01260pab a2200133 454500008004000000100001900040245005300059260000900112300001400121362000800135520091200143650002601055773004501081180718b2000   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aBeckett, Julia  aThe government should run like a business mantra  c2000  ap.185-204  aJun  aThe common phrase, government should run like a business evokes powerful ideas:  It is a mantra.  This article considers the layers of connotation contained in this mantra, noting first that comparisons between government and business is a classic and constant theme in public administration.  In recent literature, the theme and focus of business-government comparisons has shifted to modeling government after the market ideas of business.  This article adds to this discussion by considering formal constitutive factors present in three basic business forms - the sole proprietor, the partnership, and the corporation.  The article further asks whether any of these business forms provides useful models for government.  A fundamental concern is conceptualizing government within the context of America's business mythology that echoes in the mantra, "government should run like a business." - Reproduced  aPublic administration  aAmerican Review of Public Administration