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Transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has its social costs. These range from loss or diminution of a social welfare net to widespread unemployment. This is true of Asian countries adopting a gradualist approach to the free market, African countries forced by the IMF into structural adjustment, and Eastern European countries opting for abrupt transition. The paper explores the relative merits of two contrasting policies, paying particular attention to the gradualism of China and Vietnam on the one hand, and on the other the shock therapy of Eastern Europe, the newly independent States, and Mongolia.

Given the spread of multi-level governance tools, interaction between local and regional governments has become an important mechanism for service delivery and the implementation of public policies. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a model of cooperative relations affecting local governments and thus having impact on local autonomy and dependence.

This paper takes previous typologies as a starting point to theoretically build and empirically test a model of cooperative relations based on two selected indicators: the degree of autonomy-dependence and the degree of rigidity-flexibility of the cooperative system. In a second step, the authors stimulate the model numerically to match real data on it coming from South European local governments to assess the functioning of the theory in a concrete space and time.

The combination of the aforementioned concepts, creates a four-option theoretical model that describes four possible situations where cooperative intergovernmental relations can be empirically placed.

This paper points out the need to incorporate empirical studies to trace the characteristics and evolution of the cooperative relations between local governments and upper tiers. This is particularly relevant if the authors are referring to mechanisms that can vary through time. In the current big and open data era, this empirical process will become easier and more affordable. In this context, local government studies benefit from particular features that improve the operation of this kind of analysis: large “N” configuration (a large number of units to be included) and a reasonable equivalence in concepts and bodies that allows comparability.

This chapter examines one of the most contested issues in Public Administration, namely political–administrative relationships. The first part of the chapter begins with a brief overview of the features of an ideal-type bureaucracy. Next is a literature review of political–administrative relationships. This is followed by an analysis of typologies of political–administrative relationships, with particular reference to developing countries. The second part of the chapter analyses the evolution of political–administrative relationships since the dawn of South African democracy in 1994. It examines the growing politicisation of the public service, the weakening of the powers of public officials vis-a-vis Ministers and the emasculation of the PSC. Data indicate that the government is unable to fill posts at the Senior Management Service (SMS) level and that there are a high number of acting HoDs, an indicator of instability. Finally, it uses Dasandi and Esteve’s typology of political–administrative relationships in developing countries to interpret the South African case.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the determinants of satisfaction with municipal services by local inhabitants in Lithuania. Specifically, the paper seeks to disclose the relations between the importance that citizens attribute to the objectives of a municipality, satisfaction with services, the perception of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics of local inhabitants.

The theoretical assumptions were tested using the quantitative data of public opinion survey in Lithuania conducted in 2016. The representative sample (n=1,006) consisting respondents over the age of 18 years old was collected using the personal interview method in households from different municipalities. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to specify the constructs of the model. The structural equation modeling allowed revealing the relations between the importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services and infrastructure, the perception of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics of citizens.

The findings indicate that there is a weak positive relation among the importance of municipal objectives and satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure in case of Lithuania. There is a medium positive relation between satisfaction with services and infrastructure and perception of quality of life. The authors find that citizens living in cities attribute higher importance to the objectives of a municipality. The expectations increase within the age. The authors also find that residents living in cities are less satisfied (comparing to citizens living in towns and rural areas) with municipal services. The results indicate that citizens working in the private sector are less satisfied (comparing to unemployed citizens) with municipal services. The authors also find that such variables as education, age and income has a positive influence on the perception of quality of life.

Further research may specify the connection between the importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services, quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics more precisely. Specifically, the construct of the importance of municipal objectives was explained best as one factor due to the selection of objectives constituting the construct in the questionnaire. More precise measurement of the construct may reveal the agenda pursued by citizens and its relation to the socio-demographic factors.

The research reveals that satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure is an important predictor of perceived quality of life for Lithuanians citizens on the local level. It sends an important signal to policymakers indicating that citizens that are living in cities, working in private sector feel less satisfied compared to other groups of inhabitants in rural areas. It also provides evidence that different profiles of socio-demographic characteristics should also be considered more carefully while designing responsive service provision systems in municipalities.

The paper provides a theoretical and methodological perspective that relates importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with municipal services, infrastructure and perceived quality of life of local inhabitants. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of socio-demographic characteristics of for municipal agenda and design of provision of public services.

In the early 1980s, institutional and development researchers began to question why schools in different countries around the world increasingly appeared alike in formal design, organization, and function. Boli, Ramirez, and Meyer (1985) offered a seminal neo-institutional argument that schools around the world are increasingly drawn up by the global sweep of modernization. A prerequisite for any country wishing to engage with and compete in the modern world, the authors argued, is establishing a system of mass schooling based on a set of core institutional standards and values that originated in the west but have since expanded around the globe. These standards and values require that schools be universally accessible and socially progressive, capably of equally and equitably integrating a citizenry – regardless of racial, ethnic, and gender-related distinctions – into the nation-state. The world model of education described by these theorists provides not so much an organizational blueprint for building modern school systems as a cultural schema for defining the national polity and forging a modern society through education. What makes schools everywhere look and act the same, they claim, is the utter invariability of this schema.[T]he striking thing about modern mass education is that everywhere in the world the same interpretative scheme underlies the observed reality. Even in the most remote peasant villages, administrators, teachers, pupils, and parents invoke these institutional rules and struggle to construct schools that conform to them. (p. 147)

Many Olympic cities are faced with the challenge of converting various remaining infrastructures after the Games have been held. These infrastructures, often imposing and highly specialized, require local actors to innovate and engage in an urban renewal process that can be very complex and expensive when trying to give them a second life as tourism sites. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Based on an online survey administered to international travellers (n=5,553) and 36 semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, this study shows that the Olympic Park, mainly through the stadium, has international recognition.

However, the sustainability and development of these attractions will need a major overhaul with its welcoming amenities and the integration of the surrounding neighbourhoods in the regeneration plan.

Among these facilities, we have the Montreal Olympic Stadium, which is often identified as the architectural jewel of the games and is used as an urban flagship in tourism development strategies. This situation raises several questions not only in the field of tourism, but also the fields of urban studies, leisure and sociology. This paper will examine the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal and its urban regeneration concepts and place branding that have been integrated into the tourism strategies since the early 2000s.

The aim of this work is to investigate the risk of anti competitive behaviour implied by temporary groups of service providers. The point bears policy implications as local authorities, following European Union directives, have stressed the role of such alliances in the public procurement of services. We first summarize the fragmented literature on temporary horizontal alliances in public works and services. We then deal with a case study on local public transport in order to evaluate the performance of temporary groups of service providers. The coopetitive perspective is finally discussed as an explanation stressing that, within firms’ groups, both processes of value creation and value sharing take place.