Finnish municipalities enjoy ample fiscal autonomy and provide or arrange the provision of a large share of public services. In recent years, their spending and debt has been increasing steadily, especially because of population ageing and increases in the cost of health care and social...

The article deals with efficiency networks, representing organizational structures created to solve problems in spheres of local government. It starts with the introduction to the efficiency networks concept as an instrument in overcoming challenges in municipality service delivery, including...

A radical reform improved the government of towns and cities in Italy at the start of the 1990’s. Mayors were elected by citizens; they appointed their own executives and received «guides and checks» from Councils. That model had nevertheless already started to worsen at the end of the...

In this paper we analyse some of the organisational aspects of the urban solid waste collection and, in particular, the privatization modality of contracting out. We start by discussing some of the theoretical aspects of contracting out. We then specify and estimate an explanatory model on a...

PINCH P. L. and PATTERSON A. (2000) Public sector restructuring and regional development: the impact of compulsory competitive tendering in the UK, Reg. Studies 34 , 265-275. This paper contributes to the analysis of contemporary public sector restructuring in the UK through an evaluation of the...

In a recent study into the literature, Bel and Fageda (2007) highlighted the lack of the time dimension in research dealing with explanatory factors in the decision to contract out municipal services. In this paper we attempt to evaluate if the argument of Bel and Fageda is true. We do this by...

Satisfaction about quality of life and 18 local public services in Rome is surveyed every year by a random sample of 2,000 citizens. From the principal component analysis two components result, i.e. 'material wellness' and 'cultural wellness'. Some excellent cultural municipal services...