ABSTRACT
The idea of public value (PV) was coined and developed as a kind of provocation to the prevailing ethos in economics, politics, and public management, and in psychology and business management as well. The phrase “PV” took advantage of the fact that the word value had several quite different connotations, with quite different political meanings. In principle and in practice, one might expect significant overlap between the conditions that become the focus of government’s efforts to create PV and those that become the focus of philanthropists, volunteers, non-profit organizations, and civic associations. The existence of the voluntary sector creates a domain within which the definition and pursuit of PV is at least partially distinguished from the activities of politics and government. When a public purpose aligns closely with widely recognized public norms of patriotism, civic duty, or social beneficence, for example, that alignment can affect the attitudes of those on the receiving end of both public services and public obligations.
