scholarly journals A New and Reinvigorated Research Agenda for U.S. Local Governments

2021 ◽  
pp. 0160323X2199163
Author(s):  
Ann O’M. Bowman ◽  
Domonic A. Bearfield ◽  
Stefanie Chambers ◽  
Beverly A. Cigler ◽  
Arnold Fleischmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Local Government Management ◽  
Vantage Points

This essay offers a perspective on a new and reinvigorated research agenda for the study of U.S. local governments. It reports on the ideas and reflections of a set of local government scholars with different vantage points and varied substantive interests. Seven paramount themes or directions for a research agenda were identified, all of which contain numerous threads and thrusts: local government finance and economic development, local government management, intergovernmental relations, collaboration, public engagement, social equity, and institutional design. The essay offers some reasons for optimism about the future of U.S. local governments while also identifying cause for concern.

scholarly journals RESEARCH ON THE GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF LESHAN GIANT BUDDHA AND MOUNT EMEI

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Xu . ◽  
Lishan .
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management System ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Historical Evolution ◽  
Heritage Protection ◽  
Government Management ◽  
Local Government Management ◽  
The Government

Local governments play an indelible role in the process of world heritage protection. This paper attempts to explore the historical evolution of the development of Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei and the current situation of local government management, so as to summarize some relevant experience of local government management for world heritage protection.

scholarly journals Interrogating the Revenue Allocation in Intergovernmental Relations, Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Finance in Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Bolanle W. Shiyanbade
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Federalism ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
National Income ◽  
Revenue Generation ◽  
Local Council ◽  
Revenue Allocation ◽  
State And Local

This study examined the relationship between fiscal federalism, governance and local government finances in Nigeria, focusing on the administration of local governments and other subsidiary issues on revenue generation in the country. It analysed the legal, institutional and procedural mechanisms for administration, as well as assessed the effect of intergovernmental relations on local government under federal system of governance in the country. This is with a view to providing information on revenue allocation and intergovernmental relations as important elements in understanding and addressing the fiscal federalism on local council finance in Nigeria in the context of their divergent governance experiences since the fourth republic.The paper discovered that beyond the function of revenue generation or allocation, fiscal relations influenced governance positively by creating the expediency of transparency and responsiveness in government as well as a corresponding three levels of government has responsibilities and roles to play in the lives of citizenry in order to bring governance to the grassroots. However, the work found evidences of lack of fiscal autonomy and independent of local government as well as delay in local government election has resulted to poor performance of local administration in Nigeria at large. The results also revealed that a very important factor affecting the local government administration in Nigeria still remains the overbearing contribution of about 93% oil revenue to the national income; a situation that, both state and local governments in Nigeria cannot generate up to twenty five percent (25%) of their expenditure and poor tax culture amongst the citizenry. The study concluded among others that effective human resources, improved strategy, and enhanced capacity building, are critical to improved revenue generation and allocation, which in turn could go a long way to alleviating good governance in Nigeria.

Nature over Art: No More Local Finance

1953 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-477
Author(s):  
Rowland Egger
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
Intergovernmental Transfers ◽  
Government Finance ◽  
Absolute Increase ◽  
Local Finance ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Four Score ◽  
The Absolute

In 1866 an uncommonly knowledgeable gentleman, Alexis de Tocqueville by name, wrote as follows: “Je pense que dans les siècles démocratiques qui vont s'ouvrir l'indépendence individuelle et les libertés locales seront toujours un produit de l'art. La centralisation sera le gouvernement naturel.” Four score and five years later a distinguished compatriot documented the triumph of nature over art which de Tocqueville contemplated as a possibility, and analyzed at some length the instrumentality through which le gouvernement naturel has established its primacy over les libertés locales. Professor Jean Boulouis has recently pronounced a plaintive requiem for French local self-government culminating in these words: “On pourrait presque avancer, sans beaucoup d'exagération, qu'il n'existe plus de finances locales, mais tout au plus une localisation des finances nationales.”The two most striking phenomena of local government finance in recent decades are, first, the absolute increase in the amount of money disbursed by local governments, and second, the substantial expansion in the proportion of local government disbursements financed from intergovernmental transfers of funds—grants-in-aid, shared taxes, and various other devices by which money is shifted from one level of government to another.

Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Finance in Nigeria: An Examination of Revenue Rights and Fiscal Jurisdiction

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Akindele ◽  
O. R. Olaopa ◽  
A. Sat. Obiyan
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Federalism ◽  
Fiscal Discipline ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
The People ◽  
The Status

The most severe problem facing public institutions in Nigeria is the fiscal one, particularly in local government. This problem has been provoked by a number of factors, including ‘over dependence’ on statutory allocations from both the state and federal governments, deliberate tax evasion by the local citizenry, creation of nonviable local government areas, differences in the status of local governments in terms of the rural–urban dimension, and inadequate revenue and restricted fiscal jurisdiction. This article examines these factors and their attendant problems, implications and effects within the context of the fiscal federalism established by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For financially healthy local governments to exist, responsibilities and functions must be allocated in accordance with their taxing power and ability to generate funds internally. The constitutional provision that recognizes local governments’ power in this regard must give them full freedom to operate and this must be well guaranteed and adequately protected. These measures, coupled with a review of the revenue-sharing formula, the granting of fiscal autonomy and fiscal discipline as well as making local government responsive, responsible and accountable to the people will set local governments free from the fiscal stress promoted and strengthened by the 1999 constitution.

A decision model for municipal resources management

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 3015-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Suellen Thesari ◽  
Flavio Trojan ◽  
Dayse Regina Batistus
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Public Budget ◽  
City Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Government Management ◽  
The Government ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a model to support governmental local managers in public budget optimization, based on an integration of methods. It was constructed to fill the gap related to weights definition in problematic, commonly performed subjective assessments. This model supports the decision making in budget distribution identifying the importance of sectors in local governments, captured by historical data. Design/methodology/approach The model was developed following three steps: the first step included the exploitation of the characteristics of local sectors represented by city departments and the data collection procedure using time series (TS). In the second one, the weights regarding the importance of each city department were calculated by the UTASTAR method and based on historical data from the first step. Finally, an objective function was formulated using linear programming and constraints based on law specifications, and as a result, an optimized projection for public budget distribution was performed. Findings The results demonstrated that the model can be more efficient to weights definition, considering the behavior of preferences by historical data and supporting local public resources optimization, also to comply with the legislation, being able to predict or project future values available on the budget. Research limitations/implications The theoretical and practical implications are related with a novelty in recognizing the weights for criteria by a historical behavior of preferences. It can be bringing important directions for budget distribution. The main limitation detected in this study was the difficulty to formulate an assessment involving an integrated opinion from local managers and the population. Practical implications First of all, with the correct allocation of resources, the government has a greater advantage to capture investments from the negotiation with development entities and banks. Second, an efficient local government management can promote compliance with legislation and more transparent public policies. Social implications The correct distribution of resources affects the life quality for citizens, since the government acts as a provider of essential services for the population like education, safety, health, particularly for citizens who depend exclusively on the services offered by the local government. Moreover, it can also affect the environment as resources for garbage collection, disposal services and sanitation and, finally, affect the city development such as infrastructure, taxes, etc. Originality/value It might be considered an original contribution mainly by the development of a procedure to capture values for weights by TS and meeting the manager’s requirements, based on analytical, statistical and mathematical tools integrated.

Public Authorities and Intermunicipal Cooperation in a European Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Lidström
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
European Context ◽  
The Us ◽  
Intermunicipal Cooperation

Although not entirely clear with regard to definitions and delimitations, the article by Savitch and Adhikari opens up for a comparative research agenda of considerable importance for better understanding the preconditions for how the metropolis can be governed. Their suggestion that public authorities are important for solving collective problems in the metropolitan areas is also relevant in a European context. There is already a tradition in Europe to establish cooperative arrangements between metropolitan local governments for tasks that requires a larger territorial scale, but Savitch and Adhikari direct our attention to private law arrangements, i.e. inter-municipal corporations. Also in Europe, these have become increasingly common, which may be understood in the light of the increasing marketization of local government. Although lacking in democratic legitimacy, they provide more flexibility and may also include private businesses in their governing body. However, knowledge about their occurrence and functions is limited, which calls for further, systematic and comparative research. In particular, it should be investigated whether they, as in the US, are more common in the metropolitan areas with the strongest resources.

