About Me

I am a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University–Newark. I study public management, with a focus on digital governance, organizational theory and behavior, and social equity. My research examines the consequences of technological and organizational changes in public organizations and how these changes can be governed to produce effective, accountable, and equitable outcomes. My research has been published in Public Administration Review, The American Review of Public Administration, International Public Management Journal, and State and Local Government Review.

Grounded in organizational and institutional theory, my dissertation, The Contingent Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Public Management: Evidence Across Bureaucrats, Public Organizations, and Citizens, asks why government AI adoption yields different consequences for employees, organizations, and the public. Its three essays identify organizational, institutional, and representational conditions that shape the consequences of government AI for employee well-being, service performance, and government legitimacy. One essay has been published in Public Administration Review. Her dissertation research has been supported by a grant from the New Jersey State Policy Lab and fellowships from Rutgers University–Newark and the China-America Association for Public Affairs.

02 / Research

Research

Published

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. AI in Policing and Perceived Legitimacy: Does Gender Representation Make a Difference?

    Gao, C., & Riccucci, N. M. (2026). Public Administration Review. Advance online publication.

    View DOI
  2. Identity Threat and Affective Commitment after Reorganization: The Moderating Role of Public Service Motivation among Chinese Firefighters

    Gao, C., & Yang, K. (2026). International Public Management Journal. Forthcoming.

  3. Linking Broadband Availability to Perceived Digital Skills: The Moderating Role of Education

    Gao, C., Caldarulo, M., & Porumbescu, G. (2026). State and Local Government Review. Advance online publication.

    View DOI
  4. Behavioral Ethics: Does It Have a Role in Helping Develop a Better Understanding of Administrative Ethics?

    Yang, K., Gao, C., & Liu, Y. (2025). The American Review of Public Administration, 55(4), 283–298.

    View DOI

Active review

Manuscripts Under Review

  1. AI-Informed Public Officials’ Misconduct and Citizens’ Racialized Blame Attribution

    Canyu Gao · Under review at Public Performance & Management Review

  2. How Does AI in Public Decision-Making Shape Performance Evaluation and Responsibility Attribution?

    Canyu Gao and Ricardo Bello-Gomez · Under review at Public Management Review

  3. Deservingness in Administrative Errors and Racialized Perceived Legitimacy: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

    Canyu Gao, José Acevedo, and Ricardo Bello-Gomez · Under review at Administration & Society

WORK IN PROGRESS

  1. The Performance Effect of Government AI Adoption Across Racial Contexts: Does Centralization Help?

    Canyu Gao · Draft complete. Target: Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

  2. The Contingent Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Public Employees’ Job Satisfaction: The Case of the U.S. Federal Government

    Canyu Gao and Kaifeng Yang · Draft complete. Target: Review of Public Personnel Administration

  3. Making Responsible AI Plans: An Accountability Framework and the State of Practice

    Canyu Gao, Yifan Guo, and Kaifeng Yang · Draft nearing completion. Target: Public Administration Review

  4. “New” Policy Instruments in the Digital Government Era? Insights from a Scoping Literature Review and OECD Country Reports

    Diego Galego, Canyu Gao, and Chris Walker · Draft nearing completion. Target: Government Information Quarterly

RESEARCH REPORTS & PUBLIC WRITING

  1. Slowing Down Artificial Intelligence in Policing

    Gao, C. (2026). New Jersey State Policy Lab.

    Read article
  2. Linking Broadband Availability and Education to Digital Skills

    Porumbescu, G., Gao, C., & Caldarulo, M. (2024). New Jersey State Policy Lab.

    Read report
  3. Digital Technologies Might Not Necessarily Reduce Cognitive Bias and Inequality

    Gao, C. (2023). New Jersey State Policy Lab.

    Read article

03 / Teaching

Teaching

Courses in public administration, organizations, and data analysis at Rutgers University.

Instructor of Record

Understanding Public Administration and the Public Sector

Undergraduate · Online

Understanding Public Administration and the Public Sector

Undergraduate · In person

Teaching Assistant

Data Analysis

Graduate core · Online

Study of Public Organizations

Graduate · In person

Principles of Public Administration

Graduate · Online

04 / Record

Awards & Presentations

Grants, Fellowships & Awards

  • Seed Grant ($3,750), New Jersey State Policy Lab (Co-PI with PI Kaifeng Yang)
  • Dissertation Fellowship ($30,833), Rutgers University
  • American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Founders’ Fellowship Award
  • Dissertation Fellowship ($1,000), China-America Association for Public Affairs
  • Research Grant ($800), Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration
  • Graduate Student Travel Awards, Rutgers University–Newark

Conference Presentations

2026

  • AI and Job Satisfaction—Temporal Dynamics, Heterogeneous Effect, and Boundary ConditionsPMRC · Washington, D.C.
  • When Bureaucracies Err: Loss Aversion, Deservingness, and Citizen PerceptionsPMRC · Washington, D.C.
  • AI in Policing and Perceived Legitimacy: Does Gender Representation Make a Difference?MPSA · Chicago, IL
  • When Governments Choose AI: Implications for Responsibility and Performance AssessmentMPSA · Chicago, IL
  • Racialized Accountability Judgments in Policing: How Does AI Make a Difference?ASPA · Los Angeles, CA
Earlier Presentations2024–2025
  • Linking Broadband Availability to Perceived Digital Skills: The Moderating Role of Education2025 NECoPA · Union, NJ
  • Algorithmic Effectiveness and Transparency: Understanding Public Employees’ Responses to Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector2025 PMRC · Seoul, South Korea
  • Making Responsible AI Plans: An Accountability Framework and the State of Practice2024 ASPA · Minneapolis, MN

05 / Professional

Service & Skills

Professional Service

  • Journal ReviewerJournal of Public Administration Research and Theory; Review of Policy Research; Journal of Public Policy; Local Government Studies; Social Policy & Administration
  • Policy Brief Editorial AssistantSchool of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University–Newark · 2026
  • Graduate Student Advisory Board MemberThe China-America Association for Public Affairs · 2025–2026
  • Conference VolunteerNortheast Conference on Public Administration · 2025

Affiliations

  • American Society for Public Administration (ASPA)
  • Public Management Research Association (PMRA)
  • Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA)

Methods & Languages

Methods · Panel Data Econometrics, Regression Discontinuity (RD), Instrumental Variables (IV), Difference-in-Differences (DiD), Computational Text Analysis

Statistical packages · Stata, R, Python, SPSS

Languages · English (fluent), Mandarin (native)

Contact

Contact

canyu.gao@rutgers.edu

School of Public Affairs and Administration
Rutgers University–Newark · 111 Washington Street · Newark, NJ 07102