01176pab a2200145 454500008004000000100002500040245008000065260000900145300001600154362000800170520075400178650002600932700002100958773005100979180718b2007   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aWalle, Steven Van de  aPerceptions of productivity and performance in Europe and the United States  c2007  ap.1123-140.  aSep  aA straightforward relationship between the performance of public services and citizens' attitudes towards government is often taken for granted. Yet, public sector performance, citizen perceptions of this performance, and overall levels of trust in government may be related in various ways. In this article, we demonstrate how public sector performance and trust in government are not related in a unidirectional causal chain, and how often contradictory processes determine this relationship. We further discuss a number of possibilities to improve the public sector's image and show how the subjectivity of existing government-wide performance indicators may lead to erroneous cross-country comparisons of public sector performance. - Reproduced.  aPublic administration  aBouckaert, Geert  aInternational Journal of Public Administration