In this paper the position of cities in the present knowledge economy is explored. We argue that the knowledge economy asks for ‘creative cities’, being cities that are able to combine both concentration, diversity, instability as well as a positive image in the outside world. After having...

In this paper we analyse whether collusion exists in the Dutch waste collection market, which shows a high degree of concentration. Although scale effects might be in accordance with this market outcome, the question is whether this concentration is in fact a result of fair competition. Using...

In this paper we seek an explanation for the reservations of local authorities towards contracting out. Although empirical evidence suggests that contracting out results in a significant cost decrease, a majority of Dutch municipalities provides for waste collection services themselves. Based on...

For refuse collection, we estimate the cost effects of different institutional modes using panel data for almost all Dutch municipalities between 1998 and 2010. The modes we consider are private enterprises, intermunicipal cooperation, municipality-owned enterprises and in-house collection. For...

We estimate whether fair competition exists for tendering refuse collection in the Netherlands. The results indicate that concentration increases prices and offsets the advantage of contracting out. The presence of competing public firms might be essential to ensure fair competition.

In the 1980s and 1990s, disability benefit rates in the Netherlands were among the highest in the world. However, since the beginning of this century the number of disability cases has dropped remarkably due to some very successful policy reforms. An administrative data set concerning Dutch...

Little evidence is available for the effect of competition on educational quality as only a few countries allow large-scale competition. In the Netherlands, free parental choice has been present since the beginning of the twentieth century and can be characterized as a full voucher program with...

Much attention has been paid to the influence of the institutional form of waste collection on costs. We extend this literature in three directions by including the unit-based pricing system. First, we show that unit-based pricing systems are more important from a cost-minimizing point of view...