Introducing Indicators in the Italian State Budget Process

In the past decade, growing concern for fiscal developments and the performance of the public sector has urged several countries to make a closer link between government budgets and measurable indicators on the quantity and quality of services delivered and on their impact on socio-economic variables. In Italy, central administrations are required to accompany the State budget with "preliminary notes" specifying the objectives they intend to pursue with public funds and the indicators used to measure the results achieved. However, performance measurement is still weak and this review shows that a huge gap still exists between theory and practice.