Abstract: Despite the growing popularity of the vignette methodology to deal with self-reported, categorical data, the formal evaluation of the validity of this methodology is still a topic of… read more
A policy briefing paper “Managing by Numbers: the Way to Make Public Services Better?” by Christopher Hood, Ruth Dixon and Deborah Wilson has been published by the ESRC Public… read more
Abstract Within the everyday work of child welfare services, concern about potential culpability for preventable harm to children known to services is a pre-occupation for practitioners and managers. The… read more
Introduction This paper moves forward with the statistical analysis presented in an earlier publication on the relationship between judicial review and the quality of services delivered by local authorities… read more
Abstract This paper deals with a series of questions which are posed in relation to performance metrics and the practices of parliamentarians as ‘end-users’ scrutinising and evaluating public policies.… read more
Introduction This working paper briefly sets out the background to the current project and reviews in detail seven key empirical studies, which examined the behaviour of politicians as ‘end-users’… read more
Abstract: It is commonplace to imagine that state-regulated private provision of utilities is a modern phenomenon. This is not so: Victorian Britain had publicly-regulated privately owned railway companies. Maximum… read more
Abstract: Waiting times have been a central concern in the English NHS, where care is provided free at the point of delivery and is rationed by waiting time. Pro-market… read more
Abstract: In the 2000s, governments in the UK, particularly in England, developed a system of governance of public services that combined targets with an element of terror. This has… read more