IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/pubmmg/v33y2013i3p213-216.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New development: The paradox of outcomes—the more we measure, the less we understand

Author

Listed:
  • Toby Lowe

Abstract

The use of ‘outcomes’ as a concept to measure the effectiveness of social policy interventions is inherently flawed and creates unwelcome paradoxes. This article explains why, instead of improving the lives of those who receive support, a focus on outcome information distorts both the priorities and practice of organizations who deliver such support, resulting in poorer results for those most in need. It provides an important first stage towards the evolution of new ways of conceptualizing ways to create improvements in social policy delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Toby Lowe, 2013. "New development: The paradox of outcomes—the more we measure, the less we understand," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 213-216, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmmg:v:33:y:2013:i:3:p:213-216
    DOI: 10.1080/09540962.2013.785707
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09540962.2013.785707
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09540962.2013.785707?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Devine, Anthony & Jabbar, Abdul & Kimmitt, Jonathan & Apostolidis, Chrysostomos, 2021. "Conceptualising a social business blockchain: The coexistence of social and economic logics," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Thomä, Jakob & Murray, Clare & Jerosch-Herold, Vincent & Magdanz, Janina, 2019. "Do you manage what you measure? Investor views on the question of climate actions with empirical results from the Swiss pension fund and insurance sector," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115100, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Keevers, Lynne & Rambaldini-Gooding, Delia, 2020. "Practices effective for assisting young people avoid or exit homelessness: Young service recipient's perspectives," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    4. Chen, Suwen & Harrison, Richard, 2020. "Beyond profit vs. purpose: Transactional-relational practices in impact investing," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    5. Miguel Lopes & Fernando Alves, 2021. "Digital Tools to Foster Inclusiveness: Porto’s System of Accessible Itineraries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Charmaine Williamson & Peet Venter, 2018. "Paradox as a generative practice," Eastern European Business and Economics Journal, Eastern European Business and Economics Studies Centre, vol. 4(2), pages 162-188.
    7. Muñoz, Pablo & Kimmitt, Jonathan, 2019. "A diagnostic framework for social impact bonds in emerging economies," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 12(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:pubmmg:v:33:y:2013:i:3:p:213-216. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RPMM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.