One of the most persistent initiatives launched by elected officials at all levels of government over the past three decades in the United States has involved pay-for-performance reward systems for government employees. But have pay-for-performance systems lived up to the promise that proponents have held out for them? Have the basic theories underlying them proven valid? What lessons can be drawn from prior experiences with pay-for-performance systems? James Perry, Trent A. Engbers, and So Yun Jun of Indiana University launch this installment's exchange among leading scholars and practitioners by drawing lessons from their meta-analysis of research assessing. - Reproduced.