Compared to whom? Social and historical reference points and performance appraisals by managers, students, and the general public

Amanda Rutherford, Thomas Rabovsky and Megan Darnley
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Amanda Rutherford: Indiana University
Thomas Rabovsky: Indiana University
Megan Darnley: Indiana University

Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 2021, vol. 4, issue 1

Abstract: Experimental studies in public administration often focus on samples of non-practitioner groups. In these cases, it is unclear whether findings from non-practitioner groups are generalizable to public managers. Some literature suggests that bureaucrats are likely to hold biases similar to the rest of the population while other research argues that bureaucratic expertise and training allow practitioners to make decisions in more strategic or rational ways. This study works within the literature of performance information to test for differences in responses to the same experiment among college students, citizens, and public managers in the context of U.S. K-12 education. Some differences were detected across groups, though results reveal largely similar findings which have implications for when and how scholars might rely on non-practitioner samples to consider the attitudes and behaviors of bureaucrats or elected policymakers.

Keywords: Sample comparisons; Survey experiment; Information framing; Perceived performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D90 D91 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpd:articl:v:4:y:2021:i:1:jbpa.41.149

DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.41.149

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