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Propper C and Wilson D, (2003)
‘The use and usefulness of performance measures’
Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19 (2): 250-26
- Survey of the empirical evidence regarding performance measures in
the public sector.
- Discusses the features of the public sector that make
the use of performance measures problematic – in
particular:
- Multiple
tasks – bureaucrats must often achieve several ends, e.g.
increasing both efficiency and equity in the delivery of public services.
- - Multiple principals – Bureaucrats must also often serve
several masters, e.g. politicians, users of services and professional
organisations.
- Outlines the theoretical rationale for ‘performance management’ schemes,
and the instruments which they may use, including pecuniary (financially rewarding
well-performing agents) and non-pecuniary (‘name and shame’ policies
for failing agents) rewards.
- Describes the many forms in which performance measures
may come – from
in-depth evaluations (e.g. HMI Prison reports) to those derived from
administrative data (e.g. exam pass rates for schools).
- The bulk of the paper
collects the empirical evidence on performance
measures in the public sector, drawing 3 main conclusions:
1. Gross outcomes or levels based performance measures do not provide
a sufficiently accurate picture of the relative performance of public
sector organisations.
2. A single performance measure is not sufficient, owing to the multiple
aims and stakeholders of public sector organisations. Instead a range
of measures
should be employed.
3. The intended purpose for each measure should dictate its form and
whether it is published. If the aim is to improve performance within
an organisation
then it does not necessarily need to be published. If the aim is to
facilitate a market, publication is required.
- Concludes by recommending
wider piloting of rigorously evaluated performance management schemes,
and suggests the possibility of using
independent
information sources
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