Social Context, Institutional Capacity, and Police Services: A Local Public Economies Perspective

Abstract

This article examines levels of policing services, focusing on an assessment of resources and their measurement for municipalities. Two measures of policing levels assess the reliability of the findings across alternative measurements. Social and institutional characteristics are explored to evaluate alternative explanations in policing efforts. The article presents four decades of census data for municipalities in metropolitan areas. The central finding is that unequal levels of policing are prevalent across American municipalities. An additional finding is that social and institutional contexts affect policing, based on a pooled time‐series analysis of municipal governments. Although its main contribution is to local public economies research, the research also integrates the social and institutional literatures to identify factors in the allocation of resources to policing.

Workforce Capacity in Municipal Government

“…However, staffing municipal programs is a long‐run process. At the start, new municipalities staff their units of general government such as general administration, public safety, and regulation (Leon‐Moreta 2018; Rice, Waldner, and Smith 2014). They will gradually extend their workforce levels for a growing range of functional responsibilities.…”

“…Longevity involves a historical process of institutionalization of municipalities (Frumkin and Galaskiewicz 2004; Wheeland, Palus, and Wood 2014). In their early years, municipalities expand their workforce more rapidly to meet the demand for public programs (Rice, Waldner, and Smith 2014; Leon‐Moreta 2018). Since the effect of longevity unfolds in the first years of incorporation, this effect will be more pronounced among new municipalities and then level off among older ones.…”

“…Compared with own resources, interlocal transfers are a lower‐cost source of revenue (Bel and Werner 2015; Leon‐Moreta 2018). One type of interlocal cooperation arises from reimbursements that one local government receives from other localities for producing services (Parks and Oakerson 2000).…”

A influência da accountability na capacidade estatal, na alocação dos recursos públicos e no desenvolvimento socioeconômico em municípios brasileiros

“…Para tanto, como destaca Cingolani (2013), a capacidade estatal envolve elementos políticos e burocráticos para os diversos pontos que a compõem, entre eles os aspectos legal, coercitivo e fiscal, sendo este relacionado à capacidade de arrecadação. Nesse sentido, a capacidade estatal está atrelada ao volume de recursos arrecadados, considerando sua necessidade para a manutenção do Estado e a implementação de políticas públicas (Leon-Moreta, 2017).…”

“…Contudo, é importante verificar que, diante da configuração do modelo federativo brasileiro, os municípios consistem no ente federado com menor volume de arrecadação (Baião, Cunha, & Souza, 2017). Dessa forma, os municípios com baixa atividade econômica e de pequeno porte possuem dificuldades de arrecadação e realização de investimentos, mesmo com os repasses dos demais entes federados (Leon-Moreta, 2017). Essa situação amplia a limitação da capacidade estatal, uma vez que as metas fiscais estabelecidas pela Constituição Federal de 1988 e pela legislação vigente deverão ser condizentes com o volume de recursos disponíveis.…”