Government at a Glance 2013
Government at a Glance 2013 provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the goal of contributing to the analysis and international comparison of public sector performance. Indicators on government revenues, expenditures, and employment are provided alongside key output and outcome data in the sectors of education and health. Government at a Glance also includes indicators on key governance and public management issues, such as transparency in governance, regulatory governance, new ways in delivering public services and HRM and compensation practices in the public service. While measuring government performance has long been recognized as playing an important role in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the public administration, following the economic crisis and fiscal tightening in many member countries, good indicators are needed more than ever to help governments make informed decisions regarding tough choices and help restore confidence in government institutions.
Reliability of public services: Ensuring citizens' rights
In any democratic society citizens will have a number of basic rights as well as obligations in relation to their government and its agencies. While measuring users’ satisfaction with public sector goods and services is considered to be an important indicator to evaluate performance of service delivery in OECD countries, few measures have been consensually developed on the extent to which governments design their institutional framework to allow citizens’ rights to be acknowledged and heard. Such a framework helps to ensure the reliability of public services by informing citizens of their rights and by providing them with channels of redress and quality assurance. Statements of citizens’ rights might also promulgate basic service and process standards, e.g. the Citizens’ Charter that existed in the United Kingdom.