The Scope and Trends of Public Administration Publications from Selected Journals Between the Year 2000 and 2019

Abstract

What are the trends in public administration scholarship since the turn of the new millennium? This article explores this question by examining four broad themes: (1) authorship/co-authorship, (2) topics of focus, (3) methodology, and (4) funding status of the articles. We examined 2798 articles published in four leading public administration journals between 2000 and 2019. Significant change has emerged in the characteristics of authors, methodology, and the nature of topics published. The study also reveals huge disparities in author contributions by region, gender, and profession, as well as in funding. The article concludes with a set of recommendations to improve public administration scholarship.