van Gerrit Helden

Public sector performance measurement in developing countries: a literature review and research agenda

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the influence of specific characteristics of the public sector in developing countries (i.e. a low‐institutional capacity, a limited involvement of stakeholders, and high levels of corruption and informality), and of reforms of this sector, on public sector performance measurement (PSPM).Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of prior literature, the paper develops understanding of the demand for and supply of performance information in developing countries, and of changes in this area.Findings – The paper argues that public sector organisations in developing countries are likely to face an unbalanced position, i.e. disequilibrium between the demand for and supply of performance information. More precisely, the public sector reforms – which are partly stimulated by a growing involvement of some stakeholders – lead to an increasing demand for performance information but, because of the low‐institutional capacity and the high level of corruption, this increasing...

Is financial stress an incentive for the adoption of businesslike planning and control in local government? A comparative study of eight Dutch municipalities

Hood has formulated the hypothesis that financial stress is a motive for the adoption of New Public Management (NPM), and particularly of businesslike instruments and styles in government. He has illustrated this hypothesis on a macro-level by comparing different OECD countries. The aim of this paper is to make a start with a micro-level test of this hypothesis by studying individual governmental organization, i.e. eight municipalities in the Netherlands. The financial stress hypothesis has been operationalised by assuming a negative relationship between the financial position of a municipality and the existence of businesslike planning and control instruments. The research shows that there is no evidence for the existence of this relationship. However, a conclusive judgement about the financial stress hypothesis seems to be impossible due to the fact that non-technical aspects of NPM were not taken into account, and also because of an – on average – upward bias in the financial position of the municipalities in the empirical investigation.

New public management in Dutch local government

Abstract This article investigates the adoption of New Public Management (NPM) in Dutch local government. According to Hoods concept of NPM, it will show the extent to which Dutch municipalities have adopted businesslike instruments and styles. Following Pollitts framework on studying public management changes, a distinction will be made between changes in ideology, instruments, practices and impacts. The article concludes that, unlike ideological and instrumental innovations, the evidence for NPM-like practices and impacts is limited. To put it crudely, a lot of apparent changes in Dutch local government seem to be only skin-deep.Abstract This article investigates the adoption of New Public Management (NPM) in Dutch local government. According to Hoods concept of NPM, it will show the extent to which Dutch municipalities have adopted businesslike instruments and styles. Following Pollitts framework on studying public management changes, a distinction will be made between changes in ideology, instruments, practices and impacts. The article concludes that, unlike ideological and instrumental innovations, the evidence for NPM-like practices and impacts is limited. To put it crudely, a lot of apparent changes in Dutch local government seem to be only skin-deep.

The application of businesslike planning and control in local government : A field study of eight Dutch municipalities

The Policy and Management Instruments (PMI) project, an initiative of central government in the Netherlands, aimed at familiarising local authorities with new ways of governance and management. This article is a cross-sectional study of the application of planning and control techniques in eight Dutch municipalities. It addresses five issues: (1) the extent to which the goals of the PMI project have been realised; (2) the information to be included in the planning and control documents; (3) the value of replacing a uniform output-oriented control framework by differentiated control; (4) whether organisational units are more committed to self-developed than to centrally developed control systems; (5) whether success depends not only on the introduction of adequate instruments, but also on other factors. It ends with an attempt to show possible relationships between these issues for the eight municipalities.

Estimation of the demand for electricity

The residential consumer of electricity is often faced with a price schedule, where the price per kWh differs according to the amountof electricity consumed. 1 Instead of a single price per kWh, a price schedule exists, from which electricity is purchased in blocks at a decreasing marginal price. In a econometric demand analysis of household electricity consumption, one of the main questions is concerned with the price varible to be chosen. Should it be the marginal price, the average price, or perhaps both price varibles? In this study, residential demand functions for electricity are estimated employing different price variables. In demand functions employing both average price and marginal price the coefficients on average price are ‘right’; the negative signs reflect the expected inverse relationships between the quality of electricity demanded and the average price. On the other hand, nonsignificant but positive signs on marginal price are obtained. This result contradicts the findings of Roth (1981)...

Challenging the NPM Ideas about performance management

This paper shows how the performance budget of a local government organization, in this case a province in the Netherlands, can be attuned to the specific task characteristics of the programmes in these budgets. Three ways of alignment are suggested: differentiating between standardized and complex programmes; focussing on the politically most relevant programmes in order to avoid information overload; and distinguishing between the types of performance information in terms of the role of the province in the programme (facilitator versus executor) and the stage in the policy making cycle (policy development, policy elaboration or policy execution). These suggestions challenge the generally straightforward NPM rationale of performance budgeting, in which standardized outputs are directly related to resources. Our empirical research shows on the one hand that the redesigned programme budget based on the above principles received substantial approval of its users, i.e., the provincial councillors. On the other hand, as regards the use of this programme budget the picture is rather diffuse, i.e., the majority of the councillors indicate that they use the information rather intensively, but its formal use in official Council and Council committee meetings remains limited.

Measuring the Price Sensitivity of Household Electricity Consumption by Means of Interview Data

Aims to show how interview data may be used to obtain an indication of the price elasticity of household electricity consumption. Examines how respondents think they will react to price changes.