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The White House lawn on a sunny day.
Feature: Is DOGE Sure It Wants to Fire These People?

Juliette Kayyem examines the negative effects that Elon Musks’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could have on the safety of everyday Americans.

River running through a densely populated area.
Feature: Private Benefits from Public Investment in Climate Resilience

Joseph Aldy finds that governmental construction of levees, which enhance resilience to flood risks amplified by climate change, increases home values by 3-4 percent.

Person sits on a bed holding a check.
Feature: Assessing Government Outreach to Bolster Benefits Take-Up

Elizabeth Linos finds that light-touch interventions significantly, consistently, and cost-effectively increase benefits take-up among low-income households, while higher-touch proactive outreach yields minimal additional take-up.

Black family happily sits on the grass in a park.
Feature: Excess Mortality Rate in U.S. Black Children Since 1950

Soroush Saghafian finds that 5 million excess deaths of Black Americans, including over 500,000 infants, could have been avoided over the past 70 years if their mortality rates were equal to those of White Americans.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

Creating PerformanceStat's Organizational Competence and Commitment

Behn, Robert. "Creating PerformanceStat's Organizational Competence and Commitment." Paper for the Thirty Second Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Boston, November 3, 2010.

PerformanceStat as a Search for Strategic Evidence

Behn, Robert. "PerformanceStat as a Search for Strategic Evidence." Paper presented at the National Public Management Research Conference, Columbus, and the Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, D.C., October 1-3 and November 6, 2009.

Collaborating for Performance: Or Can There Exist Such A Thing As CollaborationStat?

Behn, Robert. "Collaborating for Performance: Or Can There Exist Such A Thing As CollaborationStat?" Paper for Thirtieth Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Los Angeles, November 2008.

PerformanceStat as a Leadership Strategy: It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got that
Follow-Up

Behn, Robert. "PerformanceStat as a Leadership Strategy: It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got that Follow-Up." Paper for Twelfth Annual Conference of the International Research Society for Public Management, Brisbane, March 2008.

The Seven Big Errors of PerformanceStat

Behn, Robert. "The Seven Big Errors of PerformanceStat." Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, policy brief, February 2008.

Designing PerformanceStat: Or What Are the Key Strategic Choices that a Jurisdiction or Agency Must Make When Adapting the Compstat/CitiStat Class of Performance Strategies?

Behn, Robert. "Designing PerformanceStat: Or What Are the Key Strategic Choices that a Jurisdiction or Agency Must Make When Adapting the Compstat/CitiStat Class of Performance Strategies?" Paper presented at the 29th Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, D.C., November 2007.

The Theory Behind Baltimore's CitiStat.

Behn, Robert. "The Theory Behind Baltimore's CitiStat." Paper presented at Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, November 2006.

Performance Leadership: 11 Better Practices That Can Ratchet Up Performance.

Behn, Robert. "Performance Leadership: 11 Better Practices That Can Ratchet Up Performance." Washington, D.C.: IBM Center for the Business of Government, 2004.