MAKING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENT - HOW MUCH WASTE CAN BE CUT FROM PUBLIC PROGRAMS

The public administrator should be concerned with waste due to implementing programs inefficiently, not with waste due to implementing the wrong programs. Based upon a synthesis of efficiency studies using frontier analysis, the mean inefficiency of public programs is estimated at five percent. Efficiency gains beyond this level ordinarily require advances in technology, or changes in what constitutes best practice. While greater efficiency is a desirable goal, efficiency gains achieved through forced spending reductions need to be weighed against possible concomitant reductions in a program's quality of service, benefit to society, and cost-effectiveness. An efficiency analysis of an emergency medical service program illustrates the sort of information required to identify improvements in efficiency within this broader context.