On the Cost-Efficiency of Service Delivery in Small Municipalities

Arcelus, F.J.; Arocena, Pablo; Cabasés, Fermín; Pascual, Pedro

doi:10.1080/00343404.2013.837872

Cited by 37 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…[1,2,5,15]; etc.). Therefore, this study utilizes total expenditures of the municipality as input variable, whereas four output variables describing important responsibilities of the Slovenian municipalities with respect to the social, educational and infrastructure services are: (1) the number of pupils in primary schools (nine years program), (2) the total population of municipality (this is the most important variable in the model, since it indicates possible scale effects), (3) the population over 65 years of age, and (4) the number of employed persons in municipality.…”

Section: Methodology and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The evidence on the existence of economies Of scale in local government units

Pevcin¹

2017

KSS

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The purpose of this paper is to empirically verify if the possible existence of scale economies actually supports the argument that municipal consolidation is needed in Slovenia. The major reform of local self-government in Slovenia was implemented in 1994, when the transformation of existing 58 »communal« municipalities was envisaged. From 1995 onwards, the number of municipalities increased to the current number of 212 municipalities. Consequently, the necessity to implement structural reforms of local self-government in Slovenia has been stressed. The arguments favoring municipal amalgamations stressed that country has become too fragmented and municipal amalgamation would enable the reduction of (administrative) costs, and increase efficiency as well as quality of services provided, indicating that technical aspects of local government operation are targeted. Following, technical efficiency of Slovenian municipalities is estimated with the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, in order to determine if (and which) municipalities are experiencing increasing returns to scale (i.e., scale economies). The results indicate that there is important scale efficiency component, and predominantly very small municipalities are experiencing economies of scale, but their number is relatively low. Therefore, one of the classical arguments for municipal amalgamation, achieving economies of scale, can only be applied at a limited scale. This does not imply that more extensive amalgamation is not warranted, but it demands that other arguments justifying municipal amalgamation should be presented.

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Section: Methodology and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The evidence on the existence of economies Of scale in local government units

Pevcin¹

2017

KSS

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“…Di Leo and Salvia, 2017;Sinkiene et al, 2014;Casado, 2014) or analysing problems regarding the efficient supply of services (e.g. Arcelus et al, 2015) and dependence on subsidies (e.g. Partridge et al, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart Growth as a Tool for Regional Convergence: Evidence from Latgale Region of Latvia

Jermolajeva

Rivža

Aļeksejeva

et al. 2017

Economics &Amp; Sociology

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“…In fact, it means to develop and put into practice the strategies of smart growth and development, which are based on the assessment of a regionís potential and capacity, and prioritisation. It is a particularly great challenge for rural areas, which are often characterised by a small number of inhabitants, low income, low level of education and a considerable distance from ìknowledgeî centres (e.g., Steiner, Mossbock, 2014) and necessity to solve issues on effective service delivery (e.g., Arcelus et al 2015). Another challenge is related to the limited experience in assessing sustainable development in the economic context, and in rural areas, since the assessment is in most cases focused on environmental issues (e.g., Krueger, 2010) and cities (e.g., Sinkiene et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Sustainable Development in Rural Territories in Latgale Region (Latvia) by Using the Conception of Smart Specialization

Šipilova

Ostrovska

Jermolajeva³

et al. 2017

Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability

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One of the approaches to achieve sustainable development is based on smart specialization. Rural areas are of particular importance in ensuring sustainable development, the smart development of which largely determines the balanced sustainable development of a state as a whole. The present study reflects the quantitative and the qualitative assessment of sustainable development in the region of Latgale (Latvia) on the level of 19 districts; the assessment has been carried out on the basis of the concept of smart specialization. The assessment has been performed within the framework of the project 5.2 of the National Research Programme EKOSOC-LV. The quantitative assessment is based on scientific and practical experience taking into consideration the distinguishing features of the development of Latvian regions and districts, and it has resulted in the establishment of an integrated index (Smart Development Index), which comprises four dimensions ñ Resources, Population, Economy, and Management. The qualitative assessment is based on the views concerning the cornerstones of smart specialization and the factors influencing it expressed by experts from the state administration, business and scientific environment. Expert opinions have been collected by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The results of the research might facilitate the understanding of the support measures of smart specialization and the opportunities for sustainable development in rural areas, taking into account the level of the regional socio-economic development and the rate of development, as well as regional differences on the level of districts. The example of Latgale has shown that a small number of people and a low rate of development in most of the region districts simultaneously create both the acute need for and a great challenge in the sphere of sustainable development. By contrast, as a result of both the quantitative and the qualitative assessment the population has been recognised to be the main driving force of the development of rural areas in Latgale region.

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On the Cost-Efficiency of Service Delivery in Small Municipalities

Cited by 37 publications

References 34 publications

The evidence on the existence of economies Of scale in local government units

The evidence on the existence of economies Of scale in local government units

Smart Growth as a Tool for Regional Convergence: Evidence from Latgale Region of Latvia

Evaluation of Sustainable Development in Rural Territories in Latgale Region (Latvia) by Using the Conception of Smart Specialization

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