Public Administration Quarterly

Research suggests that competitive markets and contract design and management influence contractor performance. However, there is less systematic knowledge about how a government's policy-specific capacity and programmatic support to contractors influences performance. This study asks the question of what states can do to maximize the performance of contractors in the context of fiscal federalism. This question is tested in the context of the Weatherization Assistance Program, a federal program where states are specifically instructed to use third-party implementers (i.e. contractors). Specifically, I examine (1) whether state policy-specific capacity enhances program implementation support to help contractors meet their performance goals and (2) how state-provided technical assistance to government contractors can help these contractors achieve performance goals.

Tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) have been widely imposed on state and local governments. A substantial amount of research has been conducted on the effects of TELs, however, most have assumed that a TEL is equally binding on every local government in the state. This may not be the case; the degree to which a TEL constrains a jurisdiction is dependent on its position and context at the time of the TEL implementation, and, further, the responses of these governments might then be expected to be different over time. This study uses data for counties and special purpose districts in Nebraska, where property tax limits became effective in FY1999; we consider a variety of intended and unintended consequences over the 15 years under the limit. Our findings show the fiscal responses to and effects of the limits and how they vary between county governments that were more versus less restricted.

The extant literature has demonstrated the vast gender differences among public officials, especially as it relates to agenda priorities and implementation as well as leadership and management styles. However, questions remain as to budget-related organizational performance and gender differences. Previous studies have examined elected official and high level management differences with little research dedicated to staff personnel with major responsibilities. In this exploratory study, there is an examination of North Carolina county financial management influence based on quantitative performance indicators. Findings indicate female finance officers maintain a stronger gatekeeping role compared to male counterparts denying initial departmental request more frequently while maintaining suitable salaries; however, males have an increased probability of more budget discretion, staff, and increased investment income.

The corpus of scholarly literature on performance management largely neglects its role as a rhetorical device. Yet the performance narrative is truly an art of persuasion: it employs master tropes in order to discover warrantable beliefs. However, aside from a unidimensional account of synecdoche, where it is referred to simply as taking a part-for-the-whole, the rhetorical nature of performance management largely seems to have escaped notice in the public administration literature. Our focus is to provide a more fulsome account of synecdoche that can lead to a different perspective on what scholars and performance management architects have generally considered as perverse behavior and deceitful gaming. To provide our discussion with context we examine the persuasive intent and effect of the ‘Fit for the Future’ program, which sought to promote municipal amalgamations in New South Wales, Australia.