Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2019

Magnus Andersson, Peter G. Håkansson and Inge Thorsen

This chapter examines observed regional inequalities and centralization tendencies in Norway. Small, rural, municipalities experienced a favourable population development from…

Abstract

This chapter examines observed regional inequalities and centralization tendencies in Norway. Small, rural, municipalities experienced a favourable population development from 1970 to the mid-1980s. After this, the percentage population growth has been strongest in the largest municipalities/cities, and this tendency has accelerated during the last 10–15 years. Data post-1970 strongly support the reasonable hypothesis that population growth is positively related to centrality. The major source of changes lies within the labour market regions, whereas the changes between the regions are modest. Jobs have not become more centralized than households over the period.

A conceptual model is developed, offering a useful taxonomy of municipalities in three dimensions: the unemployment rate, the employment growth, and housing prices. This provides a classification that contributes to clarify the changes in the urban-rural divide. The discussion demonstrates that distinguishing between different categories is important, since different explanations of centralization and regional disparities call for different menus of policy instruments.

We study the relationship between population growth, unemployment rates, and employment growth in Norwegian municipalities, to distinguish between disequilibrium and equilibrium explanations of the situation in regional labour markets. At a national level our results indicate that neoclassical adjustments dominate weakly over amenity-based mechanisms. However, results from many regions support the hypothesis that amenity-based adjustments are dominant for municipalities within a labour market region. One possible explanation is that the diversity in job opportunities is considered as an amenity. A thicker labour market is better fit to meet the demand of workers with specific qualifications.

Book part
Publication date: 23 September 2014

Using the same checklist as that in the previous chapter, this chapter evaluates the current status of policy initiative on incorporating climate disaster risk aspects in local…

Abstract

Using the same checklist as that in the previous chapter, this chapter evaluates the current status of policy initiative on incorporating climate disaster risk aspects in local development planning in Costa Rica. The chapter identifies opportunities and challenges of this local initiative for reducing climate disaster risk. In addition, the study discusses the influence of national policy on local development planning.

Details

Local Disaster Risk Management in a Changing Climate: Perspective from Central America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-935-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 October 2016

Verónica Paula Lima Ribeiro, Sónia Maria da Silva Monteiro and Ana Maria de Abreu e Moura

This study aims to analyse the extent of online social responsibility (SR) information disclosure by Portuguese municipalities and to identify related determinant factors, based…

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the extent of online social responsibility (SR) information disclosure by Portuguese municipalities and to identify related determinant factors, based on Institutional Theory and Legitimacy Theories.

A content analysis was performed on webpages from 60 sampled municipalities, and an information disclosure index was created.

Descriptive statistics obtained indicate the Total Disclosure Index (TDI) value was 0.46. The Economic Information sub-category exhibits the highest value (0.66), followed by the Social and Environmental Information categories (0.61 and 0.36, respectively).

The multivariate analysis results indicate that LA21 implementation the existence of tax burdens, the characterisation of a municipality as urban and environmental/SR certification application positively influence SR information disclosure. TDI is negatively affected by the existence of an inactive population (i.e. by the percentage of individuals ≤19 and ≥65 years of age).

Details

Corporate Responsibility and Stakeholding
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-626-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 May 2017

Céline du Boys

French municipalities are in charge of a large number of local public services and benefit from a good, even if decreasing, financial autonomy. They have been until recently and…

Abstract

French municipalities are in charge of a large number of local public services and benefit from a good, even if decreasing, financial autonomy. They have been until recently and despite the 2008 crisis, in a good financial situation supported by stable tax revenues and protective national policies. But they are now weakened by strong cuts in their main operating grant operated from 2015.

Through a case study, this chapter attempts to better understand French municipalities’ patterns of financial resilience in times of austerity. Interviews have been driven in four middle size municipalities in various financial situation, to understand the effects of the crisis on their vulnerability and the influence of their financial and organisational capacities on their resilience patterns.

