This paper examines the performance of the JTPA performance system, a widely emulated model for inducing efficiency in government organizations. We present a model of how performance incentives may distort bureaucratic decisions. We define cream skimming within the model. Two major empirical...

This paper examines the performance of the JTPA performance system, a widely emulated model for inducing efficiency in government organizations. We present a model of how performance incentives may distort bureaucratic decisions. We define cream skimming within the model. Two major empirical...

Using a variety of data sources, the contributors explore how performance standards and incentives affect the behavior of public managers and agency employees, their approaches to service delivery, and ultimately, the outcomes for participants.

This paper decomposes the participation process of a prototypical program into eligibility, awareness, application, acceptance and enrollment. With this decomposition, we determine the soures of unequal participation for different groups, and demonstrate that variables often have very different...

The use of microeconometric techniques to estimate the effects of development policies has become a common approach not only for scholars, but also for policy-makers engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating projects in different fields. Among these techniques, Propensity-Score Matching...

This research undertakes a theoretical and empirical examination of high performance bonus systems in government, that is, incentive payments awarded by the federal government to state organizations or statewide programs to motivate and recognize high performance achievements. The paper draws...

This document provides a guide to the key aspects of implementing Propensity-Score Matching (PSM) methodology. It summarizes the basic conditions under which PSM can be used to estimate the impact of a program and the data required, presenting examples of PSM applications. It explains how the...