Pensions in the Trenches: How Pension Spending Is Affecting U.S. Local Government

2020 ◽  
pp. 107808742096486
Author(s):  
Sarah F. Anzia
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Crowding Out ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
Key Features

Some experts claim that U.S. local governments are experiencing dramatic increases in pension expenditures and that pension spending is crowding out government services. Others maintain that serious pension problems are limited. This issue is important to political scientists, urban scholars, and policy practitioners, but no existing studies—nor the datasets they rely on—allow evaluation of whether pension expenditures are rising or how they are affecting local government. This article analyzes a new dataset of the annual pension expenditures of over 400 municipalities and counties from 2005 to 2016. I find that pension expenditures rose almost everywhere over this period, but there is significant variation in that growth. On average, local governments are not responding to rising pension spending by increasing revenue. They are instead shrinking their workforces. Moreover, I find that the magnitude of the employment reductions due to pensions varies with key features of the political environment.

Challenges in Institutionalizing Democratic Governance via Popularly Elected Mayor

2017 ◽  
pp. 344-367
Author(s):  
Eris Dawn Schoburgh
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Political Realm

The presumption underlying current policy discourse in the Caribbean – that local government represents a “convenient” political realm for the practice of democratic governance –resurrects a long-standing debate about the proximity of local government and democracy, and highlights the difficulty facing local governments in the region to “vindicate their democratic credentials,” especially given a pervasive view that local governments are the final frontiers of populism and patronage. This chapter employs a constructivist framework to analyze the extent to which popularly elected mayor, introduced in Jamaica in 2003, achieves a balance between democratic governance, populism, and patronage. Apart from its theorized democratic role, local government performs other subsidiary but critical functions dictated by the nature of the political environment. If democratic values are to predominate, innovations such as popularly elected mayor and the process of municipalization require sustained institutional support to minimize competition between old and new politico-administrative values.

scholarly journals Political environment in the effect of the regional government financial performance on disclosure of financial information on website

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Yustina Hiola ◽  
Rosidi Rosidi ◽  
Aji Dedi Mulawarman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Least Square ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
The People

This study aims to analyze the effect of financial performance of local governments towards the disclosure compliance of financial information on the website, as well as the political environment as a moderating variable for the effect of the financial performance of local governments towards disclosure compliance of financial infor-mation on the website. The study was conducted at the local government in Sulawesi with the sample consisting of 53 governments. The data were analyzed by partial least square (PLS). The results showed that good financial performance of local governments can encourage disclosure compliance of financial information on the website. This study also found that the political environment cannot moderate the effect of the financial performance towards the disclosure compliance of financial information on the website. This is due to the people who are interested more in paper-based reporting. The implication of this study was to encourage related re-search as well as encouraging local governments to use website as a media for finan-cial information reporting. Gorontalo district government is local government, which has excellent financial performance with complete disclosure of financial information on the website.

scholarly journals Transparency of local government in Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Made Pradana Adiputra ◽  
Sidharta Utama ◽  
Hilda Rossieta
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about the influence of the size of local government, the quality of local government financial statements, the level of local government response to the disclosure of financial information and the local political environment on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 34 regional governments (provinces) in Indonesia in 2016, using purposive sampling and multiple regression analysis. Findings The results showed that the quality of financial reporting through the audit opinion and political environment have a significant positive effect on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. On the other hand, the size of the local government and local government response rate on the regulation do not affect the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Originality/value The agency, legitimacy and institutional theory have an important role in the underlying local government transparency practices in Indonesia. The results of this study should be used as the basis of thought and study to determine the factors that affect the performance of local governments from the financial and non-financial aspects.

