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Public administration has dedicated much discussion to the ranking of academic journals, but little to no research focused on the quality and contributions of publishing academic books. To address this gap in the literature, we surveyed public administration scholars who have published books. We used the data from this survey to establish a scholarly ranking of book publishers in the field. The findings of the survey show public administration scholars prefer commercial over academic presses when publishing their books. This could be due to the authors' decisions, the publishers seeking and supporting research in public administration, or, most likely, a combination of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two essential questions for those leading the field of public administration are: What do we teach our students, and how do we train them? As scholars, we pay significant attention to our research, often to the detriment of recognizing the potential for merging our research with teaching through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, given our students' leadership positions, SoTL-related work is vital to their success. In this article, we have come together to reflect on the state of SoTL's work in public administration. Through this reflection, we explore the windows of opportunity for research that we see emerging. Included among these opportunities is the need for research on how we can best serve students in and out of the classroom, as well as research the most effective way of managing our programs. We also see the need for research into faculty development, instructional design, and the return on investment for a public administration degree. Lastly, we argue for improved recognition of the value and contribution of SoTL-related work in tenure and promotion standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts has reached monumental heights in the past decade as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement and other DEIA efforts. This shift in thought has impacted recruitment and hiring practices in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For years, universities have tried a variety of mechanisms to increase the pool of minority applicants in PhD programs as well as the faculty ranks. However, many of these efforts have not been sustainable. In this article, we discuss the results from a survey of graduate-level public affairs programs to discern specific efforts to increase the number of minority students pursuing graduate degrees and subsequently the number of minority faculty. In addition, we completed an extant review of the literature to determine additional practices that have proven fruitful in other graduate programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the authors' experience as editors-in-chief of the Journal of Public Affairs Education. They reflect on their goals of elevating the discussion around the scholarship of teaching and learning and promoting case studies for the public affairs classroom. They express gratitude for their colleagues and the support they received during their tenure. The authors also highlight the importance of valuing research in all areas, including the scholarship of teaching and learning, in the field of public administration. They conclude by expressing confidence in the new editorial team and thanking those who contributed to the journal's success. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the importance of mentorship in higher education, specifically in the field of public affairs education. Mentorship is defined as the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and psychosocial support between a mentor and a protégé. The article highlights the benefits of mentorship for both graduate students and faculty members, including emotional support, career satisfaction, and increased research output. However, mentorship in public affairs education is still evolving and lacks a one-size-fits-all approach. The article presents seven studies on mentorship in public affairs education, addressing topics such as gender and racial factors, intersectionality, the needs of women faculty, challenges faced by faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the integration of mentoring into online programs. The authors emphasize the importance of diverse and equitable mentorship to support the success of students and faculty in a changing and diverse society. [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, we examine the impact of the charter form of government on the borrowing costs of local governments. A substantial amount of research has been undertaken to date in which scholars have investigated the determinants of borrowing costs for governments. However, little research has been conducted hitherto on the impact that the particular form of government - a key issuer characteristic - has on determining its specific borrowing costs. We hypothesized that a chartered government is more likely to be able to reduce its borrowing costs when it is benefiting from the municipal bond market; a government's flexibility and professionalism is desirable. We tested this hypothesis by using city and county government bond data from California that dates from 2003 to 2015. In our findings, we show that the financial flexibility that is afforded by a charter helps local governments to improve their credit ratings and to lower their borrowing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the question of which is a better form of governance and leadership – elected or appointed – is considered to be a relevant issue in public administration. Many studies have advocated the appointed form in terms of professional management and fiscal performance. However, there is limited knowledge about the application of this form of government to school districts that are the main issuers in the municipal bond market, but financially rely on state governments. We discuss whether the type of education board in the school district (i.e. appointed or elected boards) affect debt positions. We expect school districts with citizen-elected boards to be