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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代表官僚中多数官僚行为变化的临界条件：理论澄清和非参数探索

代表性官僚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，并将“临界质量”视为有利条件。然而，关于这一阈值的经验证据却是混杂的。为了解决这些不一致问题，本研究强调需要首先澄清支撑临界质量要求的机制。具体来说，我关注大多数人的行为如何因代表性的增强而发生变化，并评估相应的临界质量条件。对两个州交通站点数据的非参数分析发现，在华盛顿，当黑人警官占警力的 6-9% 时，白人警官对黑人司机的偏见就会减少。在南卡罗来纳州，黑人比例也发生了类似的变化，比例为 9-11% 和 19-23%。尽管调查结果表明对黑人司机的监管有所改善，但代表性的增加仍然未能实现黑人和白人司机之间的完全平等。在这两个州中，没有观察到西班牙裔代表的显着临界质量。