Managerial efficiency in local government: Implications on jurisdictional consolidation

Deller, Steven C.; Rudnicki, Edward

doi:10.1007/bf00140769

Cited by 37 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This literature is not abundant, although some relevant contributions have lately been published. Studies which are closer to both our attempts and techniques are, amongst others, De Kerstens (1996), De Borger et al (1994), Hayes and Chang (1990), Deller (1992), Deller and Rudnicki (1992) or, more recently, Worthington and Dollery (2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach

Balaguer-Coll

Prior

Tortosa‐Ausina

2007

European Economic Review

220

179

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This article analyzes the efficiency of Comunitat Valenciana (Spain) local governments and their main explanatory variables. The analysis is performed in two stages. Firstly, efficiency is measured via (nonparametric) activity analysis techniques. The measurement techniques also enable the sources of inefficiency to be identified, i.e., whether inefficiencies are primarily overall cost, technical, or allocative. The second stage identifies some critical determinants of efficiency, focusing both on political and fiscal policy variables. In contrast to previous two-stage research studies, our approach performs the latter attempt via nonparametric smoothing techniques, rather that econometric methods -such as OLS or Tobit related. Results show that inefficiencies are largely attributable to allocative factors, resulting in a notable gap between cost and technical efficiency. Inefficiencies are also larger for small municipalities. However, they are not exclusively attributable to poor management, as second-stage analysis reveals both fiscal and policy variables, either within or outside local governments control, to be explicably related to municipalities' performance. KEYWORDS:efficiency, kernel smoothing, local government, nonparametric regression.JEL classification: D24, D60, H71, H72. RESUMENEste trabajo analiza la eficiencia de las corporaciones locales de la Comunidad Valenciana y sus factores determinantes. El análisis se lleva a cabo en dos etapas. En primer lugar, la eficiencia es medida a través de técnicas (no paramétricas) de análisis de la actividad. El empleo de este tipo de técnicas permite también identificar las fuentes de ineficiencia, esto es, si esta es básicamente en costes, técnica o de carácter asignativo. La segunda etapa identifica algunos determinantes clave de la eficiencia, centrándose tanto en variables políticas, así como de política fiscal. Frente a estudios previos en dos etapas, nuestro enfoque lleva a cabo este último objetivo a través de técnicas no paramétricas de suavizado, en lugar de métodos econométricos (tales como MCO o modelos Tobit). Los resultados indican que las ineficiencias son atribuibles en gran parte a factores asignativos, dando lugar a un margen considerable entre eficiencia en costes y eficiencia técnica. La ineficiencia también es mayor para las corporaciones locales más pequeñas. Sin embargo, no es atribuible exclusivamente a una gestión deficiente, pues el análisis de segunda etapa muestra que tanto las variables políticas como las de política fiscal, independientemente de si están o no bajo el control de las corporaciones locales, se hayan relacionadas con su nivel de eficiencia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach

Balaguer-Coll

Prior

Tortosa‐Ausina

2007

European Economic Review

220

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These results are confirmed by Deller and Rudnicki (1992) and Cooper and Cohn (1997), who analyze schools' technical efficiency (along with its determinants) in the U.S. states of Maine and South Carolina [42,43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…Using DEA, Afonso and Fernandes (2006) present an estimation of municipal spending's extent considered 'wasteful' relative to the 'best-practice' frontier [14] (pp. [40][41][42][43]. Nevertheless, similar to our study, the two authors use DEA to compute input and output Farrell efficiency scores at the local level (still for a limited number of municipalities, 51 out of over 300 Portuguese municipalities) and for only one year (2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Efficiency and Sustainability of Local Public Goods and Services. Case Study for Romania

Dincă

Andronic

2016

Sustainability

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Abstract:The aim of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency and sustainability of some local publicly-provided services (social, educational, public utilities). We have measured the Romanian local administrations expenditures' efficiency in supplying public goods and services using the non-parametric model of data envelopment analysis. The appraisal of efficiency and sustainability is mandatory when studying the optimization of public sector costs born out of taxpayers' money and the increase in the quantity and quality of supplied services. The services we have selected for this article cover many aspects of citizens' life quality. We have processed data from 2011 for all 41 Romanian counties and the municipality of Bucharest. For each decision unit, we have established a technical score, either quantifying the efficiency of expenditures allocated for supplying a certain level of services or measuring results' sustainability in terms of services rendered to local collectivities, considering a constant expenditure level. Based on the analyzed data, we have concluded that only 11 counties satisfy the required conditions. Furthermore, units registering a lower level of per capita expenditures have efficiency scores above the overall average, while counties with more citizens/taxpayers provided more public services compared to others.

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“…They contend that a large number of small governments are likely to present significant disadvantages in public service delivery due to difficulties in achieving economies of scale, avoiding unnecessary service duplication, or ensuring consistency in policy making or implementation (see e.g., Forbes and Zampelli, 1989;Deller and Rudnicki, 1992;Hendrick et al, 2011). A fragmented structure of governance has also been criticized as being unlikely to promote social equity or integration among various groups of population (see e.g., Weiher 1991;Dreier, Mollenkopf, and Swanstrom, 2001).…”

Section: Political Fragmentation In Local Governance and Land Use Patmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political fragmentation and land use changes in the Interior Plains

2015

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Recent years have witnessed growing interest in the critical role of local/regional governance structures in shaping physical land development and associated natural resource management processes. This article investigates how political fragmentation in local governance can affect land use patterns through a watershed-level analysis of population and employment density changes in the Interior Plains, the largest physiographic division of the U.S. Population density change rates are found to be negatively associated with a higher degree of political fragmentation, while employment density does not show such a clear relationship with political fragmentation. This finding shows that political fragmentation may present significant challenges to land and water resource management, a result consistent with previous empirical research.

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Managerial efficiency in local government: Implications on jurisdictional consolidation

Cited by 37 publications

References 12 publications

On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach

On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach

Efficiency and Sustainability of Local Public Goods and Services. Case Study for Romania

Political fragmentation and land use changes in the Interior Plains

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