How scholars can support government analytics: Combining employee surveys with more administrative data sources towards a better understanding of how government functions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rogger, Daniel; Schuster, Christian
• 署名单位: The World Bank; University of London; University College London
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.13894
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 267-279
• 关键词: public management research; state

摘要

With the digitization of administrative systems, governments have gained access to rich data about their administrative operations. How governments leverage such data to improve their administration-what we call government analytics-will shape government effectiveness. This article summarizes a conceptual framework which showcases that data can help diagnose and improve all components of a public administration production function-from inputs such as personnel and goods, to processes and management practices, to outputs and outcomes. We then assess to what extent public administration scholarship analyses these data sources and can thus inform government analytics. A review of 689 quantitative articles in two public administration journals in 2013-2023 finds that 50% draw on surveys of public employees and 25% on surveys of citizens or firms. By contrast, administrative micro data (14% of articles) are underexploited. Practitioners and scholars would thus do well to expand the data sources used to inform better government.