Reforming Local Government

Reforming Local Government PDF Author: Joseph Drew
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811565031
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
This book is a bold prescription for local government reform that moves well beyond the old arguments regarding consolidations (also referred to as amalgamations) and co-operation (sometimes referred to as shared services) to paint a picture of an efficient, effective tier of government that strikes a balance between the right of persons to pursue their existential ends and the need to promote the common good. The book presents a system of local government that balances human dignity with the common good, restrains Leviathan, provides a voice for the disenfranchised (and even the disinterested), and delivers goods and services efficiently and effectively. Ironically, what is often argued to be the weakness of local government in many jurisdictions – the fact that it is merely a creature of statute – is also the best hope we have of making the oft cited rhetoric about how ‘local government is the closest to the people that serves the people best’ become reality.

Reforming Local Government

Reforming Local Government PDF Author: Joseph Drew
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811565031
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is a bold prescription for local government reform that moves well beyond the old arguments regarding consolidations (also referred to as amalgamations) and co-operation (sometimes referred to as shared services) to paint a picture of an efficient, effective tier of government that strikes a balance between the right of persons to pursue their existential ends and the need to promote the common good. The book presents a system of local government that balances human dignity with the common good, restrains Leviathan, provides a voice for the disenfranchised (and even the disinterested), and delivers goods and services efficiently and effectively. Ironically, what is often argued to be the weakness of local government in many jurisdictions – the fact that it is merely a creature of statute – is also the best hope we have of making the oft cited rhetoric about how ‘local government is the closest to the people that serves the people best’ become reality.

Reforming the City

Reforming the City PDF Author: Ariane Liazos
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231549377
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Most American cities are now administered by appointed city managers and governed by councils chosen in nonpartisan, at-large elections. In the early twentieth century, many urban reformers claimed these structures would make city government more responsive to the popular will. But on the whole, the effects of these reforms have been to make citizens less likely to vote in local elections and local governments less representative of their constituents. How and why did this happen? Ariane Liazos examines the urban reform movement that swept through the country in the early twentieth century and its unintended consequences. Reformers hoped to make cities simultaneously more efficient and more democratic, broadening the scope of what local government should do for residents while also reconsidering how citizens should participate in their governance. However, they increasingly focused on efficiency, appealing to business groups and compromising to avoid controversial and divisive topics, including the voting rights of African Americans and women. Liazos weaves together wide-ranging nationwide analysis with in-depth case studies. She offers nuanced accounts of reform in five cities; details the activities of the National Municipal League, made up of prominent national reformers and political scientists; and analyzes quantitative data on changes in the structures of government in over three hundred cities. Reforming the City is an important study for American history and political development, with powerful insights into the relationships between scholarship and reform and between the structures of city government and urban democracy.

Reforming Local Government in Europe

Reforming Local Government in Europe PDF Author: Norbert Kersting
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3663112586
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
Nearly all Western and Central European local government systems have been reformed since the 1990's. Taking into account variations in historical and national context, the book looks for different ways of local government reform, their emphases and their divergent trajectories.

Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Governments

Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Governments PDF Author: Sadioglu, Ugur
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1522503188
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 588

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Book Description
Local government can be defined as a public entity acting as the sub-unit of a state or of a region, charged with the task of enforcing public policies. There have been many reforms of local government in recent years from the grassroots-led movement that took root in the 90’s to the overarching effects of globalization and decentralization. Local governments must adapt their practices in order to most effectively provide for their constituents. Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Government addresses the effects of recent reforms in the political-administrative system of local governments and politics as well as future outlooks. It reviews the challenges, innovations, and lessons from local governments while providing theoretical perspectives on methods for positive reform. This book is a critical reference source for policy makers, government organizations, professionals, and actors in both local and international politics.

OECD Fiscal Federalism Studies Reforming Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Beyond the Zero-Sum Game

OECD Fiscal Federalism Studies Reforming Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Beyond the Zero-Sum Game PDF Author: Blöchliger Hansjörg
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264119973
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
This book describes and examines reforms of fiscal federalism and local government in 10 OECD countries implemented over the past decade.

