Scholars

Assistant Professor

Positions:

Assistant Professor, Public Service and Administration, Bush School of Government and Public Service

overview

Dr. Mallory E. Compton received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 2016, and she joined the Public Service & Administration Department in the Bush School at Texas A&M as an Assistant Professor in 2019. Dr. Compton teaches core courses in the Master of Public Service and Administration degree program, including Public Management and Foundations of Public Service. She has twice been awarded the program's Silver Star Faculty Award for excellence in teaching (2021 and 2022). In her research, Dr. Compton studies the political prerequisites of success and performance in bureaucratic agencies, with a focus on the implementation of social welfare policies. Her work addresses questions of organizational performance and equity in administrative processes. Dr. Compton has published 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and three editor-reviewed chapters. Her co-edited book Great Policy Successes was published by Oxford University Press, and her research has appeared in top-tier journals in both political science and public administration, including the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Journal of Politics, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Public Administration, and Public Management Review. Dr. Compton is chair of 12 masters' committees and a member of five doctoral committees.

education and training

Utrecht University - (Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands), Postdoctoral Training 2019
Ph.D. in Political Science, Texas A&M University - (College Station, Texas, United States) 2016
M.P.A. in Public and Economic Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science - (London, Camden, United Kingdom) 2010
B.A. in Political Science and Economics, Summa cum Laude, Texas A&M University - (College Station, Texas, United States) 2008

selected publications

Academic Articles12

Compton, M. E., Young, M. M., Bullock, J. B., & Greer, R. (2023). Administrative Errors and Race: Can Technology Mitigate Inequitable Administrative Outcomes?. Journal of public administration research and theory. 33(3), 512-528.
Young, M. M., Compton, M., Bullock, J. B., & Greer, R. (2023). Complexity, errors, and administrative burdens. ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1-21.
Compton, M. E., & Philips, A. Q. (2023). Does job insecurity shape policy preferences? An experimental manipulation of labor market risk. Journal of Politics.
Compton, M., Douglas, S., Fahy, L., Luetjens, J., 't Hart, P., & van Erp, J. (2022). New development: Walk on the bright side-what might we learn about public governance by studying its achievements?. Public Money and Management. 42(1), 49-51.

SDG 16
Nesbit, R., Paarlberg, L. E., & Compton, M. E. (2020). Who is my neighbor? The effect of community racial in-group representation and residential isolation on volunteering. Politics, Groups and Identities. 8(5), 918-936.

Books1

Compton, M., & Hart, P. (2019). Great Policy Successes. Oxford University Press.

Chapters6

Compton, M. E., & Hart, P. T. (2019). How to See Great Policy Successes. Great Policy Successes. 1-20. Oxford University Press (OUP).

SDG 4
Compton, M. E. (2019). The Social Warfare State. Great Policy Successes. 104-121. Oxford University Press (OUP).

SDG 4
Compton, M., & Hart, P. T. (2019). How to 'see' great policy successes: A field guide to spotting policy successes in the wild. Compton, M., & Hart, P. T. (Eds.), Great Policy Successes. 1-20. Oxford University Press, USA.
Compton, M. (2019). The 'Social Warfare State': Americans' making of a civic generation. Compton, M., & Hart, P. T. (Eds.), Great Policy Successes. 104-121. Oxford University Press, USA.
Compton, M. E., & Hart, P. T. (2019). Looping to success (and failure): second-order mechanisms and policy outcomes. Capano, G., Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Virani, A. (Eds.), MAKING POLICIES WORK: FIRST- AND SECOND-ORDER MECHANISMS IN POLICY DESIGN. 191-210. Edward Elgar Publishing.