Trends in local government in Europe

Abstract

The article explores which reform trends are expected to play a significant role in the further development of local government in European countries. Analysis is based on an adopted Delphi survey of (mainly academic) local government experts from thirty-two countries. Results include a list of trends structured by the perceived importance for the coming ten years. Redistributing responsibilities and duties across levels of government constitute the highest ratings out of all trends. Furthermore, results do not provide clear evidence to support a shift from public management to governance as has recently been proclaimed in academic debate and literature. Management topics continue to be of great importance. Last but not least, clusters extracted point to different reform groups, which highlight more reluctant or enthusiastic attitudes to the relevance of the suggested trends of the study.     

地方政府公共服务全面质量管理探讨

随着全球化和信息化的变革,经济的发展和社会的进步,公众受教育水平、政治参与意识不断提高,对政府的期望值和服务要求也在提高,这种情况下,传统的政府管理已不能适应要求,而将全面质量管理引入到政府公共服务中来,就成为构建服务型政府的一种必要途径。     

Identifying barriers to the application of standardized performance indicators in local government

Abstract

Local governments in many countries are implementing administrative reforms within the framework of New Public Management (NPM) in order to improve the quality and productivity of public services. The use of performance indicators and benchmarking facilitates evaluation of efficiency regarding the provision of such services and favours the acquisition of better practices. The problems that may arise in the introduction of performance indicators in local government mainly concern the consensual design and standardization of indicators for various entities, the method to be used for calculations and the selection of analytical criteria to be applied to the values obtained. In this article, we identify obstacles that may be encountered in achieving a standardized definition of performance indicators within local government and, on the basis of learning from the practical experience of several large city councils in Spain, formulate strategies to resolve these problems, taking note of the viability and real efficacy of the solutions adopted.     

Contracting-out at local government level

Abstract

Contracting-out is a public sector reform tool, and it is used as a specific form of privatization. Because of its multi-dimensional character, it does not always lead to positive improvements, even in developed countries, and its impact in countries in Central and Eastern Europe may be limited. This issue is discussed in the theoretical part of this paper. Its analytical part investigates selected important dimensions of contracting-out for local public services in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, namely forms of delivery, decision-making processes concerning the selection of the form of delivery and of supplier, and costs comparisons. The final part provides a brief list of possible tools to improve the current negative situation.     

Allocation of authority under central grants

This study deals with an analysis of allocation of government authority between local and central governments. Using a relatively simple model, we examine three classes of issues: First, what type of public project is implemented under a (de)centralized system? Second, is the size of governments (or public projects) larger or smaller when the system is (de)centralized? Third, should the system be (de)centralized? Which level of government should be allocated an authority? The most interesting result of the analysis is that the optimal allocation of authority varies with the cost differential between local and central government in a non-monotonic way.     

我国现行政府财务报告的弊端及完善建议

政府财务报告是以财务信息为主要内容,全面系统地反映政府财务受托责任的综合报告。本文详细分析了当前我国政府财务报告所存在的问题,并借鉴国外在政府财务报告方面的经验,对我国政府财务报告提出了几点完善建议,制定政府财务报告准则提供参考。     

Work characteristics and employee outcomes in local government

The overall objective of this study was to examine the work characteristics that make significant contributions to extra-role performance (as measured by the helping dimension of citizenship behaviour) and employee wellbeing (measured by job satisfaction and psychological health) in a local government. The work characteristics examined were based on the demand-control-support (DCS) model, augmented by organization-specific characteristics. The results indicate that characteristics described in the core DCS are just as relevant to extra-role performance as they are to more traditional indicators of job stress. Although the more situation-specific conditions were not predictive of citizenship behaviour, they made unique contributions to job satisfaction.     

The Flemish government's responsibility for local government modernization

Abstract

Throughout Western Europe, local government is modernized. Central and regional governments carry responsibility for this modernization because they decide upon its nature. However, this responsibility reaches out further since a higher-level government also carries responsibility for the success of its modernization at the local level. The article unravels this responsibility for local government modernization in the case of the Flemish government. As a result of Belgian state reform, this government counts today as the most important higher-level government from the viewpoint of local government in Flanders.     

Assessing the effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award model with municipal government

This study examines the applicability of the MBNQA 2002 criteria to the government sector and contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses the need for performance metrics for government organizations. As the MBNQA is being proposed and pilot tested in government organizations, this work provides support for the transference and application of the model to government services in a municipal government.This study demonstrates the first structural model test using Partial Least Square (PLS) of an instrument that was based on a one-to-one item to criteria correspondence. We collected data from a city government and used PLS to analyze the survey data and tested the MBNQA model fit. The findings of this study show that the proposed Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria-based instrument provides a viable set of measures for a municipal government to review and measure their business (organization) processes. These measures can enhance decision making about resource allocations because such measures allow evaluation of processes and a better understanding of the integration among these processes.     

地方政府的"土地财政"及其弊端

目前我国地方政府把土地作为增加财政收入的工具,对地方财政和土地资源的可持续利用造成不利的影响。分析了财政激励条件下地方政府的土地利用行为,并在环境保护视角下深入分析这些行为对地方财政和土地资源的影响。发现由于土地资源的稀缺性,地方政府以持续开发土地作为发展动力的土地财政不是一种可持续的发展模式,不能为地方政府带来稳定的财政收入,终将导致财政收入的枯竭。     

Organizational complexity and participatory innovation: participatory budgeting in local government

ABSTRACT

In this study, we examined the relationship between organizational complexity and the adoption of participatory innovation in German municipal government. We proposed that organizations with more complex organizational structures are more likely to adopt participatory innovation. We investigated municipalities (N = 394) of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and used participatory budgeting as an indicator for innovation. Our results indicate that organizational complexity expressed by functional differentiation has a positive relationship with the occurrence of participatory innovation. The results inform a debate about the value trade-offs that are inherent to the structural design of public organizations.     