more likely to reduce debt positions due to the reelection concerns of board members. Using a panel dataset of New Jersey school districts from 1997 to 2016, we are able to estimate the impact of board type on the cumulative debt of a board. The findings offer evidence that, when compared to appointed school boards, elected school boards are more likely to reduce their long-term debt and interest payments, as well as long-term debt as a percentage of own-source revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how the mechanisms of transformational leadership influence innovative work behavior in the public sector and examines the mediating role of psychological capital. Based on the responses of 2,070 Korean central and local government employees, the results indicated that transformational leadership influences innovative work behavior indirectly through psychological capital. This study's findings contribute to an advanced understanding of the transformational leadership-innovative work behavior relationship and the importance of psychological capital in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States award merit aid scholarships to motivate student achievement. Merit aid programs also eliminate the movement of high-performing students to out-of-state institutions and increase access to postsecondary education for low-income families. Despite the perceived benefits of adopting a program, only 34 states have chosen to do so. Using an event history analysis approach and data for all 50 states from 1992 to 2015, we explore how external mechanisms influence the decision of a state to adopt a program. The results show that states adopt to gain a competitive edge. However, that decision is heavily influenced by the decisions of others, with trends in regional and national adoptions increasing the likelihood of a state adopting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American cities are creatures of their states, with states both granting and limiting the power of their cities. This relationship is characterized by how cooperative or competitive states are with cities in their legislation. Despite the recent attention given to state preemption of local laws, this is not a new phenomenon. Part of the confusion surrounding preemption is that there is no shared definition or understanding of its forms. The purpose of this article is to begin to create that shared conception. In doing so, we define preemption according to its historic origins as the use of coercive methods to substitute state priorities for local policymaking. We argue modern state preemption of local laws can be divided into four phases, each with their own policies and mechanisms. We show how preemption has changed over time, shifting the functional, legal, and political relationship between states and their cities. Together, these phases help assist policymakers and administrators in understanding the nature of state preemption, and thus how to create and implement local policies in an environment where the distribution of power between governments is competitive and changing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model to illustrate how human capital investments made by the defense sector impact economic performance. Emphasizing the on-the-job accumulation of human capital during military service, the model demonstrates the effect of investments on the accumulation of human capital and output of the defense sector, whose military good has a spillover effect on general production. Calibrated with data from the United States for the years 1949 to 2014, investments are shown to positively impact both the accumulation of human capital and economic growth. The measured benefits are seen to be lower than investments made into formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonprofit sector aims to provide services with a public benefit, but how honest is it? Since the nonprofit sector relies on fundraising efforts to support its administration and program costs, and since poor financial performance can scare potential contributors away, nonprofit organizations have an incentive to appear fiscally healthy regardless of their true condition. We examine the factors associated with the honesty of organizations in the nonprofit sector using Benford's Law, which tests for abnormalities in data that result from intentional falsification. Using the 990 tax filings for 51,010 nonprofits in the United States from 2012 and 2013, we find evidence of problems in the accuracy of their financial reporting. Those organizations with more external users of their financial information tend to conform more closely with Benford's Law, suggesting more external monitoring of non-profit organizations may decrease the likelihood of misreported financial information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent studies have examined whether the presence of internal audit in the public sector affects the outcomes of external audits. The issue is important because all government leaders face pressure to justify program and organizational unit value in measurable ways or risk budget reductions and elimination. The earlier studies offer mixed conclusions focusing on larger cities and state agencies. Our study examines the same issue but focuses on larger and smaller cities. Using data from a population of Florida cities we test using logistic regression whether external audit outcomes differ between those cities with and those without an internal audit function. Our results show that cities with an internal audit function are more likely to receive a clean audit report than those without one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As editors, we have sought to use our role to shape the discussion on the science of teaching and learning within public administration. Pautz and Vogel ([8]) explore this challenge by connecting the public service motivation literature with the conversations of faculty motivation and work-life balance in the discipline. Investigating faculty motivation and its connection to faculty work-life balance: Engaging public service motivation to explore faculty motivation. [Extracted from the article]

