Chinese Public Administration Research in Mainstream PA Journals: A Systematic Review (2002-2020)

Abstract

This study uses both inductive and deductive approaches to systematically review the development of Chinese public administration (PA) research in mainstream PA journals. Based on the analysis of 209 articles published in nine journals from 2002 to 2020, we examine their geographic scopes, approaches and methods, research topics, and theories. Our findings show that a) scholars are demonstrating their growing capacity in linking Chinese issues to a broader conversation, b) there is an increase in empirical studies applying different methods and drawing on different sources of data, c) the research topics cover both public management and policy issues, and d) the predominant strategy is to apply Western concepts and theories to the Chinese context, where theoretical contribution centers around theory testing and extension.