Role of anti-/pro-public sector bias in shaping perceived performance and fairness: an experimental exploration in South Asia

Abstract

People may evaluate the same level of performance differently because of different biases. The study explores the possible effects of anti-/pro-public-sector bias on perceived performance and fairness in South Asian countries. Using a survey experiment involving a vignette of identical performance (same level of performance) in public and private hospitals, the study finds lower perceived performance in Bangladesh for the public hospitals due to anti-public-sector bias. However, such an effect was not found in other South Asian countries. Rather, the study finds that in India and Sri Lanka, people assessed greater fairness in public hospitals than in private hospitals for the same quality of services. This assessment of fairness may result from pro-public sector bias. Thus, the evaluation of organizational performance can be shaped by sectoral biases, and people may report different levels of performance for identical performance.