Réforme de la fonction publique et introduction de la rémunération liée aux performances en Italie [Personnel reform and the introduction of performance-related pay in Italy: evidence, interpretations, lessons]

The paper examines the process of personnel reform in Italy since the beginning of the 1990s. An interpretation of the extensive changes that have occurred in Italy is proposed, based on the analysis of the dynamics of the relations between elected and tenured officials (“the public service bargain”). The second part of the paper considers a specific but highly influential type of reform : performance-related pay. Problems and conditions for its effectiveness are examined, and lessons for would-be reformers in other countries are drawn.