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This study uses data from a national survey of economic developers working in local government to explore gender differences in the perceived importance of public services in the business recruitment process. The results of a series of ordinal logistic regression models suggest women are more likely than men to believe public service quality and availability are important concerns for companies considering their region. These findings are consistent with the body of work examining gender gaps in the perceptions of both policymakers and the general public that may have important implications for local governments interested in promoting economic growth.

Market forces provide a foundation for the expectations of efficiency in contracting out. However, often the lack of competition in particular industries creates powerful companies that are able to negotiate contracts in their favor, reducing improved performance for government agencies. To study how market power influences performance in service delivery in the transit industry, we examine individual contracts as our unit of analysis. We hypothesize that a vendor's market power directly influences an individual contract's operational efficiency. We find that the lack of competition in the execution of contracts is an important determinant of agency performance.