Timothy J. Conlan, Paul L. Posner, and Pricilla M. Regan, eds., Governing Under Stress: The Implementation of Obama's Economic Stimulus Program ( Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press , 2017). 256 pp. $32.95 (softcover), ISBN: 9781626163706

• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Date: 01 July 2019
• Author: Tonya T. Neaves,Katherine M. Simon
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13080

612 Public Administration Review • July | A ugus t 201 9

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 79, Iss. 4, pp. 612–614. © 2019 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13080.

Reviewed by: Tonya T. Neaves

Katherine M. Simon

George Mason University

In memory of Paul L. Posner

In 2007, the United States experienced the Great

Recession, an economic downfall that had not

plagued the country since the Great Depression.

Recessionary conditions rapidly spread across the

“globalized” world economy, where every country

is interdependently connected. As a response to this

period of uncertainty and the corresponding loss of

7 million jobs, President Barack Obama passed the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),

with a total funding package of US$787 billion. These

funds were to be used to stimulate local, regional,

and state economies with a focus on healthcare, clean

energy, and infrastructure initiatives. The federal

response on spending was based on a three-pronged

policy approach: providing (1) US$288 billion in tax

cuts, (2) US$224 billion in unemployment benefits,

and (3) US$275 billion in federal grants and loans.

With such a large-scale injection into the economy,

there are clearly gaps in understanding funds utilized

at this level, as well as determining gaps in associated

outputs versus outcomes.

The realm of policy making is inundated with

principal–agent relationships. Issues of accountability,

transparency, and network complexity plague

implementation. In Conlan, Posner, and Regan’s

(2017) Governing Under Stress: The Implementation of

Obama’s Economic Stimulus Program, the authors focus

on examining the effectiveness of the administration of

grant and loan funding by highlighting the differences

between the public perception of and reality of

government performance across a number of programs.

Organized into a series of six case studies, the editors

analyze the success of these programs in meeting

ARRA goals. They noted that the ARRA created

iconic programs with novel administrative provisions

that expanded the tools of governance. Still, they were

adopted during a highly polarized and politicized

environment, which went through a series of legislative

entanglements to be passed. The editors, acclaimed

pracademics, offer lessons learned and best practices on

shared governance and network implementation.

Public administration abides by a decree of the 3Es,

that is, efficiency, effectiveness, and expediency. There

are also concerns of accountability and transparency.

Still, common challenges remain regarding

motivational basis and line control, leading to varied

differences in the implementation of programs.

Conlan, Posner, and Regan begin with how this

period of uncertainty drew historical parallels to the

New Deal of the 1930s, in which many leaders had

a disconnect with the social, political, and economic

realities of the time. As such, there was a decentralized

effort in managing the crisis. Fast-forward, federal

representatives are now cosigned with local bureaucrats

to work on projects with unrealistic expectations,

executions, and deadlines. True, the ARRA was an

innovative and ambitious policy approach that often

required a trisectoral perspective. The editors then

move on to using thematic frames to provide insight

into the case studies with concepts such as (1) place

and politics, (2) dynamics of third- party governance,

(3) shared service agreements, (4) contracting, and (5)

collaborative public–private system.

Chapter three is the first case study that explores

the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a model that was

viewed to be used for national financial assistance to

state and local governments during future economic

downturns. However, Conlan, Posner, and Regan

argue that some came to consider this federal aid

education program as a fiscal lifeline of program

support given that it proceeded in an expeditious

manner despite a series of complications. Timely

information on federal rules and regulations for

this unique program, as well as the necessity for

many partners, made implementation additionally

difficult. This “Race to the Top” initiative, even with

emergency stimulus assistance, merely paved the way

for many states to maintain a certain level of effort.

Moving on to chapters four and five, Conlan, Posner,

and Regan explore areas of critical infrastructure.

The Federal Aid Highway Program was a $40 billion

initiative administered via the Federal Highway

Timothy J. Conlan, Paul L. Posner, and Pricilla M. Regan, eds.,

Governing Under Stress: The Implementation of Obama’s Economic

Stimulus Program ( Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press,

2017). 256 pp. $32.95 (softcover), ISBN: 9781626163706

Book Reviews

Galia Cohen, Editor

Tonya T. Neaves is assistant professor

and director of the Centers on the Public

Service at George Mason University’s

Schar School of Policy and Government.

Her research interests primarily focus

on communal resiliency, emergency

management, and critical infrastructure. As

an active member of the American Society

for Public Administration, Tonya recently

served as Conference Program Co-Chair

and District Representative and is also the

Treasurer for its Section on Emergency and

Crisis Management.

E-mail: tneaves@gmu.edu

Katie M. Simon is a graduate research

assistant with the Centers on the Public

Service at George Mason University’s

Schar School of Policy and Government.

Katie’s research interests primarily focus on

community engagement and resiliency. She

is a member of the American Society for

Public Administration.

E-mail: ksimon6@gmu.edu