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Productivity and program evaluation in the United-States.
A growing need has made itself felt over the past years within US administration for accounting for administrative action, leading to a 'productionist movement', based upon two main ideas : the development of a precise and usable evaluation of the output and productivity of organizations and that of a method by which it would be possible to translate evaluation findings into reliable and adequate data on current programs with a view to spelling out organizational objectives and achieving relevant results.

Governmental organizations operate in complex environments composed of public interest, economic, and managerial dimensions. The comprehensive nature of many social problems, as well as the limited means that governmental agencies are granted to address them, suggests that government will often lack the capacity to achieve expected levels of problem remediation regardless of its internal management capacities. Administrative problems may develop when one dimension is overemphasized to the neglect of the effects of others. An examination of the U.S. and Swedish governments demonstrates that similar factors are influencing administrative capacity in both nations; this poses important issues for policymakers.

"The authors discuss the institutional changes proposed in Ukraine's constitutional framework and election laws that could fundamentally alter the separation of powers and the responsiveness of Ukrainian government to the electorate. We analyze the proposed institutional changes from the perspective of what they portend for Ukraine's democratic transition. Building on the most recent vein of democratization studies examining institutional factors affecting democratic stability, we emphasize that it cannot be assumed that Ukraine is 'in transition to democracy'. We conclude that comprehending the likelihood of achieving democratic stability must be contextualized in an understanding of intervening factors - political, economic, and historical - that ultimately influence democratic stability. Our analysis reminds government reform advocates that it is necessary to go beyond the basic institutional framework of proposed governmental changes in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of democratization." (author's abstract)

The authors discuss the institutional changes proposed in Ukraine's constitutional framework and election laws that could fundamentally alter the separation of powers and the responsiveness of Ukrainian government to the electorate. We analyze the proposed institutional changes from the perspective of what they portend for Ukraine's democratic transition. Building on the most recent vein of democratization studies examining institutional factors affecting democratic stability, we emphasize that it cannot be assumed that Ukraine is ''in transition to democracy.'' We conclude that comprehending the likelihood of achieving democratic stability must be contextualized in an understanding of intervening factors— political, economic, and historical—that ultimately influence democratic stability. Our analysis reminds government reform advocates that it is necessary to go beyond the basic institutional framework of proposed governmental changes in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of democratization.