In recent decades, special districts have come to outnumber general purpose governments in the United States. Yet, little is known about special district workforces and how they compare to general purpose government workforces. Special districts and general purpose governments provide many of the same services (e.g., parks maintenance, drinking water and sewer provision, libraries) and ostensibly have similar workforce needs for similar functions. This study explores how political institutions shape politicians’ preferences for different levels of human capital investment, which in turn shapes overall workforce quality. Leveraging data on water utility operators working at special district and general purpose water utilities in Texas, I investigate differences in human capital investments across two types of political institutions. I find that special districts invest more in human capital than general purpose governments. This study innovatively explores the role of institutions in shaping workforce quality.
AbbottC.BridgesA. (2000). Morning glories: Municipal reform in the southwest. The American Historical Review, 105(2), 557. https://doi.org/10.2307/1571520
2.
AdamsW. C. (2015). Conducting semi-structured interviews. In WholeyJ. S.HatryH. P.NewcomerK. E. (Eds.), Handbook of practical program evaluation (4th ed., pp. 492–505). Jossey-Bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119171386.ch19
3.
AlhanO.YükselS.DinçerH. (2020). The role of employee quality on the financial performance of the banks. In H. Dincer & S. Yüksel (Eds.), Strategic outlook for innovative work behaviours. Contributions to management science (pp. 193–206). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50131-0_11
4.
AngristJ. D.GuryanJ. (2008). Does teacher testing raise teacher quality? Evidence from state certification requirements. Economics of Education Review, 27(5), 483–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.03.002
5.
ArceneauxK.SteinR. M. (2006). Who is held responsible when disaster strikes? The attribution of responsibility for a natural disaster in an urban election. Journal of Urban Affairs, 28(1), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0735-2166.2006.00258.x
6.
ArthurS. Y.MorganV. D.ChavezM. D.ZeislW. S. (1992). Water utilities prepare for workforce 2000. Journal-American Water Works Association, 84(6), 41–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1992.tb07373.x
7.
BermanE. M.WestJ. P. (2012). Public values in special districts: A survey of managerial commitment. Public Administration Review, 72(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.2012.72.issue-1
8.
BishopP.CranfordA. (2018). Promote utility excellence through professional certification. Opflow, 44(11), 22–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/opfl.1099
9.
BollenJ. C. (1957). Special district governments in the United States. University of California Press.
10.
BostickJ. E.RantzM. J.FlesnerM. K.Jo RiggsC. (2006). Systematic review of studies of staffing and quality in nursing homes. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 7(6), 366–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2006.01.024
11.
BrueckT.IsbellM.O'BerryD.BrinkP. (2010). Water sector workforce sustainability initiative. Denver (Colorado): Water Research Foundation and American Water Works Association, 2018(1), 103–106. https://doi.org/10.2175/193864718823773373
12.
BurnsN. (1994). The Formation of American Local Governments: Private Values in Public Institutions. Oxford University Press.
13.
ChicoineD. L.WalzerN. (1982). Number of taxing units and property tax collections. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, 12(1100-2016–89552), 3–12.
14.
ChristensonJ. A.SachsC. E. (1980). The impact of government size and number of administrative units on the quality of public services. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392228
15.
DavidsonC.KorbelG. (1981). At-Large elections and minority-group representation: A Re-examination of historical and contemporary evidence. The Journal of Politics, 43(4), 982–1005. https://doi.org/10.2307/2130184
16.
De WaalA. A. (2008). The secret of high performance organizations. Management Online Review, 2, 100–108.
17.
DickersonS. T.ButlerA. (2018). Resolving workforce challenges of water and wastewater utilities. Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, 2018(1), 103–106. https://doi.org/10.2175/193864718823773373
18.
FarashahA. D.ThomasJ.BlomquistT. (2019). Exploring the value of project management certification in selection and recruiting. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2018.09.005
19.
FennoR. F. (1978). Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. HarperCollins.
FowlesJ.ButlerJ. S.CowenJ. M.StreamsM. E.TomaE. F. (2014). Public employee quality in a geographic context: A study of rural teachers. The American Review of Public Administration, 44(5), 503–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074012474714
22.
GailmardS.PattyJ. W. (2007). Slackers and zealots: Civil service, policy discretion, and bureaucratic expertise. American Journal of Political Science, 51(4), 873–889. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00286.x
23.
GalvanS. C. (2006). Wrestling with muds to pin down the truth about special districts. Fordham Law Review, 75(1), 3041–3080.
24.
GoodmanC. B.LelandS. M. (2019). Do cities and counties attempt to circumvent changes in their autonomy by creating special districts?The American Review of Public Administration, 49(2), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018804665
25.
GoodmanC.LelandS.SmirnovaO (2021). The consequences of specialised governance on spending and expansion of public transit. Local Government Studies, 47(2), 296–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2020.1744571
26.
GreenJ.JenningsW. (2017). The Politics of Competence: Parties, Public Opinion and Voters. Cambridge University Press.
27.
