Use and Perceptions of the Availability of Local Government and Nonprofit Services in Diverse Urban Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 975-997
Author(s):  
Khaldoun AbouAssi ◽  
Lewis Faulk ◽  
Long Tran ◽  
Lilli Shaffer ◽  
Minjung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Nonprofit Theory ◽  
Perceived Access ◽  
The Relationship

This analysis tests fundamental nonprofit theory using individual-level demand-side data, which complements existing studies that have relied on organizational- and community-level variables alone. We use survey and administrative data to test the relationship between individuals’ perceptions and use of local government services and their reported use of nonprofit services, controlling for the density of organizations around respondents’ addresses. Individuals who report being better served by government services are significantly more likely to report using nonprofit services—while individuals who report being unserved by government are also less likely to report access to nonprofits, despite the actual density of organizations around them. These findings support theories of interdependence between government and nonprofit sectors. However, income-based disparities in perceived access to nonprofit services highlight persistent gaps in serving all individuals on the local level.

scholarly journals Local-Level Accountability in a Dominant Party System

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Wegner
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Local Level ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
The Relationship

This article investigates accountability in South Africa’s dominant party system by studying how the African National Congress (ANC) reacts to electoral incentives at the local level. It compares the ANC’s degree of responsiveness to voters across municipalities with different levels of political competition. The analysis focuses on whether and under which conditions the ANC is more likely to renominate better quality municipal councillors. It examines the relationship between renomination as ANC municipal councillor and local government performance – as measured by voter signals, service delivery and audit outcomes. The results show that the ANC does indeed adapt its behaviour to electoral incentives. In municipalities where the ANC has larger margins of victory, performance matters little for renomination. In contrast, in municipalities with higher electoral competition, local government performance is strongly correlated with renomination. These results suggest the need to expand dominant party research to topics of voter responsiveness and sub-national behaviour.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Risk Management and Internal Audit Effectiveness at Local Government Level

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 389-396
Author(s):  
Mu’azu Saidu Badara
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Audit Effectiveness ◽  
Government Level

Risk management can play important role in ensuring objective achievement of organizations. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between risk management and internal audit effectiveness at local government level. The paper is a literature review paper and the paper concluded that risk management can influence the effectiveness of internal auditors at local level. The paper needs to be validated empirically.

scholarly journals Electing to Trust: An Exploration of the Relationship between Public Opinion and Localized Processes on Judicial Selection

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 51-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey D. Peterson ◽  
Christopher Hare ◽  
J. Mark Wrighton
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Past Research ◽  
State Courts ◽  
Trial Courts ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Local Courts ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Relationship

Public trust in government depends largely on the belief that institutions are fair and respond to the will of the governed. We expand on past research on the relationship between public opinion and state courts by studying how selection methods for both state and local courts influence popular attitudes about the judicial branch. Employing individual-level survey data on the responsiveness and fairness of state supreme courts and local trial courts, we find that respondents in states using elections to choose judges for state courts believe the judicial system is fairer. Further, the use of non-partisan elections for local trial courts has a positive effect on public evaluations of judicial fairness. However, views on judicial responsiveness are unaffected by means of selection at either the state or local level. Thus, nonpartisan or even partisan judicial elections do not have a negative effect on our measures of trust; indeed, when elections do have an effect, it is a positive one.

scholarly journals Local Government Finance in Ghana: Disbursement and Utilisation of the MPs share of the District Assemblies Common Fund

2013 ◽  
pp. 90-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nana Nimo Appiah-Agyekum
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Common Fund ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
District Assemblies

The establishment of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) in 1993 and concomitant percentage set aside for Members of Parliament (MPs) in 2004 aims to support local governments and legislators in pro-poor development activities in their communities and constituencies. In spite of the importance of the MPs’ share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (MPsCF) in financing local level development in Ghana, very little is known about monitoring systems and procedures on the disbursement and utilization of the funds. The study therefore assessed qualitative data derived from interviews with officials from selected Local Government Authorities (LGAs) as well as other key stakeholders in the disbursement and utilization of the fund. The study findings point to the absence of legislative instrument on the management of the MPsCF. Further, monitoring of the fund was a responsibility shared by the LGAs and other external stakeholders. Finally, the effectiveness of monitoring the disbursement and utilization of the MPsCF was strongly influenced by the relationship between the Chief Executive of the Local Government Authority (LGCE) and MPs in the local government area.

The issue of Assessment Tax Arrears: A Case Study of the Melaka Historic City Council, Malaysia

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
Shamsinar Rahman ◽  
Hardev Kaur Latchimanan Singh ◽  
Zaliha Hussin ◽  
Zulkifli Baharuddin
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
City Council ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Tax System ◽  
Historic City ◽  
The Relationship

Objective - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the assessment tax system and tax arrears in Melaka Historic City Council, Malacca, Malaysia. (Local Government) Methodology/Technique - Method used is quantitative method. With population sample of 484 885 residents (N=484,885) and a sample size of 384 residents (n=384), the instrument used to collect primary data is questionnaire. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Findings - With accuracy r= .141, p< .001, showed that the relationship was moderate and highly significant. This tells us that the inadequacies in the tax system are one of the contributing factors towards high assessment tax arrears in Melaka Historic City Council. Novelty - Although the issue of tax arrears in Malaysia is not a new phenomenon. However this paper specifically focuses on the issues of assessment tax at the local level, which in this case refers to the Melaka Historic City Council. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords : Assessment tax; Arrears; Local Government; Local autonomy; Malaysia.

