in government and explain why the problem cannot be controlled until the causes are eliminated or neutralized. Using a calcuius they have developed for estimating the "value and "burden of federal information,

Elliott R. Morss, director of research for Development Alternatives, Inc., served as study director for the Commission on Federal Paperwork.

Robert F. Rich, assistant professor of politics and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, previously was research scientist-project director at the Institute for Social Research, Center for Research on the Utilisation of Scientific Knowledge, University of Michigan.

Preface -- Introduction -- Bureaucratic and Political Dynamics -- Counter-Incentives and Other Information Control Techniques -- The Use of Information as an Indicator of Value -- The Value/Burden Calculus: A Technique for Improving Information Management Practices -- Comparative Agency Analysis: A Technique for Streamlining Information Activities -- Comparative Administrative Practices: Three Case Studies -- Management Information Systems -- Federal Evaluation Practices -- The Case for Compensation -- Conclusions: Recommendations and an Agenda for Future Research -- Epilogue