ABSTRACT
Public services represent a major segment of most economies and are in many countries evolving extraordinarily rapidly. Under the influence of what has become known as the ‘new’ public management, governments are seeking to nurture improved responsiveness to users’ needs, heightened attention to the outcomes secured, and improved efficiency. These trends are embodied in the adoption in many countries of instruments, such as ‘performance budgeting’, that seek to strengthen the traditionally weak linkage between funding and results found in the public sector (United States Government, 1993).
