Reporting multiple dimensions of public service performance: information order effects on citizens’ willingness to use services

Performance information can facilitate user choice of public services and enhance accountability. However, the public sector's multiple performance dimensions create a potential for order effects on users' responses to information arising from the sequence of information reporting. We assess order effects using a randomized survey experiment. In a school performance scenario, we find recency effects meaning that information late in a sequence impacts more than the same information placed earlier on. The findings suggest the potential for strategic presentation of information by providers but also a beneficial nudge to help users focus on performance dimensions most salient to them.