The Dynamics of Motivation and Representation in the Public Sector Workforce

A long literature in public administration scholarship has demonstrated the importance ofbureaucratic discretion among public sector workers in explaining performance and successfulpolicy implementation in public organizations. Recognizing the need for tools to manageworkers’ discretion, both directly and indirectly, to ensure effectiveness, accountability, andequity in delivering public services, public management scholars have identified intrinsic motivationsand demographic identity as important factors in shaping workers’ job performance.Using data from a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of secondary students, thisdissertation contains three empirical studies of theoretically important aspects of these twofactors.First, I examine the effects of civics coursework and school service participation on thedevelopment of public service motivation (PSM), an intrinsic motivation theoretically importantfor engaging in public sector work. After matching students on their estimated propensityto participate in school service (civics), I demonstrate that participation in school serviceincreases some dimensions of PSM. Second, using multinomial logistic regressions, I showthat PSM measured in high school predicts beginning a career in the public or nonprofit sectors.Finally, using the context of college enrollment, I show that demographic representationamong the student body predicts student enrollment decisions, consistent with propositionsderived from representative bureaucracy theory.