GreerR. A.ScottT. A. (2019). A network autonomy framework: Reconceptualizing special district autonomy in polycentric systems. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 3(1), gvz006. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvz006
HeikkilaT.IsettK. R. (2007). Citizen involvement and performance management in special-purpose governments. Public Administration Review, 67(2), 238–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2007.00710.x
HopkinsD. J.PettingillL. M. (2018). Retrospective voting in big-city US mayoral elections. Political Science Research and Methods, 6(04), 697–714. https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2016.54
33.
KillianL. J.LeK. (2012). Citizen perceptions of general-purpose and special district governments: A comparative analysis. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 24(3), 397–428. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-24-03-2012-B002
MayhewD. R. (1974). Congress: The Electoral Connection (1st ed). Yale University Press.
40.
MeansE. G.OspinaL.PatrickR. (2005). Ten primary trends and their implications for water utilities. Journal - American Water Works Association, 97(7), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.2005.tb10933.x
MeierK. J.O'tooleL. J. (2001). Managerial strategies and behavior in networks: A model with evidence from U.S. Public education. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11(3), 271–294. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a003503
43.
MeierK. J.O'TooleL. J. (2002). Public management and organizational performance: The effect of managerial quality. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(4), 629–643. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.10078
44.
MillerG. J.WhitfordA. B. (2016). Above Politics: Bureaucratic Discretion and Credible Commitment. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139017688
45.
MullinM. (2008). The conditional effect of specialized governance on public policy. American Journal of Political Science, 52(1), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.2008.52.issue-1
46.
MullinM. (2009). Governing the tap: Special district governance and the new local politics of water. MIT Press.
47.
MullinM.HansenK. (2023). Local news and the electoral incentive to invest in infrastructure. American Political Science Review, 117(3), 1145–1150. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055422001083
48.
MulvaneyM. A.BeggsB. A.ElkinsD. J.HurdA. R. (2015). Professional certifications and job self-efficacy of public park and recreation professionals. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration, 33(1), 93–111. 0735-1968
49.
NaqviS. M. H.KhanM. A. (2013). Employees training and organizational performance: Mediation by employees performance. Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research, 5(4), 490–503.
50.
NelsonR. R.PhelpsE. S. (1966). Investment in humans, technological diffusion, and economic growth. The American Economic Review, 56(1/2), 69–75. JSTOR.
OstromE. (2000). The danger of self-evident truths. PS: Political Science and Politics, 33(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.2307/420774
53.
OstromV. (1999). Polycentricity (Part 1). In M. McGinnis (Ed.), Polycentricity and Local Public economies: Readings from the workshop in political theory and policy analysis (pp. 52–74). The University of Michigan Press.
54.
PowellG. B.WhittenG. D. (1993). A cross-national analysis of economic voting: Taking account of the political context. American Journal of Political Science, 37(2), 391. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111378
55.
PrendergastC. (1999). The provision of incentives in firms. Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), 7–63. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.37.1.7
SacksR.BrownE. (1978). Training and certification of water utility operators in Michigan-1925 to 1978. Journal - American Water Works Association, 70(10), 534–537. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1978.tb04238.x
58.
Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. §300f et seq (1974).
59.
SavageB. L. (2020). California Special Districts: Accountability, Composition, and Trends (Doctoral dissertation). University of California, Irvine.
60.
SavageB. L.SutherlandJ. (2025). California Politics is Local: Voting Behavior and Special Districts. Taylor & Francis.
61.
SaywitzR. R.SwitzerD. (2023). Who benefits from special district service delivery?: Water affordability in the United States. Public Administration Quarterly, 47(2), 109–131. https://doi.org/10.37808/paq.47.2.2
62.
SaywitzR. R. (2025). Estimating the relationship between water utility workforce quality and water utility performance. AWWA Water Science, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.v7.5
63.
Schwindt-BayerL. A.TavitsM. (2016). Clarity of responsibility, accountability, and corruption. Cambridge University Press.
64.
ScottT. A.GreerR. A. (2019). Polycentricity and the hollow state: Exploring shared personnel as a source of connectivity in fragmented urban systems. Policy Studies Journal, 47(1), 52–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12289
65.
SeidleB.FernandezS.PerryJ. L. (2016). Do leadership training and development make a difference in the public sector? A panel study. Public Administration Review, 76(4), 603–613. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12531
66.
SunS.LiT.MaH., et al. (2020). Does employee quality affect corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China. Sustainability, 12(7), 2692. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072692
67.
TeodoroM. P.SaywitzR. R. (2020). Water and sewer affordability in the United States: a 2019 update. AWWA Water Science, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.v2.2
68.
TeodoroM. P. (2011). Bureaucratic Ambition: Careers, Motives, and the Innovative Administrator. Johns Hopkins Studies in Governance and Public Management. Johns Hopkins University Press.
69.
TeodoroM. P. (2013). Moving in, managing up: Executive job formation and political behaviour. Journal of Public Policy, 33(2), 137–164. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X1300007X
70.
TeodoroM. P.SwitzerD. (2016). Drinking from the talent pool: A resource endowment theory of human capital and agency performance. Public Administration Review, 76(4), 564–575. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12571
71.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2012). Rules and Regulations for Public Water Systems. RG-195. Austin, TX.
