On The Construction Of Measurement Indicators System For Chinese Local Government Performance And Practical Measurement

Since reform and opening up, China has launched a series of government reforms such as transforming its functions, streamlining government organizations and reducing the number of civil servants, increasing the openness of government affairs. Throughout the process of reform, China has introduced advanced management idea and tools from abroad. At that time, government performance measurement came on stage in China. In recent years, local governments in China have carried out different forms of government performance measurement such as Target Responsibility System, Citizens' Satisfaction Review, Administrative Efficiency Evaluation and Performance Measurement in the Public Sector. Scholars in China have conducted a series of researches on Chinese government performance measurement and obtained substantial results. However, these researches are mostly theoretical studies and short of empirical studies based on Chinese situation, which decreased the scientificness of government performance measurement practice.This paper constructed an indicator system of measuring local government performance in China on the basis of related theory and practice of performance measurement. Then we measured performance of 16 municipal governments in the Yangtze Delta. Finally we drew the following conclusions: Firstly, government performance is a comprehensive system that includes public service, the people's living standards, economic development, urbanization, and environmental protection; secondly, each government has its weak factor; thirdly, there is great difference among the 16 municipal governments about their performance. Besides, we conducted empirical studies on the relationship between government performance and economic development, government capacity. Studies show that government performance has strong correlation with economic development and government capacity.