Bruce McDonald (academic)

Within the context of government performance, McDonald has focused on the issue of defense finance at the federal level. He has explored the impact of defense spending on economic performance in post-Soviet states, revealing an unexpected positive influence on overall economic growth.[20] His 2016 work published in Armed Forces & Society, challenged the assumption that economic sanctions always hinder a nation's stability, suggesting that increased defense spending can offset the negative effects of sanctions on economic growth, as seen in the case of Iran.[21] More recently in 2021, he presented a model showcasing the positive impact of human capital investments in the defense sector on economic performance, particularly emphasizing on-the-job human capital accumulation during military service, with findings indicating lower benefits compared to formal education investments.[22]

McDonald's research has also been concerned with evaluating the fiscal health and performance of local municipalities. He has examined the impact of charter government adoption on county fiscal health, finding that charters enhance fiscal health and influence service delivery.[23] In 2017, he explored efficient public organization management, providing insights on measuring fiscal health in 150 municipalities using FiSC data.[24] Additionally, he studied financial condition measurement systems' implications for governance through event history analyses, aiming to assist local government management.[25] In a 2021 study spanning 1990 to 2015 across 32 states, he concluded that financial incentives divert resources, negatively impacting state fiscal health.[26] He has also analyzed the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on U.S. local governments, focusing on North Carolina counties, highlighting sales tax revenue declines and their consequences on fiscal health during the pandemic.[27]

McDonald has made contributions to the field of public administration, particularly in the area of social equity research. In 2021, he alongside Sean McCandless, argued for the inclusion of social equity considerations in budgeting education within Master of Public Administration programs to address inequities in resource allocation.[28] Furthermore, he discussed how the publication Achieving Social Equity: From Problems to Solutions edited by Mary E. Guy and Sean A. McCandless marked a significant advancement in the social equity literature and a shift towards a new era of research focused on practical solutions for fostering social equity in public administration.[29] In subsequent research, he examined the integration of social equity into local government budgeting processes by offering a framework that outlined grassroots involvement, support from elected officials, community engagement, administrative commitment, and ongoing discussions about measuring social equity in budgeting.[30]

McDonald's research in public sector organizations has centered on employee roles and authority mediation as well. His 2016 work examined followership behavior's impact on job satisfaction, emphasizing supervisor support and performance culture.[31] He also explored perceived organizational support's mediating effect on job learning opportunities, linking it to supervisor support and employee engagement.[32] In his 2018 research work, he investigated P–O fit's role in turnover intention, proposing a mediation model influenced by employee followership and job satisfaction, based on Hobfoll's resource conservation theory.[33] Addressing PSM and individual performance inconsistencies, he tested a three-path mediation model, revealing P–O fit and OC mediate the PSM-organizational citizenship behavior link.[34]

McDonald has also explored the historical evolution of public administration education in the United States, tracing its origins and the modernization of teaching and academic programs. He has conducted research into the current state of public administration education in the nation, including the types and focus of academic programs in the field.[35] He has further investigated current events and judgment as the causes behind the disregard of history in American public administration and management, emphasizing that learning history can be of use within this area.[36] He has advocated for the significance of pedagogical research in public administration, emphasizing its direct impact on classroom teaching and its higher readership and citation rates compared to other subfields in the discipline.[37]

• The Public Affairs Faculty Manual: A Guide to the Effective Management of Public Affairs Programs (2020) ISBN 978-0367893361
• Teaching Public Budgeting and Finance: A Practical Guide (2021) ISBN 978-1032146706
• Work-Life Balance in Higher Education (2022) ISBN 978-1032324043
• Understanding Municipal Fiscal Health (2023) ISBN 978-1032055428

• Jin, M., McDonald, B., & Park, J. (2016). Followership and job satisfaction in the public sector: The moderating role of perceived supervisor support and performance-oriented culture. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 29(3), 218–237.
• McDonald, B. I. (2017). Front Matter. In Measuring the Fiscal Health of Municipalities (p. [i]-[iii]). Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
• Jin, M. H., & McDonald, B. (2017). Understanding employee engagement in the public sector: The role of immediate supervisor, perceived organizational support, and learning opportunities. The American Review of Public Administration, 47(8), 881–897.
• Jin, M. H., McDonald, B., & Park, J. (2018). Person–organization fit and turnover intention: Exploring the mediating role of employee followership and job satisfaction through conservation of resources theory. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 38(2), 167–192.
• Jin, M. H., McDonald, B., & Park, J. (2018). Does public service motivation matter in public higher education? Testing the theories of person–organization fit and organizational commitment through a serial multiple mediation model. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(1), 82–97.