Comparative Analysis and Conclusions

Hulst, Rudie; Montfort, André van

doi:10.1007/1-4020-5379-7_10

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Over recent decades, these authorities have also faced higher requirements to produce cost‐effective and high‐quality services due to both political and economic pressure (Hulst and Montfort ; Hulst et al ). Meeting these demands has been a challenge, especially for the many small municipalities in most European countries, as they struggle with factors such as small‐scale economies and attracting high competence personnel (Hulst and Montfort ). One common solution to these problems is to increase municipality size through amalgamations, although empirical studies show mixed results for their effect on service delivery costs (Bish ; Carr and Feiock ; Dollery and Johnson ; Fox and Gurley ; Holzer and Fry ; Blom‐Hansen et al ; Bel and Warner , p. 52).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does cooperation affect service delivery costs? Evidence from fire services in Norway

Blåka

2017

Public Administration

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The objective of this study is to develop our understanding of how cooperation between local governments affects service delivery costs. The current study provides three contributions to the existing literature: (1) we assess the relation between inter‐municipal cooperation and service delivery costs for fire services; (2) we evaluate whether different forms of cooperation affect costs differently; and (3) we analyse how the number of cooperation partners affects the cooperation–cost relation. Theoretically, it is argued that cooperation promotes scale economies, but that increasing transaction costs from additional cooperation partners may outweigh these potential benefits. The data show that there are significant economies of scale linked to cooperation, but that this depends on the organizational form of the cooperation as costs are lower for contractual agreements than for joint organizations. Furthermore, cost benefits decrease significantly as the number of cooperation partners increases, and more so for contractual agreements than for joint organizations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does cooperation affect service delivery costs? Evidence from fire services in Norway

Blåka

2017

Public Administration

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“…Many reports on IMC are non-scientific and in general, there is a scarcity of systematic research targeting IMC. In “Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Europe” [ 9 ], the authors conclude that research into the performance of IMC and into factors determining success and failure should be at the top of future research agendas. In 2006, a report [ 10 ] showed that inter-municipal work in Norway is lacking political management, control, and overview, concluding that the situation could undermine local democratic control of basic public services, and measures should be implemented to enhance the visibility, knowledge, and awareness of IMC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Important challenges for coordination and inter-municipal cooperation in health care services: a Delphi study

Holen-Rabbersvik

Eikebrokk

Fensli

et al. 2013

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundDemographical changes have stimulated a coordination reform in the Norwegian health care sector, creating new working practices and extending coordination within and between primary and hospital care, increasing the need for inter-municipal cooperation (IMC). This study aimed to identify challenges to coordination and IMC in the Norwegian health care sector as a basis for further theorizing and managerial advice in this growing area of research and practice.MethodsA Delphi study of consensus development was used. Experts in coordination and IMC in health care services were selected by the healthcare manager or the councillor in their respective municipalities. In the first round, an expert panel received open-ended questions addressing possible challenges, and their answers were categorized and consolidated as the basis for further validation in the second round. The expert panel members were then asked to point out important statements in the third round, before the most important statements ranked by a majority of the members were rated again in the fourth round, including the option to explain the ratings. The same procedure was used in round five, with the exception that the expert panel members could view the consolidated results of their previous rankings as the basis for a new and final rating. The statements reaching consensus in round five were abstracted and themed.ResultsNineteen experts consented to participate. Nine experts (47%) completed all of the five rounds. Eight statements concerning coordination reached consensus, resulting in four themes covering these challenges: different culture, uneven balance of power, lack of the possibility to communicate electronically, and demanding tasks in relation to resources. Three statements regarding challenges to IMC reached consensus, resulting in following themes: coopetition, complex leadership, and resistance to change.ConclusionsThis study identified several important challenges for coordination and it supports previous research. IMC in health care services deals with challenges other than coordination, and these must be addressed specifically. Our study contributes to extended knowledge of theoretical and practical implications in the field of coordination and IMC in health care sector.

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“…Local administrative capacity based on the presence of expert staff in municipal city halls ... (Teles 2016). Hulst and Montfort (2007) use a different approach when they separate between single and multi-purpose entities in addition to the form of cooperation. Unlike Dollery, Kortt and Drew (2016), Hulst and Montfort only have three models: formal agreements, policy networks and standing organisations.…”

Section: Stjórnmál and Stjórnsýslamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the issue of consolidation versus fragmentation of local government has become highly relevant and has greatly influenced public debate (Hlynsdóttir 2018a;Eythórsson 2014). There is a robust body of research available on various types of local reforms in the international setting (Askim, Klausen, Vabo, & Bjurstrom 2016;Bel & Gradus 2018;Feiock 2007;Hulst & Montfort 2007;Tavares 2017;Teles 2016). In the Icelandic context, there is substantial research available on the issue of consolidation (Eythórsson 2014), while less is known about inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) (Eythórsson 2018;Eythórsson, Kettunen, Klausen, & Sandberg 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local administrative capacity based on the presence of expert staff in municipal city halls and inter-municipal cooperation entities

Hlynsdóttir¹

2019

irpa

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Local government in Iceland has been through extensive functional reforms in the past three decades. Territorial reforms have been less successful even though the central government has openly aimed to enhance the capacity of the local governments. This study aims to estimate the administrative capacity of Icelandic local governments by estimating the level of expertise in the tasks of planning, education and social service. The findings show that there is a considerable difference with respect to size, as municipalities with more than 3,000 citizens have much higher levels of expertise in comparison to smaller municipalities. The municipalities are only partially able to turn to inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) for compensation because the municipalities in more densely populated areas are more likely to set up IMC entities than those in more sparsely populated areas. The municipalities in less populated areas are also more likely to buy their services from private service providers. Moreover, the smallest municipalities have transferred a large bulk of their functions to other municipalities through contracting. The findings suggest that IMCs may not be the best answer for small municipalities, especially those in rural and remote areas.

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Comparative Analysis and Conclusions

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Does cooperation affect service delivery costs? Evidence from fire services in Norway

Does cooperation affect service delivery costs? Evidence from fire services in Norway

Important challenges for coordination and inter-municipal cooperation in health care services: a Delphi study

Local administrative capacity based on the presence of expert staff in municipal city halls and inter-municipal cooperation entities

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