Quicker, Better, Cheaper?: Managing Performance in American Government

This volume is a rich compendium of experience and diverse views about systems for introducing greater rationality in American governmental systems. With contributions from skeptics as well as proponents, it adds to the debate over the utility of performance management in American government. Focusing on the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the authors also analyze performance budgeting and management in states and local governments.

Exploring the performance management movement, the book sets out the point and counterpoint between critics and supporters and provides a common vocabulary for discussion. Steps to improve performance measures are outlined, as well as a discussion of states' progress in managing for results. New survey data reporting on states' performance budgeting is also included.

The book reports on GPRA implementation at the Social Security Administration, advocates linking evaluation research with performance management systems, and discusses the limitations of performance incentives in the 1982 federal job training law.

Practitioners address the New York City Police Department's innovative "COMPSTAT" system for performance management, and review the recent history of performance budgeting in Florida. Also included are case studies from research scholars on benchmarking for Empowerment Zones, performance funding for higher education in the states, performance management in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program under the 1996 national welfare reform act, and performance issues in Medicaid, food stamps, and children's health insurance.

Dall Forsythe is a senior fellow at the Nelson A Rockefeller Institute of Government.