Looking across borders: A test of spatial policy interdependence using local government efficiency ratings

Spatial patterns in (local) government taxation and spending decisions have received a lot of attention. Still, the focus on taxation or expenditure levels in previous studies may be incomplete. Indeed, (rational) individuals are likely to consider the level of spending on (or taxation for) public goods provision simultaneously with how much public goods they actually receive—thus assessing the ‘price/quantity’ of government policies. Therefore, the present paper argues that incumbents may want their ‘price/quantity’ ratio to be close to that in neighbouring regions. Analysing Flemish local governments' efficiency ratings for the year 2000 (which relate total spending to the quantity of locally provided public goods), we confirm the existence of neighbourhood effects in local government policies.     

企业信息化中的软件监理实践研究

文章归纳和总结了企业信息化过程中软件监理的形式和策略,根据软件监理的特点,从项目管理和软件工程的角度,提出了软件监理在企业信息化项目中的实践流程,并加以阐述。     

地方政府环境规制失灵的原因及解决途径——以跨界水污染为例

公用地的悲剧及集体行动的困境提供了政府规制的空间。环境规制是政府规制的一项重要内容,政府通过制定相应政策约束市场主体的排污行为来保护环境。但近年来以跨界水污染纠纷为代表的一系列环境规制政策实践表明,地方政府对于环境外部性的规制并不总有效,即环境规制失灵。地方政府环境规制失灵带来许多环境问题,但这并不构成怀疑政府环境规制的充分理由,而应研究如何纠正地方政府环境规制失灵。     

Complexity in local government change

Abstract

This article discusses empirical research findings indicating that complexity is a dominant characteristic in local government change and addresses that the current complexity sets limits to rational reform processes and gives way to political leadership.

During the recent decade, intermunicipal co-operation has emerged as a major issue in local governance in Finland. Despite the fact that the need for intense co-operation is acknowledged in most surveys, practical steps are often difficult to take due to complexity of the interorganizational action. Actors come upon complex situations involving many issues; situations where the issues are continuously changing and complicatedly interdependent. Circumstances are further blurred by the fact that actors often hide their preferences.

In the changing local governance, complexity, paradoxes and uncertainty decrease the prospective of managerial and expert knowledge, because rational calculations do not give definitive support for decision making. From this perspective, we have reached the limits of rational, clear-cut reforming. More than before, the implementation of change depends on the emergence of political leaders willing and able to take responsibility for reforms.     

The measurement and management of intellectual capital in the public sector

This article compares and contrasts the stage of development reached by the public and private sectors with regard to intellectual capital. Whereas the private sector in many parts of the developed world has still not fully embraced the importance of measuring intangible assets, the public sector, with its different objectives, has always had to focus on non-financial results. This has become more critical in recent years due to successive government initiatives that have required the use of a number of prescribed performance indicators. Having briefly outlined the history of both intellectual capital and the culture of performance measurement this article analyses the results of a survey of public sector organizations in Northern Ireland to assess how they are dealing with both the measurement and management of intellectual capital assets.     

北京市构建政府绩效管理制度体系研究

深入探索并推行政府绩效管理对于深化行政管理体制改革、建设人民满意政府具有重要意义。本文通过研究政府绩效管理相关理论与实践,探寻政府绩效管理的内在规律,并基于北京市推行绩效管理工作所取得的经验和成效,尝试提出了以指标评价、组织管理、运行监控、公众评价、创新发展为核心的＂五位一体＂的绩效管理制度体系,并进一步从科学化、民主化、法制化的视角阐述了政府绩效管理的发展路径。     

The impact of fiscal positions on government bond yields in CEE countries

This paper investigates the influence of government debt and primary balance on long-term government bond yields in 10 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the period 2000–2013. The results indicate that a one percentage point increase in the stock of government debt is associated with an increase in government bond yields of 2.7–4 basis points, while a one percentage point increase in the primary deficit to GDP ratio is associated with an increase in government bond yields of 12.9–24.3 basis points. We also find evidence of non-linearities in the debt-interest rate relationship, whereby the threshold after which the impact of debt turns from negative to positive is significantly lower than in advanced economies.     

Tensions in local government employment relationships

Abstract

A wide variety of initiatives characterized under the umbrella term of new public management have been introduced over the past two decades to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the public sector. The implications of these initiatives for public sector employment relationships have been the subject of on-going debate. This article contributes to this debate through examining how employees within local authorities are managed in a time of personal crisis with a particular focus on long-term sickness absence in the context of increased management drives for efficiency under the NPM agenda. The findings reveal that for managers in two local authorities that form the focus of this study there is a tension in struggling to achieve a workable balance between the needs of employees and wider operational requirements, resulting in role ambiguity for line managers and detrimental effects for vulnerable public service workers.     

HR practices,organizational climate and employee outcomes: evaluating social exchange relationships in local government

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on UK local government workers in which the effects of social and negative exchanges on work-related attitudes and behaviours were assessed. HR practices and organizational climate were used as measures of social exchange. Negative exchanges were based on measures capturing non-supportive management practice and unfair treatment. The findings suggest that, consistent with social exchange theory, positive exchanges lead to enhanced worker attitude and behaviour, with negative exchanges leading to increased work-related stress, reduced motivation and a greater propensity to quit. Negative exchanges, however, did not result in reduced discretionary behaviour. Disaggregating the exchange practices revealed equitable rewards and organizational morale had consistent effects on worker attitudes and behaviours, with team working, employee involvement and trust in managers having significant effects on employee motivation. The implications of these findings are considered in the concluding section of the paper.