Political instability and the ability of local government to respond to reputational threats in unison

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Howard Grøn ◽  
Heidi Houlberg Salomonsen
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Reputation Management ◽  
Administrative Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
History Of

This article investigates whether local governments are able to act in a unified manner when responding to reputational threats posed by negative media coverage. Based on an argument that local governments facing political instability are less able to perform in unison, the article investigates a number of expectations, including various types of political instability (council, agenda and policy area instability) and their relation to different types of responses to negative media coverage from the political and administrative actors (communication behaviour, responsibility and blame-avoidant behaviour, and sanctioning behaviour). The article finds such relationships for some of these aspects. The analysis also indicates that the reputational history of a local government is related to the degree of unified behaviour. The empirical analysis is primarily based on a survey sent to all Danish public managers in the three upper levels of the local government hierarchy. Point for practitioners Reputation management has become an area for strategic management in the public sector, not least in local governments. This article demonstrates that public managers need to pay attention to the degree of political instability characterizing their local governments when dealing with reputational threats. If the local government is characterized by political instability, the need to address potential disagreements between administrative and political actors becomes vital. Furthermore, public managers need to take into account the reputational history of their organization as it may challenge the ability to coordinate a unified response across the political and administrative leadership during reputational threats.

E-Service Provision by New Zealand Local Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 718-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paynter
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Government Services ◽  
The World ◽  
The Web

Historically, information and services can only be obtained through narrow, one to one, phones, and agency-specific shop fronts (Caffrey, 1998). Information technology, especially the Internet, opens possibilities of using methods to distribute information and deliver services on a much grander scale. The Internet provides a foundation for a variety of communications media. The Web is one of the most important media built upon the Internet. It can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world by means of computers and electronic devices; it is possible to elicit more information, establish platforms for online payment, online consultation and e-voting. Security concerns can be overcome by data-authentication technologies. It can deliver government services and encourage greater democracy and engagement from citizens. Governments around the world are exploring the use of Web-based information technology (Grönlund, 2002). Attention has focused on the design and delivery of portals as a major component of government electronic service infrastructures. The N.Z. government portal site (http://www.govt.nz/en/home/) or the Local Government Online Ltd (LGOL) Web site, (www.localgovt.co.nz/AboutCouncils/Councils/ByRegion/) are examples. Since the mid-1990s governments have been tapping the potential of the Internet to improve and governance and service provision. “In 2001, it was estimated that globally there were well over 50,000 official government Web sites with more coming online daily. In 1996 less than 50 official government homepages could be found on the world-wide-Web” (Ronaghan, 2002). Local governments are faced with growing demands of delivering information and services more efficiently and effectively and at low cost. Along with the rapid growth of technological developments, people demand high quality services that reflect their lifestyles and are accessible after normal office hours from home or work. Thus, the goals of delivering electronic government services are to simplify procedures and documentation; eliminate interactions that fail to yield outcomes; extend contact opportunities (i.e., access) beyond office hours and improve relationships with the public (Grönlund, 2002). Having an effective Web presence is critical to the success of local governments moving to adopt new technologies. Of equal importance is the evaluation of Web sites using different manual and automated methodologies and tools. In this study an evaluation of local authority Web sites was conducted to gain a practical understanding of the impact of the Internet on local governments in New Zealand using a tailor-made model specific to local governments. Issues studied focused on the information and services provided by the local authority Web sites. What is more important is whether the local government operations can or are able to support the expectations for speed, service, convenience, and delivery that the Web creates. Through identification of best practice Web sites and a set of evaluation methods and tools, this paper will provide a set of design guidelines to local authorities that would benefit and better meet the needs of their local communities.

scholarly journals Critique of the functional assignment architecture of Punjab’s local governance legislation of 2013 & 2019

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moazzam Ali Janjua ◽  
Rainer Rohdewohld
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Functional Assignment ◽  
Institutional Strengthening ◽  
Government Legislation ◽  
New System

In 2013 and 2019, the local government legislation of the province of Punjab in Pakistan saw two rounds of major changes – each of which led to a new local government Act being passed. In 2013 the changes were driven by constitutional and judicial requirements and in 2019 by the political will of Pakistan’s new coalition government. This article analyses and compares the functional assignment (FA) architecture of the two Acts against a set of parameters. The study finds that marginal improvements to the FA architecture introduced by the 2019 Act are offset by continuing inconsistencies and lack of clarity over ‘who does what’ in the functions assigned to local governments. The authors suggest that improving the functionality of local governments requires full implementation of the design features of the new system, including institutional strengthening of provincial-level entities which regulate and oversee the local government system.

