The Ohio State University
John Glenn College of Public Affairs
Columbus, Ohio 
compton.297@osu.edu
ORCID: 0000-0002-5124-238X
Updated May 2025

The Ohio State University
Assistant Professor, John Glenn College of Public Affairs
2025–Present

Bush School of Government, Texas A&M University
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Service & Administration
2019–2025

University of Pittsburgh
Academic Visitor, Graduate School of Public & International Affairs
Fall 2023

Utrecht University, Netherlands
Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Governance
2017–2019

Carlos H. Cantu Post-Doctoral Fellow, Texas A&M University
Project for Equity, Representation & Governance
2016

• 2016, Ph.D. Political Science, Texas A&M University, College Station
• 2010, M.P.A. Public and Economic Policy, London School of Economics & Political Science
• 2008, B.A. Political Science and Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station

^†Open access publication; Cite counts from Google Scholar

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Compton, Mallory E., and Andrew Q. Philips. 2024. “Does job insecurity shape policy preferences? An experimental manipulation of labor market risk,” accepted for publication in the Journal of Politics. 86(2): 804-809. doi.org/10.1086/726932 (Cited by 2)

^†Young, Matthew, Mallory E. Compton, Justin Bullock and Robert Greer. 2024. “Complexity, Errors, and Administrative Burdens.” Public Management Review. 26(10): 2847-2867. doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2288247 (Cited by 5)

Compton, Mallory E., Matthew Young, Justin Bullock, and Robert Greer. 2023. “Administrative Errors and Race: Can technology mitigate inequitable administrative outcomes?” Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory. 33(3): 512-528. doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muac036 (Cited by 23)

- Winner of the 2024 Best Journal Article Award from the Academy of Management Public and Nonprofit Division

^†Compton, Mallory E., Scott Douglas, Lauren Fahy, Joannah Luetjens, Paul ’t Hart, and Judith van Erp. 2022. “Walk on the bright side: What might we learn about public governance by studying its achievements?” Public Money & Management 42(1): 49-51. doi.org/10.4000/irpp.514 (Cited by 25)

^†Compton, Mallory E. 2021. “Serving the Unemployed: Do more generous social insurance programs provide better quality service?” Korean Journal of Policy Studies 36(3):1-11. doi.org/10.52372/kjps36301 (Cited by 4)

Nesbit, Rebecca, Laurie Paarlberg, and Mallory E. Compton. 2020. “Who is My Neighbor?: The Effect of Racial In-Group Representation and Residential Isolation on Volunteering,” Politics, Groups & Identities 8(5):918-936. doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2019.1584747 (Cited by 4)

^†Compton, Mallory E., Johanna Luetjens, and Paul ’t Hart. 2019. “Designing for Policy Success” International Review of Public Policy 1(2): 119-146. doi.org/10.4000/irpp.514 (Cited by 55)

Meier, Kenneth J., Mallory E. Compton, Miyeon Song, John Polga-Hecimovich, and Cameron Wimpy. 2019. “Bureaucracy and the Failure of Politics: Challenges to Democratic Governance” Administration & Society 51(10): 1576-1605. doi.org/10.1177/00953997198747 (Cited by 100)

Compton, Mallory E. and Christine S. Lipsmeyer. 2019. “Everybody Hurts Sometimes: Pocketbook and Sociotropic Policy Preferences in Context,” Journal of Politics 81(2): 539-551. doi.org/10.1086/701721 (Cited by 30)

^†Compton, Mallory E. 2018. “Less Bang for Your Buck? How Social Capital Constrains the Effectiveness of Social Welfare Spending,” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 18(3): 215-245. doi.org/10.1177/1532440018775424 (Cited by 11)

Compton, Mallory E., and Kenneth J. Meier. 2016. “Managing Social Capital and Diversity for Performance in Public Organizations.” Public Administration 94(3): 609-29. doi.org/10.1111/padm.12237 (Cited by 39)

Meier, Kenneth J., Nathan Favero, and Mallory E. Compton, 2016. “Social Context, Management, and Organizational Performance: When Human Capital and Social Capital Serve as Substitutes,” Public Management Review 18(2):258-277. doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2014.984621 (Cited by 41)

