The challenge of local government size
Subtitle: theoretical perspectives, international experience and policy reform
By: edited by Santiago Lago-Penas, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Series: Studies in fiscal federalism and state-local finance; Studies in fiscal federalism and state-local finance
Publisher: Edward Elgar
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 291
ISBN-13: 9781782544296
Subjects: Local government
Description: In the efficient delivery of local public services, size matters. Many countries around the world have vertical government structures that are perceived as inefficient because of their high levels of jurisdictional fragmentation. This timely volume examines the different strategies used to address local government fragmentation and their observed results and consequences. Expert contributors in economics and political science offer a comprehensive breakdown of the issue of local jurisdiction fragmentation and provide recommendations for successful policy reform. Topics discussed include economies of scale, the costs and benefits of voluntary and forced amalgamation programs, the correlation between government size and corruption, privatization, and inter-municipal cooperation. A combination of theory and empirical evidence provides depth and makes this book an invaluable addition to the literature. Economists, public administrators and political scientists will find much of interest in this innovative volume, as will professors, students and international institutions with an interest in local government structure and reform.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction to the volume / Santiago Lago-Peñas and Jorge Martinez-Vazquez; title: An international perspective on the determinants of local government fragmentation / Juan Luis Gómez-Reino and Jorge Martinez-Vazquez; title: Small is different : size, political representation and governance / Nicholas Charron, José Fernández-Albertos and Victor Lapuente; title: Corruption and the size of local governments : are they related? / Michael A. Nelson; title: Do fiscal decentralization and government fragmentation affect corruption in different ways? : Evidence from a panel data analysis / Nadia Fiorino, Emma Galli and Fabio Padovano; title: Local government size and efficiency in capital-intensive services : what evidence is there of economies of scale, density and scope? / Germà Bel; title: Local government size and efficiency in labor-intensive public services : evidence from local educational authorities in England / Rhys Andrews; title: Voluntary amalgamation of local governments : the Swiss debate in the European context / Bernard Dafflon; title: Local government cooperation for joint provision : the experiences of Brazil and Spain with inter-municipal consortia / Luiz de Mello and Santiago Lago-Peñas; title: Options for rationalizing local government structure : a policy agenda / Brian Dollery, Michael Kortt and Bligh Grant; title: Does local government size matter? : Privatization and hybrid systems of local service delivery / Mildred E. Warner.