This article analyzes the positions of top public officials on an equity‐efficiency trade‐off and the determinants of those positions. It uses data from a survey across 14 European countries. The results show that differences in public officials' positions on equity‐efficiency are related to the context in which they work and to their personal background. Officials at the top of the hierarchy and those with a business or economics education are more oriented toward efficiency. Additionally, results show important differences associated with country administrative culture, including a stronger equity orientation in Scandinavian countries, and a stronger efficiency orientation in Southern European countries. The positions of public officials reflect those held by citizens in their country, confirming the contextualized nature of administrative values. This article contributes to understanding the determinants of public officials' dominant values.
Consumer satisfaction with utility services has received increased attention from firms, consumer associations, regulators and governments since the 1990s. Evidence is mounting that consumers in specific socioeconomic groups express lower satisfaction levels than their peers, at least, in some utility markets. Seeing this as part of their remit to protect consumer welfare, governments and international organizations are exploring possible demand-side policy responses with the intention of ameliorating lower satisfaction levels of these groups of consumers. However, more information on the precise relationships between satisfaction and consumers' socioeconomic background is required if policy is to be proportional and effective. This paper provides new empirical knowledge on this topic by contrasting consumers' stated and revealed preferences for five utility services (electricity, gas, fixed and cellular telephony and Internet) across twelve European countries. We find strong evidence that consumers' socioeconomic characteristics matter: consumers with lower levels of education, the elderly and those not employed exhibit particular expenditure patterns on, and lower satisfaction levels with, some utility services. However, this relationship is uneven and depends on the socioeconomic category and service in question. We conclude by highlighting five findings which may be of use to policy-makers when considering whether demand-side regulatory policies are required
The European Commission has formally recognised that adequate provision of basic household services, including energy, communications, water and transport, is
CLIFTON J., DÍAZ-FUENTES D. and FERNÁNDEZ-GUTIÉRREZ M. Public infrastructure services in the European Union: challenges for territorial cohesion, Regional Studies. Territorial cohesion has emerged as an important objective for European Union authorities, particularly since the Treaty of Lisbon. One important strand of territorial cohesion is citizen access to affordable public infrastructure services. While place of residence may influence use of services, insufficient evidence exists as to whether residence may constitute a disadvantage to citizens as regards service use. This paper assesses this by contrasting citizens' stated and revealed preferences for services in three large countries. Residence frequently conditions expenditure on public infrastructure services and satisfaction with service accessibility and affordability, disadvantaging residents in some territories, posing challenges for territorial cohesion. Public infrastructure services Territorial cohesion Citizens Consumers Rural areas Regions CLIFTON J., DÍAZ-FUENTES D. and FERNÁNDEZ-GUTIÉRREZ M. 欧盟的公共基础建设服务:领土凝聚的挑战,区域研 究。领土凝聚,已成为欧盟政府的重要目标,特别是在里斯本条约之后。领土凝聚的其中一项重要组成,便是公民能 够获得经济适用的公共基础建设服务。居住地虽可能影响服务使用,但却未有足够的证据显示,居住会对公民在服务 使用方面构成不利。本文透过对比三个大型国家中,公民自身宣称和被揭露的服务偏好,对上述问题进行评估。居住 经常限制了公共基础建设服务的扩张,以及对服务可及性和经济适用性的满意度,因此对部分领域中的居民产生不 利,并对领土凝聚带来挑战。 公共基础建设服务 领土凝聚 公民 消费者 乡村地区 区域 CLIFTON J., DÍAZ-FUENTES D. et FERNÁNDEZ-GUTIÉRREZ M. Les services d'infrastructure publics dans l'Union européenne: les défis pour la cohésion territoriale, Regional Studies. La cohésion territoriale s'est avérée un principal objectif des autorités compétentes de l'Ue, notamment depuis le Traité de Lisbonne. Un aspect important de la cohésion territoriale est l'accès des habitants aux services d'infrastructure publics abordables. Alors que le lieu de résidence pourrait influer l'utilisation des services, rares sont les preuves que le lieu résidence constitue un inconvénient pour les habitants en ce qui concerne l'utilisation des services. Cet article l'évalue en comparant les préférences déclarées et révélées des habitants à propos des services dans trois grands pays. Souvent, le lieu de résidence détermine les dépenses pour les services d'infrastructure publics et la satisfaction vis-à-vis de l'accessibilité et de l'abordabilité des services, ce qui défavorise les habitants de certains territoires, posant ainsi des problèmes en matière de cohésion territoriale. Services d'infrastructure publics Cohésion territoriale Habitants Consommateurs Zones rurales Régions CLIFTON J., DÍAZ-FUENTES D. und FERNÁNDEZ-GUTIÉRREZ M. Dienstleistungen der öffentlichen Infrastruktur in der Europäischen Union: Herausforderungen für den territorialen Zusammenhalt, Regional Studies. Der territoriale Zusammenhalt
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