A research agenda for public administration

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.

In order to be successful, public administration (PA) research has to be methodologically promiscuous. Attempting either quantitative or qualitative purity is no way to reflect the complex realities of public administration in the real world. Looking to the future of the subject, this Research Handbook seeks to suggest the future of PA research, and the directions which it may - or should - take.

With chapters from leading researchers, A Research Agenda for Public Administration offers observations, analysis, and concerns from researchers. With thematically linked chapters, this book focuses and clarifies the current research agenda for public administration while endorsing the need for relevant research in the field, and advocating for theory which fits the reality and practice of public administration, for example, in the areas of climate change, disease control, and migration and inequality.

This Research Agenda will assist students of PA as well as of public sector management, especially postgraduates, but it is also a useful resource for more established researchers seeking to understand the major emerging issues.

Contributors include: T. Brandsen, G. Brewer, W. Dreschsler, P. Dunleavy, C.A. Dunlop, M. Evans, M. Halupka, S. Kuhlman, T.R. Liiv, A. Massey, C. McGregor, K. Pan-Suk, C. Pollitt, C.M. Radaelli, T. Randma-Liiv, R. Rhodes, K. Sarapuu, T. Steen, B. Verschuere, D. Walker, L. Zhiyong