To consider the extent to which regimes of performance measurement in the public sector are fit for purpose, and the likely outcomes for public services and public sector workers of such performance measurement systems.

The article considers four key issues: the context and content of performance measurement in the public sector, the specific examples of health care and higher education, the limitations of performance measurement systems, and the likely outcomes of performance measurement systems.

Current systems of performance measurement in the public sector are unlikely to have a significant influence on improving services. The most likely outcomes of these systems is further commodification of services and deprofessionalisation of public sector workers.

The article builds on established literature and offers a systematic metaphor-driven critique of performance management in the public sector, and discusses the implications of this.