C. Palfrey, C. Phillips, P. Thomas and D. Edwards, Policy evaluation in the public sector, Avebury, 1992, 182 pp. Price (UK) £32.50

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-326
Author(s):  
David Wildman
Author(s):  
Dries Verlet ◽  
Carl Devos

Although policy evaluation has always been important, today there is a rising attention for policy evaluation in the public sector. In order to provide a solid base for the so-called evidence-based policy, valid en reliable data are needed to depict the performance of organisations within the public sector. Without a solid empirical base, one needs to be very careful with data mining in the public sector. When measuring performance, several unintended and negative effects can occur. In this chapter, the authors focus on a few common pitfalls that occur when measuring performance in the public sector. They also discuss possible strategies to prevent them by setting up and adjusting the right measurement systems for performance in the public sector. Data mining is about knowledge discovery. The question is: what do we want to know? What are the consequences of asking that question?


2020 ◽  
pp. 187-253
Author(s):  
Joseph Heath

The past few decades have seen an expansion in the use of cost-benefit analysis as a tool for policy evaluation in the public sector. This slow, steady creep has been a source of consternation to many philosophers and political theorists, who are inclined to view cost-benefit analysis as simply a variant of utilitarianism and consider utilitarianism to be completely unacceptable as a public philosophy. The chapter shows that this impression is misleading. When construed narrowly, cost-benefit analysis does look a lot like utilitarianism. However, when it is seen in its broader context, in the way that it is applied, and the types of problem to which it is applied, it is better understood as an attempt by the state to avoid taking sides with respect to various controversial conceptions of the good.


2021 ◽  
pp. 182-229
Author(s):  
Joseph Heath

The past few decades have seen an expansion in the use of cost-benefit analysis as a tool for policy evaluation in the public sector. This slow, steady creep has been a source of consternation to many philosophers and political theorists, who are inclined to view cost-benefit analysis as simply a variant of utilitarianism, and consider utilitarianism to be completely unacceptable as a public philosophy. This chapter attempts to show that this impression is misleading. Despite the fact that when construed narrowly, cost-benefit analysis does look a lot like utilitarianism, when seen in its broader context, in the way that it is applied, and the type of problems to which it is applied, it is better understood as an attempt by the state to avoid taking sides with respect to various controversial conceptions of the good.


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