Selected Publications

Honig, D. (2024) Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better. Oxford University Press. 

Honig, D., R. Lall, & B. Parks. (2023) When Does Transparency Improve Institutional Performance? Evidence from 20,000 Projects in 183 Countries. American Journal of Political Science 67:4, 1096-1116. Authors' final version & online appendix here; replication archive here. 

Bisbee, J. & D. Honig. (2022) Flight to Safety: Covid-Induced Changes in the Intensity of Status Quo Preference and Voting Behavior. American Political Science Review, 116 (1), 70-86. Authors' Final Version & Online Appendix here. Successfully replicated/main findings confirmed by Institute for Replication (Malmberg & Scates 2023) here. 

Honig, D. (2021).  Supportive Management Practice and Intrinsic Motivation Go Together in the Public Service. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (13). Pre-analysis plan here; replication archive here; author's final version below.

Borragina-Ballard, L., J. Sobeck, & D. Honig. (2021) What Motivates Highly Trained Child Welfare Professionals to Stay or Leave? Child & Youth Services Review 124. 

Bertelli, A., M. Hassan, D. Honig, D. Rogger, & M. Williams. (2020).  An Agenda for the Study of Public Administration in Developing Countries. Governance 33:4, 735-748. Translated into Arabic and reprinted in Hikama 3 (2), 177-198

Honig, D. (2020).  Information, Power, & Location:  World Bank Staff Decentralization and Aid Project Success.Governance 33:4, 749-769.  Replication materials here. Author's final version and online appendix downloadable below.

Bisbee, J. & D. Honig. (2020).  Flight to Safety: 2020 Democratic Primary Election Results and COVID-19.  Journal of COVID Economics 3, 54-84.

Honig, D.  & C. Weaver. (2019). A Race to the Top?: The Aid Transparency Index and the Social Power of Global Performance Indicators. International Organization 73:3, 579-610. Related erratum here; replication materials here. Authors' final version and online appendix downloadable below.  Reprinted (with some alterations/improvements) in Kelley, J. & B. Simmons (editors), 2020. The Power of Global Performance Indicators, Cambridge University Press.  Chapter 5, 157-191.

Honig, D. (2019). When Reporting Undermines Performance: The Costs of Politically Constrained Organizational Autonomy in Foreign Aid Implementation. International Organization 73:1, 171-201. Author's final version and online appendix downloadable below.

Honig, D. (2019) Case Study Design and Analysis as a Complementary Empirical Strategy to Econometric Analysis in the Study of Public Agencies:  Deploying Mutually Supportive Mixed Methods. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 29:2, 299-317. 

Honig, D. (2018) Navigation by Judgment: Why and When Top Down Management of Foreign Aid Doesn't Work. Oxford University Press. 

Honig, D. & N. Gulrajani. (2018). Making Good On Donors' Desire to Do Development Differently. Third World Quarterly 39:1, 68-84.

Grossman, S. & D. Honig. (2017). Evidence from Lagos on Discrimination across Ethnic and Class Identities in Informal Trade.   World Development 96: 520-528.  Replication materials here.  Authors' final version downloadable below.

Policy & Working Papers

Honig, D. (2023), Für maximale Wirkungen:  mehr Risiken wagen (To Maximize Impact: Take More Risks) in Unter erschwerten Bedingungen. Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in fragilen Staaten (Development Cooperation in Fragile States Under Difficult Conditions). Faust, J., A. Kocks, T. Wencker (Editors), Themenschwerpunktbericht, Deutsches Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (DEval), Bonn.

Honig, D. (2022). Effectiveness is in the Details: Realizing the Promise of Localization Requires Rethinking USAID's Administrative Process. In Ingram, G. Locally Driven Development: Overcoming the Obstacles. Brookings Global Working Paper #173, Brookings Institution.

Honig, D. (2022). Managing for Motivation as Public Performance Improvement Strategy in Education & Far Beyond. Center for International Development at Harvard University Working Paper #409. Also issued as a Research on Improving Systems in Education (RISE) Essay.

Honig, D.  (2020).  Actually Navigating by Judgment: Towards a New Paradigm of Donor Accountability Where the Current System Doesn’t Work. Center for Global Development Policy Paper 169.

Honig, D., Lall, R., and Parks, B. (2020). When Does Transparency Improve Institutional Performance? Evidence from 20,000 Aid Projects in 183 Countries. AidData Working Paper #100. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary.

Campbell, S., D. Honig, and S. Rose. (2020). Creating an Accountability Framework that Serves the Global Fragility Act's Mission. Center for Global Development.

Honig, D. (2019).  The Power of Letting Go. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2019. Downloadable below.

Honig, D. and Lant Pritchett. (2019). The Limits of Accounting-Based Accountability in Education (and Far Beyond): Why More Accounting Will Rarely Solve Accountability Problems. Center for Global Development Working Paper 510. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.  Also issued as Research on Improving Systems in Education (RISE) Working Paper 19-030.

Honig, D. & S. L. Cramer. (2017). Strengthening Somalia’s Systems Smartly: A Country Systems Risk Benefit Analysis. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. 

Gulrajani, N. &  D. Honig (2016). Reforming Donors in Fragile States: Using Public Management Theory More Strategically.  Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Report.  

Blogs, Op-Eds, Briefs, & Other Shorter Writing

Honig, D. (2022) Be the Solution:  How Bureaucrats can Improve Public Sector Performance Through Mission Management. Pakistan Dialogues, Mahbub Ul Haw Research Centre, Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Honig, D. (2020)  Managing Better: What All of Us Can Do to Encourage Aid Success. Center for Global Development Policy Brief.

Bisbee, J. & D. Honig. (2020). Sanders was losing to Biden anyway. But he lost more in areas with coronavirus cases. Washington Post Monkey Cage, April 2, 2020.

Honig, D. (2019). Putting “Account” at the Center of “Accountability”: Why ICT Won’t Improve Education Systems (and Beyond), and What Will.  Center for Global Development, May 24, 2019.  

Honig, D. (2019).  Let Local Leaders Lead: Why Donors Should Create More Space for Local Leadership.  Development Leadership Program Blog, September 27.  Center for Global Development version here.

Honig, D.  (2017). How Frequent Reporting of Quantitative Accountability Measures Can Undermine Bureaucratic Performance. Basic Facts Brief, Scholars Strategy Network.