Editor-Reviewed Articles & Chapters

^†Compton, Mallory E. 2019. “The ‘Social Warfare State’: Americans’ Making of a Civic Generation” in Great Policy Successes. M. Compton and P. ’t Hart, eds. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press, 104-121. doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198843719.003.0006 (Cited by 6)

^†Compton, Mallory E. and Paul ’t Hart. 2019. “Looping to Success (and Failure): Second-order Mechanisms and Policy Outcomes” in Making Policies Work: First and Second Order Mechanisms in Policy Design. G. Capano, M. Howlett, and M. Ramesh, eds. Edward Elgar Publishing, 191-210. doi.org/10.4337/9781788118194.00021 (Cited by 14)

Compton, Mallory E., and Kenneth J. Meier. 2017 “Bureaucracy to Post-Bureaucracy: The Consequences of Political Failures” in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.127 (Cited by 15)

Book

^†Compton, Mallory E. and Paul ‘t Hart. (eds.) 2019. Great Policy Successes. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198843719.001.0001

• Cited by 123; print book held by 69 libraries; e-book held by 320 libraries worldwide.
• Reviewed by: McConnell, Allan. 2021. “Great Policy Successes” in Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 23(3): 389-90. doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2020.1752607

^?Graduate student when project began

“The Pink Burden: Gender and administrative errors”

“Politics, Policy, and Administrative Errors,” with Matthew Young (Leiden University, NL) and Robert Greer (Texas A&M University)

“How Social Constructions of Deservingness Shape Bureaucratic Eligibility Determinations: A Configurational Analysis of Benefit Accuracy Measurement Data,” with David Carter (University of Utah) and Dallas Elgin (RTI International)

Unweaving a Nations Fabric: The dual face of social capital in American governance. 

• Co-authored volume with Kenneth J. Meier (American University). [Under contract with Michigan University Press. Manuscript in preparation]

“Sources of Insecurity: A Conjoint Experiment on the Determinants of Policy Preferences,” with Andrew Philips (CU Boulder), Komal Kaur (Princeton University), and Annabelle Hutchinson (Hamilton College)

“Labor Market Risk and Preferences for Social Insurance: A cross-national survey experiment,” with Andrew Philips (CU Boulder) and Komal Kaur (Princeton University).

• Submitted as a proposal to the NSF Accountable Institutions and Behavior Program,
• $677,000, in August 2023. [Unfunded, intended resubmission following pilot study.]

Technical Report

Compton, Mallory E. 2011. “Industrial Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries:A Background Note,” Vienna: United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Economic Research Working Paper No. 03/2011. (Cited by 11)

Data Products

Compton, Mallory E. 2020. Unemployment Insurance Administrative Errors Dataset 2002-2018. Texas A&M University Bush School of Government. Version 16 January 2020.

Compton, Mallory E. 2023. State Unemployment Insurance Laws and Policy Characteristics, 1990-2022. Texas A&M University Bush School of Government. Version July 2023.

Compton, Mallory E., Polly Calderon, and Kenneth J. Meier. 2013. National Nursing Home Survey. College Station, TX: Project for Equity, Representation and Governance, Texas. (Cited by 10)

Popularizing

Compton, Mallory E. and Paul ’t Hart. 2019. “Despite Brexit, there is still plenty to learn from government successes”Oxford University Press Blog. https://blog.oup.com/2019/09/ despite-brexit-there-is-still-plenty-to-learn-from-government-successes/ (17 September 2019).

Compton, Mallory E. and Paul ’t Hart. 2019. “Forget blunders – here’s what we can learn from great policy successes”Civil Service World. https://www.civilserviceworld.com /articles/opinion/forget-blunders-%E2%80%93-here%E2%80%99s-what-we-can-learn-greatpolicy-successes (18 September 2019).

Compton, Mallory E. and Paul ’t Hart. 2019. “Against negativism: what we can learn from great public policy successes” Centre for Public Impact. https://www.centreforpublicimpact. org/negativism-can-learn-great-public-policy-successes/ (5 September 2019).

Compton, Mallory E., and Christine S. Lipsmeyer. 2019. “In the US, Preferences for More or Less Generous Social Policies Are Personal.” London School of Economics American Politics and Policy Blog. http://bit.ly/2u7C17p.