While we focus on emergency response and state preemptions, this is part of a broader pattern of states limiting local governments' policymaking ability. Alabama enacted a floor preemption when the State Health Officer stated specific local governments may be authorized to adopt more stringent response measures. Keywords: COVID-19; preemption; state-local relationships EN COVID-19 preemption state-local relationships 186 194 9 03/08/21 20200901 NES 200901 The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), has spurred a large governmental response from all levels of the U.S. intergovernmental system. This leads some states to prefer a local response with state support and other states to prefer a more uniform, state-mandated response enabled by state preemption of local actions. [Extracted from the article]

One of the difficulties faced in the effective and efficient management of public organizations is the understanding of when the organization is showing symptoms of financial distress. Administrators and researchers alike have typically relied upon financial condition systems such as Brown's (1993) 10-point test and Wang, Dennis, and Tu's (2007) financial condition index (FCI). The evidence is mounting that these systems are ineffective at predicting fiscally distressed communities; however, previous studies are limited to either case studies or entities in a few states. In an attempt to generalize over a longer period of time and across more states, this analysis utilizes a sample of 150 municipalities for the period of 1977 to 2012. The authors test the efficacy of the measurement approaches with a series of rare event history analyses (EHA) that captures their utility in predicting municipal bankruptcy or state takeover of financial operations. The findings are consistent with previous studies - financial condition systems do not predict fiscally distressed communities. Measures of fiscal reserves and long-term liabilities were more effective at predicting distress, suggesting that scholars should continue to work on the refinement of measures rather than systems of fiscal condition as predictors of fiscal distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A core feature of academic research is the peer review process. The thinking behind this process is straightforward: in an effort to ensure the validity of research, opinions regarding the reliability, thoroughness, and appropriateness of reports on research findings are solicited from outside experts before they are cleared for publication. However, little guidance is provided in the literature or in the development and training of scholars regarding precisely what constitutes effective peer review. The aim of this article is to help to fill this gap. Drawing on our experience as scholars and editors of academic journals, we trace the peer review process from the selection of reviewers through to the crafting of a coherent set of recommendations for the author(s) of a manuscript under consideration. We conclude by urging peer reviewers to approach the process with the care, professionalism, and rigor demanded by this fundamental part of the scholarly endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The condition of a local government's fiscal health presents challenges to those working for the government, but also to those who rely upon the goods and services that it provides. Significant attention has been paid to improving our understanding of fiscal health to improve the decision-making process of administrators. Unfortunately, little consensus has emerged concerning how it is defined and how it is measured. How we view the defining terms and resulting measurement, however, has differing legal implications related to a government's bankruptcy or the imposition of an emergency manager by the state. Our understanding of fiscal health can also affect the recognition of a government's liability. This article seeks to bring some understanding to the fiscal health of local governments. This is accomplished by defining fiscal health, providing an overview of how the health is measured, and discussing the legal implications that emerge as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many factors drive individuals to an academic career, the fundamental public service motivation that all of us in the field have, drives us to spend our time working to improve the quality of the public organizations and those they serve. But through each conversation, we are reminded that we are not alone in doing this work and that we stand on the shoulders of academic giants that have made it easier for us to do our work and still have some life left over. [Extracted from the article]

Since the start of the Great Recession, the issue of fiscal health possesses a prominent place in the management of local governments. To ensure the government's continuation and its provision of services, administrators must balance the demands of the public with the resources it has available. Although a number of measurement approaches appear to help administrators, there is a lack of agreement on how fiscal health should be measured. To aid in the management of local governments and push the academic literature forward, this article investigates the measurement systems of financial condition established in the literature while considering their implications on governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-intended tax policy often produces unintended consequences. In this article, we look at one such tax policy, specialised surtaxes in the State of Florida. Surtaxes are frequently adopted to provide financial assistance to poverty-based local programmes and services. Despite the intended benefits, we show that the contributors of the tax have been able to capitalise the cost into the residential property market, ultimately placing the burden of the surtax upon the population its revenue intends to help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next, Rauhaus and Schuchs Carr ([8]) investigate the gender differences among public administration faculty. Knepper, Scutelnicu, and Tekula ([4]) also study gender differences within the discipline; however, they do so in the context of research productivity. Using 126 years of dissertation data, Yun, Hamidullah, and McDougle ([10]) analyzed the gender differences in doctoral research among public administration scholars. [Extracted from the article]

The mission of the I Journal of Public Affairs Education i is to serve the fields of public administration, public affairs, and public policy through the publication of impactful research on the scholarship of teaching and learning and the management of public affairs programs. Denison and Kim reflect on these questions from the perspective of the budgeting and finance coursework that students take, ultimately establishing a series of core competencies that should be addressed in the curriculum. Miller ([8]) then explores the relationship between the curricula of graduate public affairs programs with the curricula of schools that also offer undergraduate programs. [Extracted from the article]

Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in the United States, often providing goods and services to populations where no alternative is available. We expand the understanding of nonprofit management by focusing on the influence of an individual's religious attitude on their charitable donations. Using a survey of 1,530 households, we find that religiously conservative individuals contribute more than liberals both in terms of support to religiously affiliated nonprofits and total donations to nonprofit organizations. The findings of this study hold important implications for nonprofits in terms of the types of services they provide and the stipulations placed upon service recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]