Public policies over the last few years made sure prevalently to control the public deficit and debt, both to honour commitments undertaken with European Community and to avert the danger of international speculation on Treasury bonds, that threatened the stability and confidence in the our Country, as in other european States. But the study of such policies shows the low account for the consequent economic aspects and so the increase of the present crisis, the delay of the revival and the removal of the outlook of growth. The paper tries to answer the following question: could public accounts be balanced imposing a lower austerity than that we are living? The specific answer is affirmative, but on only one condition: with the evaluation of the public expenditure.
Keywords: Spending review, performance evaluation, impact evaluation, public expenditure, public policies.