Compton, Mallory E. 2019. “Economic Insecurity is Rising, and Social Capital May be Making it Worse.” London School of Economics American Politics and Policy Blog. http://bit.ly/2GVZVdK

[1] Conference canceled

European Political Science Association Annual Conference    
2017, 2020 [1] -2024

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference    
2012-2017, 2020∗-2025

Public Management Research Conference    
2017

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting  
2013-2016, 2025

Invited Conferences

Bureaucratic Aversion to Criticism: International Perspectives amid Populism and Polarization, German Institute of Development and Sustainability, Berlin, Germany, May 2025.

Invitational Workshop: What makes a government a good government?, Department of

Political Science, Binghampton University, December 2023. Invited presentation titled

“Administrative Errors: the individual and organizational sources of bureaucratic mistakes.”

Conference to Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Texas A&M’s Political Science PhD Program, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, December 2022. Invited panelist on “TAMU and the Future of Political Science.”

^∗Conference on Coalition Politics, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, May 2020.

Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy Conference, Department of Economics,

University of Warwick, UK, June 2019. Invited presentation titled “Mistakes Happen: The

Economic and Social Determinants of Unemployment Insurance Performance.”

The Governance Design Network Workshop, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, November 2017. Invited presentation titled “Dynamic Transformational Mechanisms in Policy Success and Failure.”

The Dahrendorf Workshop: Is European integration happening on the ground?, Hertie School, Berlin, June 2017. Invited presentation titled “Successful Public Governance.”

Invited Talks

Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, NL, July 2024. Invited presentation titled “A Pink Burden? Women and administrative errors in Unemployment Insurance.”

Conference Presentations

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2014-2018 

Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management Annual Conference, 2020-2023

The Graduate School of Public & International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, November 2023. Invited presentation titled “Administrative Errors: the individual and organizational sources of bureaucratic mistakes.”

Race and Ethnic Studies Institute, Texas A&M University, November 2021. Invited presentation titled “Tolerance in the Classroom.”

First Annual Data Workshop @TAMUPOLS, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, January 2021. Invited presentation titled “Mistakes Happen.”

Doctoral Seminar on Research and Writing (POLS 685), Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, November 2019. Invited presentation titled “Less Bang for Your Buck.”.

Comparative Political Economy Workshop, University of Konstanz, Germany, July 2018. Invited presentation titled “Occasional Watchdogs or Coalition Pork? Oversight and Policy in Coalition Government.”

Pop-Up Lecture, School of Governance, Utrecht University, Netherlands, February 2017. Invited presentation titled “Bureaucracy in the Trump administration: Redefining a balance of power?”

EITM Summer Academy, University of Houston, June 2015. Invited presentation titled “EITM in Practice: On the Determinants of Individual Preferences for Social Insurance.”

Texas A&M University, Department of Public Service & Administration

PSAA 635: Social Welfare and Health Policy
Spring 2021, 2023, 2025

PSAA 634: Public Management
Spring 2020-2024

PSAA 601: Foundations of Public Service
Fall 2019-2022, 2024

Utrecht University, School of Governance

USG 6041: Research Seminar in Public Governance
2019

USG 4261: Managing Global Problems
Spring 2018 & 2019

USG 4640: Achieving Successful Public Governance
Spring & Fall 2018

USG 5520: Public Administration and Organisations
Fall 2017 & 2018

Texas A&M University, Department of Political

POLS 342: Politics and Bureaucracy

Texas A&M University

Committee Member
Ana Beatriz Dutra
PhD Political Science, expected 2026

Sunhee Kim
PhD Political Science, expected 2026

Leon Kockaya
PhD Political Science, expected 2025

Francesco Bromo
PhD Political Science, 2024, University of Oxford

Jonghoon Lee
PhD Political Science, 2024, Arkansas State University

Thiago Moreira
PhD Political Science, 2023, Louisiana State University

Brenna Armstrong
PhD Political Science, 2023, Rice University

M. Christy Phillips
PhD Political Science, 2022, Phillips, Fractor, & Co.

Received

• Silver Star Faculty Award, Public Service & Administration Dept., 2021, 2022
• Research Fellow, Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, & Public Policy, 2021
• ADVANCE NCFDD Faculty Success Fellow, Texas A&M University, 2020
• EITM UK Continuous Monitoring Survey Experiment Contest Winner, 2014
• EITM Summer Academy Scholarship, University of Houston, 2014
• Summertime for Advancement in Research (STAR) Award, Texas A&M, 2015