Perspectives on Australian Local Government Reform

Perspectives on Australian Local Government Reform PDF Author: Brian Dollery
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781862879850
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
Perspectives on Australian Local Government Reform draws upon the insights and expertise of an extraordinary group of contributors, drawn from practitioners with extensive and exceptional hands-on experience in local government, as well as scholars of Australian local government.

Reforming the Public Sector

Reforming the Public Sector PDF Author: Giovanni Tria
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815722885
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Many countries are still struggling to adapt to the broad and unexpected effects of modernization initiatives. As changes take shape, governments are challenged to explore new reforms. The public sector is now characterized by profound transformation across the globe, with ramifications that are yet to be interpreted. To convert this transformation into an ongoing state of improvement, policymakers and civil service leaders must learn to implement and evaluate change. This book is an important contribution to that end. Reforming the Public Sector presents comparative perspectives of government reform and innovation, discussing three decades of reform in public sector strategic management across nations. The contributors examine specific reform-related issues including the uses and abuses of public sector transparency, the "Audit Explosion," and the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction in Europe. This volume will greatly aid practitioners and policymakers to better understand the principles underpinning ongoing reforms in the public sector. Giovanni Tria, Giovanni Valotti, and their cohorts offer a scientific understanding of the main issues at stake in this arduous process. They place the approach to public administration reform in a broad international context and identify a road map for public management. Contributors include: Michael Barzelay, Nicola Bellé, Andrea Bonomi Savignon, Geert Bouckaert, Luca Brusati, Paola Cantarelli, Denita Cepiku, Francesco Cerase, Luigi Corvo, Maria Cucciniello, Isabell Egger-Peitler, Paolo Fedele, Gerhard Hammerschmid, Mario Ianniello, Elaine Ciulla Kamarck, Irvine Lapsley, Peter Leisink, Mariannunziata Liguori, Renate Meyer, Greta Nasi, James L. Perry, Christopher Pollitt, Adrian Ritz, Raffaella Saporito, MariaFrancesca Sicilia, Ileana Steccolini, Bram Steijn, Wouter Vandenabeele, and Montgomery Van Wart.

Bureaus of Efficiency

Bureaus of Efficiency PDF Author: Mordecai Lee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Bureaus of efficiency were established in America as part of the civic reform agenda during the Progressive era at the beginning of the twentieth century. In some cities they were nonprofit agencies pushing for governmental reform from the outside. In other cities, efficiency bureaus were established by reformers as departments within municipal government, school districts or counties. The goal of such bureaus was to promote efficiency in local government, as a way of fighting political corruption, urban machines and political bosses. Efficiency bureaus sought to professionalize local government through civil service systems, open competitive bidding, separation of public administration from politics, and reorganizing departments to reduce duplication. Efficiency has remained a powerful siren call in American political culture in the twenty-first century. In that respect, little has changed conceptually from the days of the bureaus of efficiency nearly a century earlier. The bureaus may have died out, but not their underlying goal. This volume presents a detailed reconstruction of this phenomenon in American urban history.

The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development

The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development PDF Author: Matt Andrews
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139619640
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Developing countries commonly adopt reforms to improve their governments yet they usually fail to produce more functional and effective governments. Andrews argues that reforms often fail to make governments better because they are introduced as signals to gain short-term support. These signals introduce unrealistic best practices that do not fit developing country contexts and are not considered relevant by implementing agents. The result is a set of new forms that do not function. However, there are realistic solutions emerging from institutional reforms in some developing countries. Lessons from these experiences suggest that reform limits, although challenging to adopt, can be overcome by focusing change on problem solving through an incremental process that involves multiple agents.

Local Government Reforms in Countries in Transition

Local Government Reforms in Countries in Transition PDF Author: Frederick A. Lazin
Publisher: Studies in Public Policy
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Local Government Reforms in Countries in Transition explores the impacts that the end of the Cold War and increased globalization have had on governments around the world. The decentralization of national governments has led to a greater role for local governments; public administration and democratic representation are the new arenas of local governments the world over. Focusing not only on countries from the former Soviet Union, but also on Israel, China, South Africa, and Egypt, the contributors to this volume present a truly global investigation of countries experiencing governmental transformation. Book jacket.