Beginning to unlock the black box of the budgetary performance evaluation practices in China: a case study of evaluation reports from Zhejiang province

Using first-hand performance evaluation reports from Zhejiang province and a series of interviews, this paper provides a preliminary assessment of performance evaluation in China. Evaluation reports are examined in terms of their format, content, evaluative criteria, conclusion and the characteristi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPublic money & management Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 253 - 260
Main Author Lu, Elaine Yi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Taylor & Francis 01.07.2013
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Budget
China
Developing countries
evaluation
LDCs
Performance evaluation
Provincial budget
Public administration
Studies
China
Zhejiang China
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Summary:Using first-hand performance evaluation reports from Zhejiang province and a series of interviews, this paper provides a preliminary assessment of performance evaluation in China. Evaluation reports are examined in terms of their format, content, evaluative criteria, conclusion and the characteristics of evaluation staff. China was found to be somewhat open in terms of involving external evaluators, and minimal variance was seen in evaluation scores. China is in the early stages of measuring performance in a context where centralized governance is in place; various reform initiatives are taking shape; the boundaries of scientific evaluations and the potential usefulness of performance evaluations within its political environment are unknown. Many developing economies are in similar situations, so this paper will have relevance well beyond China.
ISSN:0954-0962
1467-9302
DOI:10.1080/09540962.2013.799802