Perceptions of productivity and performance in Europe and the USA

ABSTRACT
A straightforward relationship between the performance of public services and citizens’ attitudes towards government is often taken for granted. Yet, public sector performance, citizen perceptions of this performance and overall levels of trust in government may be related in various ways. In this article, we demonstrate how public sector performance and trust in government are not related in a unidirectional causal chain, and how often contradictory processes determine this relationship. We further discuss a number of possibilities to improve the public sector’s image and show how the subjectivity of existing government--wide performance indicators may lead to erroneous cross--country comparisons of public sector performance.