Nominated

• Open Educational Resources Award, TAMU Student Government Association, 2023

• Bush School Summer International Conference Travel Grant, $2,000
  2024
• TAMU Department of Public Service & Administration Research Grant, $4,610
  2023
• University of Colorado Boulder Political Science Research Grant, $6,000
  2023
• T3: Texas A&M Triads for Transformation, $30,000
  2020
• APSA Annual Conference Travel Grant
  2018
• Professional Development Grants, Texas A&M:
  • College of Liberal Arts           
    2012, 2013 & 2014
  • Department of Political Science         
    2012 & 2013
  • Project for Equity, Representation, & Governance 
    2012
  • Prestage Cook Travel Award Grant, Southern Political Science Association 
    2013

• The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.
  Academic Visitor with the Center on Labor, Human Services & Population 
  2012
• Overseas Development Institute, London, U.K.
  Research Intern, International Economic Development Group
  Summer 2007 & 2009

• National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Faculty Success Program
  2020
• Educate-it Winter Course for Teaching, REBO, Utrecht University
  2018
• Quantitative Text Analysis, University of Essex Summer School in Social Science
  2017
• Grant Writing Workshop, Texas A&M College of Liberal Arts
  2015
• Spatial Econometrics, University of Essex Summer School in Social Science
  2014
• Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models Summer Academy, Univ. of Houston
  2014
• Pooled Time Series Cross Sectional Data Analysis, University of Essex Summer School
  2013
• Maximum Likelihood Estimation, University of Essex Summer School in Social Science
  2013
• Dynamic Models, Concordia University, Montreal
  2013
• Hierarchical Linear Modeling for Longitudinal Data, ICPSR Workshop, Boulder, CO 
  2012
• Analysis of Multilevel Models using Stata, ICPSR Statistical Workshop, Ann Arbor, MI 
  2012

Advisory Service

• U.S. Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Research and Evaluation Portfolio
  • Member, Peer Review Group, 2025-
  • Member, Expert Working Group, 2025-
• Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government
  • Member, MPSA Admissions Committee, 2019-2024
  • Advisor, Texas Lyceum Fellow, 2022
  • Member, Community and Culture Committee, 2024-2025
  • Advisor, Bush School Pride Network  2021-2025

Conference & Workshop Service

Workshop Co-Organizer

• “School of Governance Research Day: Lost in Translation,” Utrecht University, 2019
• “Great Policy Successes: A Research Seminar,” Utrecht University, 2018

Panel Organizer

• Association of Public Policy Analysis & Management Annual Conference, 2020

Panel Chair

• Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2025
• European Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2022, 2024
• Association of Public Policy Analysis & Management Annual Conference, 2020
• School of Governance Research Day, Utrecht University, 2018, 2019
• American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2017
• “Successful Public Governance Workshop,” Utrecht University, 2017

Discussant

• Association of Public Policy Analysis & Management Annual Conference, 2024
• European Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2022, 2024
• Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2017, 2021-2025
• School of Governance Research Day, Utrecht University 2017, 2018, 2019 

Disciplinary Service

Membership

• American Political Science Association
  • Member, Public Administration Section
  • Member, Midwest Women’s Caucus for Political Science
• Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management
• European Political Science Association
• Midwest Political Science Association
  • Member, Midwest Public Administration Caucus (MPAC)
  • Member, MPAC Presidential Nominating Committee, 2023-2024 Public Management Research Association

Invited Referee

American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Applied Economics Letters, British Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, International Journal of Public Administration, International Journal of Public Sector Management, International Public Management Journal, International Review of Administrative Sciences, Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Politics, Journal of Policy Studies, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, National Science Foundation Decision Risk & Management Sciences Program, Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Policy & Society, Policy Studies Journal, Public Administration, Public Administration Review, Public Management Review, Public Money & Management, Public Performance & Management Review, Publius, Social Forces, Social Science Computer Review, and State Politics & Policy Quarterly