Performance Measurement in State Budgeting: Advancement and Backsliding from 1990 to 1995

Performance measurement has been one of the dominant themes of budget reform in the 1990s and has been prevalent in the mainstream of budgeting since the 1950s. Given the attention that performance measurement has had nationally, states might be expected to have made major strides in this arena in recent years. The article considers the current status of performance measurement practices, and identifies both advancement and backsliding made by states between 1990 and 1995. The discussion is based on data obtained from surveys of state budget offices in those two years. Indexes of performance measurement were constructed, and these became the bases of regression analyses using independent variables pertaining to state characteristics. Generally, these analyses were unsuccessful in explaining the variations among the states. The findings underscore the diversity among the states in their budgetary practices and the fact that budget reform, in the sense of increased use of performance measurement, is not necessarily achieved in a straight line of progression. The article considers possible explanations for the changes.     

Government in an urban society

Abstract. The role of government is being increased by the growing demand for collective goods which only the public sector can supply but there has been no comparable political reform to meet the needs. The interaction of the various jurisdictions has become more complex and necessary. Although in the present period the forces of urbanization are dominant the problems cannot be solved within the existing powers available to municipal governments, nor in isolation from other levels of government. The major factor in the current unrest is imbalance of resources and responsibilities. No one has yet found a way to relate the capacity for most effective performance in the public sector with the capacity for the most effective use of public resources available to pay for them. The most serious aspect for the municipalities is that the taxes most capable of meeting the public demand are least suited to local administration. Some workable method must be found of reaching agreement on principles of governmental responsibility and of involving the municipalities, through consultation and collaboration, in the process of change. Everything seems to point to the desirability of extensive study and the staging of change so that various alternative solutions can be properly assessed. Sommaire. La demande croissante d'avantages collectifs que seul le secteur public peut fournir augmente l'importance du rôle du gouvernement mais sans qu'il y ait eu de réforme politique comparable pour répondre aux besoins. L'interaction des différentes juridictions est devenue plus complexe et plus nécessaire. A l'heure actuelle, les forces d'urbanisation dominent mais les gouvernements municipaux ne peuvent ni résoudre les problèmes qui en découlent avec les pouvoirs dont ils disposent, ni le faire indépendamment des autres niveaux de gouvernement. L'élément principal du malaise est le déséquilibre entre les ressources et les responsabilités. Personne n'a encore trouvé le moyen d'établir un rapport entre l'efficacité maximale des performances dans le secteur public et l'usage maximal des ressources publiques existantes pour les financer. L'aspect le plus grave de cette question pour les municipalités, c'est que les taxes qui peuvent permettre le mieux de satisfaire la demande du public sont celles qui se prêtent le moins bien à une administration locale. Il va falloir trouver une méthode pratique pour s'accorder sur les principes de la responsabilité gouvemementale et pour faire participer les municipalités au processus de changement par la consultation et la collaboration. Tout semble indiquer le besoin d'une étude approfondie et la nécessité de procéder par étapes de façon à pouvoir évaluer convenablement les différentes solutions possibles.