HWS Faculty Publications

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    Using public–private partnerships for political reasons: the Government’s motivation and conditions
    (Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2025-01-13) Han, Yanbing; Guo, David
    Why does government use Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs)? Besides their economic values, we argue PPPs are used for political reasons. Employing a political agency framework, we explain how politicians use PPPs to appear competent and extract rents, and under what conditions these political potentials are attractive and accessible to politicians. By analysing U.S. state-level data, we reveal some political and fiscal variables that are associated with PPP initiations and uncover state PPP legal framework diminishes the associations. By echoing literature on public administration, political economy and state politics, our research responds to the call to study the political natures of PPPs. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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    Navigating local fiscal sustainability: topics and challenges
    (2024-10-13) Zhang, Pengju; Guo, David
    Owing to pressing fiscal challenges, local fiscal sustainability has garnered increasing attention among scholars worldwide. This paper critically examines key conceptual and methodological challenges present in the existing literature. Our aim is to offer critiques and recommendations that could guide future research endeavours on this important topic. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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    Where we stand: A review on equity in public administration and policy
    (Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, 2023) Shen, Ruowen; Harrison, Nicole; Curley, Cali; Coleman, Michael
    Public administration identifies social equity as a foundational pillar of the field; despite many calls to action for research to emphasize equity, only 127 articles across 22 journals (11 Public Administration, 11 Policy) over the past decade (2009-2019) explicitly use the word equity in the title, abstract, or keywords. This review discusses the range of scholarship explicitly addressing equity across public administration and public policy. The paper depicts research gaps and suggests future directions for scholars to research equity. © 2020 SPAEF.
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    Identifying the health benefits of city bike infrastructure expansion policy
    (Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2024) Shen, Ruowen; Williams, Patrice C.; Coutts, Christopher
    The aim of this study was to understand how policy actions implemented by city governments to improve infrastructure within the built environment can in turn influence healthy behaviors and population health. The authors investigated the associations between policy actions implemented by city governments to improve biking infrastructure and multiple health outcomes including leisure-time physical inactivity, obesity and coronary heart disease (CHD). In addition, this study tested if bike use for commuting and leisure-time physical activity were mediators between policy actions to improve biking infrastructure and health outcomes, and whether the health effects of bike infrastructure were different in cities of different population density. We merged local sustainability survey data with city-level chronic disease measures for the largest cities in the U.S. (n = 457). Results from regressions using Ordinary Least Squares estimation and mediation tests showed policies implemented to improve biking infrastructure were associated with lower prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity, obesity and CHD. These relationships were most notable in medium-density cities (1,500-3,000/sq. mi). Moreover, leisure-time physical activity and active commuting mediated the relationship between bike infrastructure improvement policies and health outcomes. This study demonstrated the value of a policy-based intervention in enhancing population health. © 2024 Urban Affairs Association.
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    The security, structure, and market of municipal debt: Recent trends, research, and developments
    (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2023-09) Hildreth, W. Bartley; Jose, Justina
    The American municipal securities market is a significant feature of subnational financing as around 50 percent of subnational governments issue debt to finance their public projects. Over the years, this market has evolved to deal with threats to the security undergirding debt instruments, disruptions to alternative debt structures, and material changes in the regulatory environment facing issuers as they seek to access the capital markets. For each of these three sections - security, structure and market - this chapter traces recent developments and related literature, and pinpoints significant research findings. These developments range from those caused as a result of the Great Recession to relatively recent events that significantly affect the market. The chapter closes with research and policy opportunities.