Data and Code for: Strengthening State Capacity: Civil Service Reform and Public Sector Performance during the Gilded Age

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Abhay Aneja, UC Berkeley Law; Guo Xu, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  data 04/03/2024 07:10:PM
  do 04/03/2024 07:13:PM
  results 03/05/2024 06:55:PM
  scratch 03/05/2024 06:55:PM
readme.txt text/plain 11.6 KB 04/04/2024 10:16:AM
replicate.do text/plain 2.9 KB 04/03/2024 03:18:PM

Project Citation: 

Aneja, Abhay, and Xu, Guo. Data and Code for: Strengthening State Capacity: Civil Service Reform and Public Sector Performance during the Gilded Age. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-06-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/E198825V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary We use newly digitized records from the Post Office to study the effects of strengthened state capacity between 1875-1901. Exploiting the  implementation of the Pendleton Act  – a landmark statute which shielded bureaucrats from political interference – across U.S. cities over two    waves, we find that  civil service reform reduced postal delivery errors and increased productivity. These  improvements were most pronounced during  election years when the reform dampened bureaucratic turnover. We provide suggestive evidence that reformed cities witnessed declining local partisan newspapers. Separating politics from administration, therefore, not only improved state effectiveness but also weakened the role of local politics. 

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms civil service reform; bureaucracy; pendleton
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D73 Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
      N41 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
      O30 Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States of America
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/1/1875 – 12/31/1901
Collection Date(s):  View help for Collection Date(s) 1/1/1875 – 12/31/1901
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) administrative records data


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V1 [2024-06-19]

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