Federalism and Australian Local Government: Reflections upon the National Inquiry into Local Government Finance

1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
P Self
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Independent State ◽  
Federal Support ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Federal Revenue ◽  
Australian Experience

In 1984 the Hawke Government appointed a National Inquiry to review the federal revenue-sharing grants for local government introduced eight years previously, and to propose desirable aims and a basis for future federal support. Australian local government is on a small scale and closely under the control of state governments; federal support raises complex issues of intergovernmental relations. In this paper, the wide-ranging Report of Inquiry, and its political outcome, are related to basic issues about federal-state relations and the rationale and extent of federal interventions. In particular, the Australian experience is interesting for its attempts at combining vertical redistribution of revenue with ambitious and detailed equalisation policies, financed at federal level but administered by independent state agencies.

scholarly journals A Management Information System for Local Governments

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
John Sjo ◽  
Arlo Biere
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Information System ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Management Information System ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Information ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Local Government Management

We find two reasons to develop an improved management information system for local governments. One is the apparent inability of current local government management information systems to warn of imminent financial collapse or to indicate the degree of financial weakness of a local government. Another reason is the need for information that will promote the most efficient use of resources in providing public services.During the 1970s certain local governments were unable to meet their obligations. Their current obligations exceeded current revenues. The nation was made aware of the crisis when New York City defaulted on some of its loan obligations and sought federal assistance. Other local governments have faced similar crises. Cleveland, Ohio, was in default for a short period during 1978 until it sold some of its assets (urban land and an electric power generating plant) to obtain cash and reduced its programs to reduce current outlays. The crises in those large cities have brought national attention to the financial problems of many local governments—urban and rural, large and small.

scholarly journals Local Government Response to COVID-19: Revitalizing Local Democracy in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-712
Author(s):  
A.N.M. Zakir Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Google Docs

The study aims to identify the role of local government and its transformation in response to the COVID-19. It also shows how local governments extended the scope of accountability and transparency to strengthen democracy. The study followed the social survey method and collected data online through Google Docs form. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics to generate expected results and test the hypothesis by the Spearman correlation coefficient. The study found local governments were positive during COVID-19 to provide services and offered more public engagement in policy formulation, thus more democratic. The health sector has shown the highest priority, with food and environmental services. Inefficient management capacity of leaders and apathy in public engagement hamper resource mobilization at the local level. During COVID-19, ICT intervention and innovation for digital transformation in local governance increased accountability and transparency through easy and effective participation of mass people to strengthen local democracy to respond effectively against COVID-19.

scholarly journals FEATURES OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ACHIEVING FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

2017 ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Halyna VOZNIAK
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Voluntary Association ◽  
Financial Viability ◽  
Financial Capacity ◽  
Human Resource Capacity ◽  
Budgetary Decisions

Introduction. In the conditions of the implementation of the government’s decentralization reform, local communities received the real opportunities for increasing the resources which can be used for development. One of the conditions, which provides their economic development, is to create an effective system of intergovernmental relations, aimed to optimizing fiscal decentralization and clear definition of the powers of local government. The increasing interest to the problem of expanding of local communities financial capacity caused by the necessity to find improved mechanisms for incomes separation between the elements of the budget system and types of budgets. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to study of intergovernmental relations in the context of achieving financial viability of local communities and to summarize the preliminary results of the reform. Results. The features of intergovernmental relations in local government reform in Ukraine are highlighted. The fiscal innovations, which extends the autonomy principles of local budgets, reallocates expenditure responsibilities between levels of government and creates conditions for intensification of the process of voluntary association of municipalities, have been analyzed. The first phase of fiscal decentralization in Ukraine has been estimated. It has been shown that despite the strengthening of the solvency of local budgets, the negative trends is intensified: excessive centralization of budgetary decisions; imperfect distribution of functional responsibilities and rights between the central and local governments; low human resource capacity of the community; low financial autonomy of local government and so on. The risks of the further deepening the fiscal decentralization have been justified. Conclusions. It was suggested the directions for increasing financial capacity of local communities in the introduction of industry standards of public services, which should increase the efficiency of planning and using of public funds at all levels; in the improving the basic and reverse subsidies calculations and in the estimation the risks of the fiscal decentralization.

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