Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No.90

Title

State Budgetary Outcomes: Do CEO Governors Make a Difference?

Speaker

Assoc. Prof. Can Chen, Georgia State University; CPSG President

Host

Prof .Yijia Jing, IGPP

Discussant

Assoc. Prof. Haoqi Qian, IGPP

Time

12:00-13:20, May 20, Wednesday, 2026

Venue

Room 805E, 8th Floor, West Sub-building of Guanghua Towers

https://v.wjx.cn/vm/eo33HIR.aspx#

The Speaker：

Assoc. Prof. Can Chen

Dr. Can Chen is a tenured Associate Professor and Ph.D. advisor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. He also serves as Director of the joint Ph.D. Program in Public Policy between Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University. He currently serves as President of the Chinese Policy Scholars Group (CPSG).

Abstract:

Drawing on upper echelons theory, imprinting theory, and scholarship on managerial decision-making and the transferability of private-sector management approaches to the public sector, this study examines the relationship between U.S. governors’ top business experience and state budgetary outcomes. Using a panel dataset of 48 states from 1960 to 2010 and a regression discontinuity design, the analysis finds that electing governors with high-level business experience improves budgetary equilibrium during their terms. The findings suggest that governors with business backgrounds may be better able to align revenues with expenditures and reduce deviations from balanced budgeting. This study offers important theoretical and practical insights into political leadership, executive experience, and fiscal governance.