This article argues that performance measures should be indicators of the eventual outcome for society of public sector activity but that outcome measurement is in its infancy. Performance indicators (PIs) are therefore being developed in the absence of any proper idea about the nature of the performance they are intended to indicate. The article concludes that it is unlikely that a consensus will emerge as to how performance in the public sector should be interpreted, and that evaluation therefore depends on the objectives of the individual undertaking the analysis. So the proper role of PIs should be to inform political debate, and more attention should be given to the democratic institutions that allow that debate to take place.
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