Desperately seeking management: Understanding management quality and its impact on government performance outcomes under the clean air act

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of management quality, spending, problem severity, and political factors on states' air pollution control outcomes and provides insights for improving the measures and methods used in public management and government performance research. The analysis illustrates the importance of selecting proper outcome measures and taking into account the interaction of management and spending when conducting empirical analysis into the causes of government performance. Additionally, the author demonstrates the benefits of conducting comparative empirical analysis using different, but theoretically connected, outcome measures. The findings and analysis presented should be of particular interest to public administration scholars seeking to conduct research that produces practical insights for public managers and policy makers on improving public management and government performance. © 2011 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved.