Suchergebnisse

Counties have expanded the scope of their activities in the economic development process. However, limited research exists of the factors that influence economic growth and development trends of these unique communities. The primary focus of this case study analysis is to determine whether form of government has an impact on county economic growth and development trends while controlling for environmental context and demographic characteristics in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington. To empirically test the impact that county form of government and environmental factors have on local economic growth and development trends, ordinary least squares regression is used. The results of this study show that form of government has only a marginal impact on county economic growth and development trends. County environmental factors are found to have a more substantive impact on the economic growth and development trends of counties across these four states.

AbstractThe diversity management literature is inconsistent regarding factors that affect job satisfaction of marginalized groups. We examine job satisfaction of LGBTs in the US federal workforce by following the path of the diversity management and job satisfaction research. We empirically test this relationship using the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey employing confirmatory factor analysis and structural equal modelling. We find that increased perceptions of a culture of diversity contribute to LGBT employee perception of their skills being effectively utilized as well as employee job satisfaction. We also find that LGBT's perception of their skills directly contributes to job satisfaction. We conclude by offering policy implications for public managers to consider when developing diversity management strategies for marginalized groups. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Studies find minimal evidence that general‐purpose local governments draw down slack resources set aside during prosperous times to contend with economic downturns; although they maintain, in some cases, unrestricted fund balances well in excess of professionally recommended levels. Replicating divergence from the trend methodology in the state of Illinois that provides greater discretion to create and use savings, the analysis finds counties budget slack resources counter‐cyclically (in downturn but not in upturn years) when controlling for political/institutional, revenue, economic, and demographic factors. This article discusses plausible alternative explanations for non‐findings to explore in future studies.