Bulletin n. 0/2004
December 2004
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Allen Schick
    El Estado que rinde: reflexiones sobre una idea a la que le ha llegado la hora, pero cuya implantación aún está pendientel
    in Reforma y democracia (Venezuela) , n. 30 ,  2004
    There are many paths to performance, but none are sufficiently well marked to assure success. Some rely on administrative procedure, others on political or professional commitment. Some are grounded in New Public Management, others fit comfortably within traditional public administration. It is useful to operationalise performance in sequential terms, arraying various innovations in a logical sequence, so that one builds on others. The approach taken in this paper emphasizes the sequence and conditions under which performance can thrive. It begins with attitudes and moves to managerial actions, and then from management to politics. The drive for performance has impelled governments to devise ever-stronger means of assuring good service. At one time, a strong public service ethic was deemed sufficient, then means of maintaining a performance focus were added, followed by an array of measurement tools, management changes, contractual obligations and legal rights. Each device was found somewhat wanting, leading to the next step in the chain of performance, with the possible exception of the last one which confers a legally enforceable right on citizens to good service. Anything that gets in the way of effective exercise of these rights is suspect, even if it is government itself. In effect, government conveys rights, but if it cannot live up to its promises, other institutions may take its place. Nevertheless, the demand for performance is nibbling at the special status of the State. Fiscal and administrative decentralisation has transferred resources and authority from the centre to local governments; free-standing agencies have gained operational autonomy from the State to which they are nominally subservient; global institutions have made inroads in some of the most vital functions of the State-nation, including criminal justice, national defense, and economic policy; NGOs have become purveyors of public services and often have quasi-governmental status at international forums. Beside, as already discussed, markets are increasingly used to provide public services. The State cannot perform if its budget does not. No matter how determined government is to orient management and service delivery to results, if budget allocations disregard performance, so too, will politicians and managers. But getting the budget to be an instrument of performance has proven exceedingly difficult to implement. The history of budget reform is laden with many failures and few successes. Yet, it also is true that budgeting can contribute to performance even when the government lacks a formal performance budget. This concluding section explores why performance budgeting is an elusive goal and what can be done within the framework of conventional budgeting to bolster government's commitment to results.
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