W. Scott Langford

Assistant Professor of Public Administration · Texas State University

I study state and local public finance and economic development — how local governments absorb shocks and finance growth.

About

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, in the MPA program. I previously held a postdoctoral research fellowship in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University and earned my PhD in Public Policy from UNC Chapel Hill.

My research uses applied econometrics on administrative data to answer policy-relevant questions in state and local public finance. Substantively, I sit at the intersection of public administration and regional economics. Recent work has appeared in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Economic Development Quarterly, the Journal of Regional Science, and JAMA Pediatrics. My independent research has been funded by the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise.

I’m available for invited talks, consulting, and media inquiries — best reached by email.

Contact

Email: scottlangford@txstate.edu
Office: Trauth Huffman Hall 355, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00–3:00 p.m.

For something less formal: a little about me.