The study shows that all four municipalities enhanced their responsiveness following the 2015 cut in grants. The latter appeared as a major shock that prompts them to change their behaviours and strengthen their resilience. But municipalities took up different paths of resilience, building up or investing in different anticipatory and coping capacities. Buffering capacities, such as cost cuts, were present in all cases to cope with shocks. Conversely, adapting and transforming capacities were not as prevalent. The pro-active resilient municipality relies on a mix of capacities. But three out of four cases show patterns of financial resilience that leave them insufficiently prepared for future shocks. This research shows the necessity to develop and constantly maintain anticipatory and coping capacities that are suitable for tackling the municipalities’ specific vulnerability sources.

Details

Governmental Financial Resilience
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-262-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 September 2020

Paula van Veen-Dirks and Anneke Giliam

Purpose – This study focuses on the relationship between local governments and public sector joint ventures (JVs). Public sector JVs are separate administrative entities that…

Abstract

Purpose – This study focuses on the relationship between local governments and public sector joint ventures (JVs). Public sector JVs are separate administrative entities that undertake public service activities on behalf of local governments. The aim of this study is to examine the vertical management control packages that are used by local governments to control the relationship with their public sector JVs.

Design/methodology/approach – Two case studies have been conducted in two public sector JVs, owned jointly by more than 20 local governments. The analysis of the two cases is informed by an integrated conceptual framework describing how transactional and relational factors influence control, trust, and risk in the context of public sector JVs.

Findings – The case studies provide a nuanced understanding of the interplay between the vertical management control packages, trust between the parents and the public sector JVs, and risks as perceived by the local governments. The case findings not only reveal how local governments struggle with adequate outcome control but also highlight how and why they rely on behavioral control. A related finding is that while the probability of poor business performance does not have a significant impact on the design of the vertical control packages, the social impact of failure has the potential to create a sense of urgency with regard to changes in the design of vertical management control packages.

Originality/value – This study adds to the literature on interorganizational relationships by providing insight into the use of vertical management control packages in the specific, but relevant, setting of public sector JVs.

Book part
Publication date: 27 February 2009

Florian Dünckmann

Purpose – The rural–urban fringe is a highly differentiated zone. This chapter takes a closer look at the different types of rural municipalities in the vicinity of metropolitan…

Abstract

Purpose – The rural–urban fringe is a highly differentiated zone. This chapter takes a closer look at the different types of rural municipalities in the vicinity of metropolitan areas in the northern part of Germany.

Methodology – The examination of the most important dimensions of rural development was done by means of a factor analysis. A cluster analysis was conducted in order to identify certain categories of municipal development paths and to ascertain possible causes for their spatial distribution (e.g., central-peripheral or regional).

Findings – Five different types of development paths were identified: urban, residential, growing, agricultural and stagnant municipalities. The spatial distribution of these clusters suggests that the development of exurban areas is more fragmented than general explanations may suggest. Development paths which resemble a “rural gentrification” may first of all be found in “urban municipalities” and “residential municipalities”. Anyway, often in immediate vicinity to these municipalities we either find municipalities which are characterized by a rapid growth of the population or still show clear traces of a local dominance of agriculture. Local development paths are shaped by a multitude of factors reaching from macro-economic impulses to the implications of regional planning and further down to the local socio-political dynamics in the municipality itself.

Originality/value of chapter – The chapter analyses data on periurban development in Germany and contribute in this way to the scientific discourse on periurbanity in Western Europe.

Details

Beyond the Rural-Urban Divide: Cross-Continental Perspectives on the Differentiated Countryside and its Regulation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-138-1

Book part
Publication date: 23 September 2014

Drawing on the results of the previous chapters, this chapter looks at current progress in terms of climate disaster risk incorporation into development planning and practice at…

Abstract

Drawing on the results of the previous chapters, this chapter looks at current progress in terms of climate disaster risk incorporation into development planning and practice at three levels (national government, municipalities, and communities) and analyzes gaps, challenges, and opportunities. The chapter also discusses potential factors for enhancing local disaster risk management (DRM) capacity by collaborating with three levels of stakeholders.

