Abstract
This paper reports on a new venture for the study of public sector
performance and on its implementation in Israel. The Israeli study is part of
the "European Assessment Project of Public Administration" (EAPPA) that
is aimed at a cross-cultural and cross-sectional examination of public
administration agencies in various European countries using attitudinal-
behavioral methods and tools. A sample of 345 citizens was used to assess
the performance of the Israeli public administration and to draw conclusions
about the levels of satisfaction with, trust in, and general attitudes towards
public policies and personnel. The main findings of the study indicate that
Israeli citizens are deeply critical of public institutions and governmental
agencies. A correlation analysis further shows a strong and stable
relationship between satisfaction and three separate constructs of citizens'
trust: (1) trust in administrative and governmental institutions, (2) trust in
civil servants, and (3) faith in citizenship involvement. Significant
relationships were also found between citizens' satisfaction and most of the
other indicators of performance. Finally, the paper presents a socio-economic
and demographic analysis of the data. The paper ends with a discussion
about the centrality of public opinion studies in the field of public sector
performance. It is our expectation that this initiative will lead to more
extensive studies throughout other European states that are struggling for
improvement in their public serv
performance and on its implementation in Israel. The Israeli study is part of
the "European Assessment Project of Public Administration" (EAPPA) that
is aimed at a cross-cultural and cross-sectional examination of public
administration agencies in various European countries using attitudinal-
behavioral methods and tools. A sample of 345 citizens was used to assess
the performance of the Israeli public administration and to draw conclusions
about the levels of satisfaction with, trust in, and general attitudes towards
public policies and personnel. The main findings of the study indicate that
Israeli citizens are deeply critical of public institutions and governmental
agencies. A correlation analysis further shows a strong and stable
relationship between satisfaction and three separate constructs of citizens'
trust: (1) trust in administrative and governmental institutions, (2) trust in
civil servants, and (3) faith in citizenship involvement. Significant
relationships were also found between citizens' satisfaction and most of the
other indicators of performance. Finally, the paper presents a socio-economic
and demographic analysis of the data. The paper ends with a discussion
about the centrality of public opinion studies in the field of public sector
performance. It is our expectation that this initiative will lead to more
extensive studies throughout other European states that are struggling for
improvement in their public serv
Original language | English GB |
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Pages (from-to) | 501-537 |
Number of pages | 37 |
Journal | Public Administration Quarterly |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 4 |
State | Published - 2005 |