La coproduction des biens collectifs locaux et ses implications institutionnelles : critique de certaines thèses de l'école du public choice

1980 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gérard Divay
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Choice ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Market Model ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Local Public Goods ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Rigorous Analysis ◽  
Government Services

Improvement of services is one of the principal objectives of reforms introduced into local governments, although this objective does not always guide the formulation of the contents of these reforms. A more rigorous analysis of the implications of service improvement should concentrate on local public goods, on their nature and, above all, on their supply and production—aspects hitherto only slightly developed. To start, one can try to infer certain local institutional characteristics which would be the most suitable for the purpose of service improvement. Certain authors who adopt this course anticipate a quasi-market model for local government services. A critical examination of this model shows that it is no longer suitable and that a preferable model is one which we can call “community co-responsibility.”

scholarly journals Political Competition and Local Government Performance: Evidence from Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jahen Fachrul Rezki
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Instrumental Variables ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Standard Deviation Increase ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Impact

This paper analyses the impact of political competition on local government performance in Indonesia. This study uses a new database that covers 427 districts in Indonesia, from 2000 to 2013. In Indonesia, local governments are largely responsible for fulfilling basic service delivery and, in this regard, they are extremely powerful. Political competition is measured using the Herfindahl Hirschman Concentration Index for the district parliament election. This variable is potentially endogenous, because political competition is likely to be non-random and correlated with unobservable variables. To solve this problem, I use the lag of political competition for neighbouring districts within the same province, as well as the political competition from the 1955 general election, as instrumental variables for political competition. The degree of political competition has been found to boost real Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) per capita by 1.9%. Furthermore, a one standard deviation increase in political competition would increase RGDP growth by approximately 0.81%. The results also support the findings of previous studies, which have found that stiffer political competition is associated with higher public spending (e.g. infrastructure spending) and pro-business policies.

scholarly journals Clientelism, Partyarchy and Democratic Backsliding: A Case Study of Local Government Elections in Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-91
Author(s):  
Abu Elias Sarker ◽  
Faraha Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Grassroots Level

In a developing country like Bangladesh, the devolved local government system is widely recognized as one of the key institutional forms for the citizen-centric public service delivery system and ensuring democratic governance at the grassroots level. However, the democratic nature of local governments and their effective role in rendering services are contingent upon the political and institutional environments of the country. Competitive electoral process is key to local democratic governance. The purpose of this article is to analyze the implications of contemporary political order and institutional environments for the proper functioning of the Union Parishad (council), the lowest tier of the local government system in Bangladesh. More specifically, this study will reflect on how political clientelism, partyarchy and institutional environments have stymied competitive electoral politics at the local level which may result in democratic backsliding.

scholarly journals Between the Devil and Lying Angels: An Invitation for a New Perspective on State Interference in Local Government Fiscal Autonomy in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chijioke Basil Onuoha ◽  
◽  
Henry Ufomba ◽  
Ebong Itoro Bassey
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Grassroots Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Federal Structure

One of the most contested issues in Nigeria’s political landscape and federal structure is the debate on the fiscal autonomy of the Local Government as the third tier of government. The literature on the subject appears to zero down the issue of Local Government fiscal autonomy to a political ‘devil’. The position of existing scholarship on the subject concludes that by taking advantage of Sections 7 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, it is common practice for the State Governors to usurp the autonomy of the Local Governments. The Governors are also accused of using the Joint Account framework to control the statutory allocations of the Local Governments. Hence, Local Governments in Nigeria lacks fiscal autonomy which is one of the main principles of the three tiers of government structure. However, the underlying politics that has played out in the Fourth Republic in Nigeria reveals that this historical and legalistic perception does not provide a complete explanation of the problem. This is because the literature does not consider the role of the political elite at the Local Government level in sustaining the shrewd nature of State and Local Governments interaction in Nigeria’s Federal structure, rather the existing literature focused entirely on the governor as a ‘devil’ and ignores the role of the political class at the grassroots level as “lying angels”. This paper is therefore an invitation for a deeper theoretical deconstruction of this phenomenon to stimulate an encompassing and interesting perceptive on what we conceptualize as State-Local Government Interactions in Nigeria (SLIN). Our primary objective is to draw attention to the role of the personalities of the political class at the grassroots level which makes up the highest cadre of the hierarchy in the Local Government in shaping SLIN. We present a case that future debates should go beyond “devil” and also focus on the profound role of “lying angels”.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document