Details

Local Disaster Risk Management in a Changing Climate: Perspective from Central America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-935-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 January 2021

Emin Zeytinoğlu

Accountability and financial transparency came to be accepted as the basic principles in obtaining and using public resources in an efficient and productive manner. One of the…

Abstract

Accountability and financial transparency came to be accepted as the basic principles in obtaining and using public resources in an efficient and productive manner. One of the most important tools to realize this goal is the annual report, also referred to in Public Financial Management and Control Law. Annual reports are comprehensive reports that also contain the realization outcomes according to the performance indicators that pertain to the activities that these institutions implement according to their strategic plan and performance program. The authors explain the reasons of variations from the plans, and also contain the administrative and financial information on the institution. The contribution of the annual reports, in presenting a transparent and accountable structure by enabling efficiency and productivity in municipalities that use a major part of public resources, is undeniable.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the financial and performance information within the annual reports issued by the municipalities of Turkey within the scope of accountability and to reveal the present condition from the results of this evaluation. In short, this study investigates to which degree the municipalities enlighten their stakeholders from the aspect of financial information via annual reports. Within the scope of the study, annual reports of metropolitan municipalities for the year 2017 and 2018 were obtained and the presence of several considerations, defined according to the extent of the financial and performance information they provide and their manner of presentation, were checked.

Details

Contemporary Issues in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-508-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 May 2017

Joseph Drew

Australia notably was one of the few developed nations to avoid a technical recession subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). However, the fact that the nation escaped a…

Abstract

Australia notably was one of the few developed nations to avoid a technical recession subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). However, the fact that the nation escaped a technical recession doesn’t mean that citizens and local governments were not subject to some of the measures associated with post-GFC austerity. In particular, intergovernmental grants – an important source of revenue for Australian local governments – were frozen by the federal government seeking to mitigate large deficits over the forward estimates. This chapter compares and contrasts the budgetary outcomes for the local governments of Australia’s two most populous states – New South Wales and Victoria. We find that the disparate regulatory controls in the two municipal jurisdictions were strongly associated with the budgetary outcomes of the individual municipalities: In particular, we present evidence which suggests that taxation limitations and lax investment guidelines in New South Wales can be associated with relatively inferior budgetary positions and higher budgetary volatility. By way of contrast, Victorian councils had the flexibility to vary rates of taxation to the changing conditions and largely avoided investment losses associated with the financial failure of Lehman Brothers. In New South Wales the regulatory response to deteriorating municipal budgets (subsequent to the GFC) has been to execute a radical programme of forced amalgamations. Somewhat ironically, the Victorian state government has recently imposed taxation limitations on its municipalities. In summary, this chapter demonstrates the saliency of regulatory constraints on municipal resilience, in the context of post-GFC economic challenges.

Details

Governmental Financial Resilience
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-262-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 May 2017

Niklas Wällstedt and Roland Almqvist

In this chapter, the development of financial sustainability and resilience in Swedish local governments is analysed. We analyse four Swedish municipalities, where we have…

Abstract

In this chapter, the development of financial sustainability and resilience in Swedish local governments is analysed. We analyse four Swedish municipalities, where we have interviewed top managers and co-workers. As a complement, we have examined the municipalities’ strategic plans, budget documents and annual reports. We also contextualise this analysis with other findings from local government research during this time, as well as with central government initiatives. In summary, we examine why Swedish municipalities in general remained strong after the financial crisis by showing how they strengthened their anticipatory and coping capacities over time – something that, in the cases of this chapter, was achieved before the 2008/2009 crisis in response to previous crises, rather than because of it. We also show that this is not the only reason. As Swedish finances were comparatively stable, and the problems of the banking sector relatively small, the financial shocks to the municipalities could be overcome relatively easily.

Details

Governmental Financial Resilience
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-262-6

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000