Representative bureaucracy theory examines how bureaucrats’ demographics impact outcomes for clients with shared identities, with “critical mass” posited as an enabling condition. Yet empirical evidence is mixed regarding where this threshold stands. To reconcile these inconsistencies, this study emphasizes the need to first clarify the mechanisms that underpin critical mass requirements. Specifically, I attend to how majority behavior changes due to enhanced representation and evaluate corresponding critical mass condition. Nonparametric analyses of traffic stop data in two states find that, in Washington, the critical mass where White officers show reduced bias towards Black drivers occurs when Black officers constitute 6–9 percent of the force. In South Carolina, similar shifts occur at 9–11 and 19–23 percent Black representation. While findings indicate improved policing towards Black drivers, increased representation still falls short of achieving full parity between Black and White drivers. No significant critical mass is observed for Hispanic representation in either state.

中文翻译：

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代议制官僚机构中多数官僚行为变化的临界质量条件：理论澄清和非参数探索


代表官僚主义理论研究了官僚的人口统计数据如何影响具有共同身份的客户的结果，其中“临界质量”被认为是一个有利条件。然而，关于这个阈值的位置，经验证据喜忧参半。为了调和这些不一致之处，本研究强调需要首先阐明支撑临界质量要求的机制。具体来说，我关注多数人的行为如何因增强的表征而变化，并评估相应的临界质量条件。对两个州的交通拦截数据进行的非参数分析发现，在华盛顿州，当黑人警官占警力的 6-9% 时，白人警官对黑人司机的偏见减少的临界数量出现。在南卡罗来纳州，类似的变化发生在 9-11% 和 19-23% 的黑人代表中。虽然研究结果表明对黑人司机的警务工作有所改善，但增加的代表性仍未实现黑人和白人司机之间的完全平等。在这两个州中，西班牙裔代表均未观察到显著的临界质量。