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This article deals with cross-border cooperation analysed in terms of cooperation that takes place between organisations in particular societal institutions and in a cross-border context. The concept on which this study is based is path dependence understood in terms of its function in explaining the creation of institutions in societal life. The aim of this article was to determine the sustainability of trans-border partnerships initiated within the framework of the PHARE CBC Programme in Poland. Three major rules governing the system of cooperation in border regions in Poland have been identified in the course of this analysis: the dependence of the activities of organisations cooperating in border regions on external financing; a lack of cross-border organisations recognised as border-region hosts whose position would entitle them to make key decisions concerning the whole area under research; and the significance of the border-region and attractive neighbour locational rent for territorial cooperation.

Policy innovation in unitary states relies heavily on the proclivity of local governments to identify and respond to emerging policy challenges. The article contributes by applying a framework for policy innovation normally used in federal systems to a comparative analysis of two unitary states -Poland and Norway. The analysis serves to highlight how the effectiveness of horizontal, non-coercive diffusion mechanisms relies on established norms and traditions for local political self-rule. A key finding is that the prospects of success for 'soft' central government steering seem to rely not least on the resourcefulness of the local units. The study furthermore highlights the importance of historical trajectories for internal as well as external determinants for policy innovation.

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The aim of the paper is to identify the factors determining the choice between service delivery modes to provide local services. The original choice model proposed by Ferris and Graddy predicts that local officials seek to minimize service delivery costs (production and transaction costs), subject to political and fiscal constraints. The article tests production efficiency and transaction costs hypotheses in relation to the modes of service delivery adopted by local governments in Poland: in-house, corporatisation, cooperation, contracting out. It explores delivery choices of three different services: water supply, local transportation, and home care for elderly people. Based on the results of a nationwide survey addressed to all municipalities we test the aforementioned hypotheses using multinomial logit regression models. The empirical evidence confirms the basic expectations that the externalization of service delivery is a function of local officials' attempt to minimize the sum of production and transaction costs subject to fiscal and political constraints.