Residual Evaluation Power: Explain the Hierarchical Operation of Government Performance Evaluation

Government performance evaluation is a management activity involving different levels, and the evaluation power is allocated and flowed among levels. Due to the redundancy of evaluation caused by management control needs, the need of governance to create opportunities for evaluation surplus, and the maturity of evaluation technology to provide conditions for evaluation decentralization, the residual evaluation power came into being. It is a new manifestation of the development of the residual right under the trend of evaluative state, and is consistent with the logic of structural adjustment and power adjustment of government organizations. The residual evaluation power can be passed layer by layer through the multi-level administrative system of principal-agent. The upper level has the formal authority and the power to allocate the residual evaluation power, while the lower level government can flexibly mobilize resources and assume responsibilities and risks because of the enjoyment of the residual evaluation power. The surplus and transfer of the evaluation power are realized through the surplus and transfer of indicators, assessment and incentives, and the department level is endowed with autonomy to implement the goals and tasks formulated and assigned by the superior, manage the public affairs of the level and control the next level.