Tony Bertelli is the Douglas S. and Joyce L. Sherwin Professor in the College of the Liberal Arts Honoring Frank Whitmore. A member of the National Academy of Public Administration, Bertelli held positions at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and at Bocconi University in Italy before joining Penn State’s School of Public Policy.

Professor Bertelli’s research examines the role of political institutions in shaping public policy outcomes and organizational structures in both American and comparative settings. He is senior executive editor of the Journal of Public Policy, which operates from its offices in the School of Public Policy. Bertelli also serves on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Political Science Research and Methods. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with dual degrees in economics and business, he earned an M.A. in economics at Penn State, a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. in public management and policy from the University of Chicago. He has served on the faculties of leading public affairs schools, including the University of Southern California and the University of Georgia and the University of Manchester, and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Bertelli is the author or co-author of more than 50 articles and books, including Madison’s Managers: Public Administration and the Constitution; The Political Economy of Public Sector Governance; Public Policy Investment: Policy Prioritization and British Statecraft and Policy Agendas in British Politics. His book, Democracy Administered: How Public Administration Reshapes Representative Government, was published in August 2021. Bertelli’s research has appeared in leading academic journals such as American Political Science Review,  American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

In January 2022, Bertelli began a multi-year, interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council’s $2.8 million grant. Titled “Representative Governments through Democratic Governance,” the project includes faculty members from Europe and Bertelli and other Penn State scholars.

Research Interests:

Governance, Law and Regulation, Political Institutions, Public and Non-Profit Organizations