How relevant is public policy and administration research for the policy sector? An empirical analysis based on Overton data

A key goal of public policy and public administration research is to inform policy decisions. It is not clear, however, to what extent this is the case. In this study, therefore, citations from policy documents to public policy and administration research were analyzed to identify which research contributed most to policy reports and decisions. Additionally, we identified which policy institutions used research literature more than others to justify their policy decisions. Our findings show that think tanks use public policy and administration research literature more often than governmental organizations when justifying policy reports and decisions.