I
n “Public Management by Numbers as a
Performance-Enhancing Drug: Two Hypotheses,”
Christopher Hood brings a new perspective to the
assessment of performance measurement by asking
whether forms of measurement and social settings
shape the eff ects of measurement. He argues that different
forms of measurement create diff erent incentives
for actors and that culture aff ects their reactions
to those incentives. Th is makes sense. Th e article
refl ects Hood’s typical creativity and exceptional
knowledge of political and administrative history