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Back to the Future? Performance‐Related Pay, Empirical Research, and the Perils of Persistence
Author(s) -
Perry James L.,
Engbers Trent A.,
Jun So Yun
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.01939_2.x
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , public service , sociology , public service motivation , public administration , service (business) , student affairs , empirical research , political science , management , public relations , higher education , law , public sector , economics , philosophy , linguistics , economy , epistemology
One of the most persistent initiatives launched by elected officials at all levels of government over the past three decades in the United States has involved pay-for-performance reward systems for government employees. But have pay-for-performance systems lived up to the promise that proponents have held out for them? Have the basic theories underlying them proven valid? What lessons can be drawn from prior experiences with pay-for-performance systems? James Perry, Trent A. Engbers, and So Yun Jun of Indiana University launch this installment's exchange among leading scholars and practitioners by drawing lessons from their meta-analysis of research assessing pay-for-performance systems in the United States from 1977 to 2008.