Breaking the Bureaucratic Inertia

2010 ◽  
pp. 117-129
Author(s):  
Akhlaque Haque
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Communication Devices ◽  
Human Skills ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

E-Government’s effectiveness depends not on the technological supremacy of government but on how encompassing it is to reach the maximum number of citizens at the grass roots level. This requires a greater appreciation and understanding of inter-organizational and institutional factors beyond technology and human skills that shape the relationship between the government and its citizenry. Using the context of Bangladesh, the chapter highlights the promises of E-Government reform in Bangladesh with the caveat that whether at the agency level or individual level, E-Government focus should be from the ground up. Bureaucratic inertia is more prominent at the lower level of agency hierarchy than at the top. Given the successes of social entrepreneurship via civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh, the study suggests governmental partnerships with CSOs in providing E-Government services. As one of the primary communication devices of the 21st century, mobile phones offer a clear advantage to computers in bringing government to citizen’s finger tips.

A Model for Connected E-Government in the Digital Age

2019 ◽  
pp. 233-243
Author(s):  
Qiuyan Fan
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Information Integration ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Government Services ◽  
It Architecture ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Digital Channels ◽  
Delivery Approach

Local government in Australia plays an important role in local economies and communities. The chapter reviews e-government development at the local level in Australia and proposes a connected e-government model that aims to increase the quality of government services and improve the effectiveness of local government operations. A framework for developing more connected and responsive e-government at the local level is of paramount importance. Connected government requires not only a user-centric focus for the development of e-government services but also government business process and information integration. Reusable services and connected IT architecture are essential characteristics of connected e-government. The proposed model links to third party efforts, which provides more effective way of developing a more connected e-government by potentially breaking down bureaucratic barriers. As technology evolves, people are demanding access to local government via digital channels. The proposed model adopts an integrated multichannel service delivery approach to connected e-government.

Quantifying the relationship between predisaster mitigation spending and major disaster declarations for US states and territories

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
Katharina Renken, PhD ◽  
Andrea M. Jackman, PhD ◽  
Mario G. Beruvides, PhD, PE
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Major Disaster ◽  
National Implementation ◽  
Disaster Declarations ◽  
Proactive Measures ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Relationship

Since the Stafford Act of 1988, the process of obtaining a formal Major Disaster Declaration has been codified for national implementation, with tasks defined at the smallest levels of local government up to the President. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) placed additional requirements on local government to plan for mitigation activities within their jurisdictions. The goal of DMA 2000 was to not only implement more mitigative actions at the local level, but also initiate a process by which local governments could set up ongoing conversations and collaborative efforts with neighboring jurisdictions to ensure continuous, proactive measures were taken against the impacts of disasters. Based on the increased attention paid to mitigation and planning activities, a reasonable expectation would be to see a decline in the number of major disaster declarations since DMA 2000. However, simple correlation analysis shows that since DMA 2000, the number of major disaster declarations continues to increase. This article is intended as a preliminary study to encourage more detailed analysis in the future of the impacts of federal policy on local-level disaster prevention.

The relationship between local government economic freedom and bond ratings

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-449
Author(s):  
John Dove
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Bond Ratings ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose With a newly developed measure of economic freedom across US local government jurisdictions, this paper aims to estimate the relationship between economic freedom and bond ratings. Design/methodology/approach The author uses a battery of cross-sectional econometric models to identify the impact that economic freedom might have on bond ratings using a sample of US municipal governments. Findings Overall, the results indicate that relatively more economic freedom within a local jurisdiction is associated with higher bond ratings and thus lower borrowing costs. However, similar to Roychoundhury and Lawson (2010), no specific subcomponent seems to affect bond ratings. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge this is the first scholarly work to address this topic at the local level.

scholarly journals Territorial Policy Agenda Revised

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-236
Author(s):  
Jurga Bučaite˙-Vilke ◽  
Aiste Lazauskiene
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Consolidation Process ◽  
Local Contact ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Citizen Perceptions ◽  
The Relationship

This paper contributes to the ongoing debates on the relationship between municipality size and non-electoral citizen participation at the local level. We use the data from Lithuania as a case of strongly consolidated local government structures. We discuss three main points. First, our focus is on the limited question of how municipality size affects the intensity of citizens’ non-electoral participation in local decision-making, taking into account citizens’ participatory capacities, contact with municipal authorities and local agents, and municipal performance evaluations. Second, we consider the specificity of the territorial rescaling policy agenda in Lithuania, which is characterised by the long-term direction of the territorial consolidation process. Third, representative population survey data serve as a reasonable platform for testing the hypothesis on the relationship between different citizen participatory practices and municipality size. We assumed that citizen perceptions of municipal problem-solving capacities, local government accessibility, and assessment of local government performance could vary in municipalities of different size. We also expected to find significant correlation between citizen assessment of municipal performance, local government accessibility (varying by local contact activity), and citizen perception of municipal problem-solving capacities by producing statistical clusters of citizen participatory capacity types. The limitations of quantitative statistical approaches constitute a barrier to explaining the subjective perceptions of local citizens hold about their non-electoral participatory behaviour. Our conclusions demonstrate that the perceived potential of non-electoral democratic participation capacities is relatively limited in both small and large Lithuanian municipalities. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that citizens in large municipalities are more likely to establish local contact activity and have better perceptions of municipal problem-solving capacities than those in small municipalities.

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