Voted in a context of sparse public funds, the “letter” of the LOLF aims at ensuring efficiency in the use of credits and the evaluation of state services. It targets not only the performance objectives of civil servants, but also a true evaluation of the state’s patrimony. For this reason, the “spirit” of the LOLF is founded in the economic analysis of law, in that the latter involves a utilitarian procedure in the form of a calculation of efficiency. However, the efficiency aim of this law –whose eventual goal is to reduce public deficit –must be nuanced in “practice” : in certain areas, the notion of “performance” is ill adapted to public service missions, added to which is the difficulty of establishing reliable indicators.

C’est l’abstact de la Tribune publiée ar Jean-François Calmette, Maître de conférences en droit public à l’Université des Antilles et de la Guyane dans la Revue Française d’Administration Publique « Réformes Budgétaires et réformes de l’Etat » en vente à la Documentation Française.