As described in chapter 2, the research design called for comparison of federal hybrids and government agencies within three policy spheres: housing, export promotion and international market development. This facilitated comparison of organizations with different structural features as they undertook similar tasks, responded to similar sets of preferences and interacted with similar sets of interest groups. This appendix describes the organizations studied in more detail than the main text of this book, providing an understanding of the history and operations of the hybrids and agencies.

Housing

Hybrid organizations are vital to federal housing policy, particularly in the realm of housing finance. The organizations studied include a large federal agency, a government corporation and three government-sponsored enterprises. Table 2.1 (page 28) summarizes the structure of these entities according to the key dimensions identified in chapter 1: ownership and funding.

Not only does the housing domain offer a diverse population of organizations, but it has been the subject of intense interest from the legislative and executive branches. Congress has revamped regulation of the housing hybrids and proposals for additional changes are pending (Guerrero 2000). The Clinton Administration demonstrated sustained interest in housing policy. Thus there is an available record of preferences and outputs of the federal housing organizations.

Department of housing and urban development

Although the department was only created in 1965, HUD's history extends back to housing programs initiated to accommodate workers mobilized for World War I. These temporary programs were revived during World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, Congress restructured the federal government's disparate housing agencies, consolidating several agencies and creating the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1965.