From Competition to Competitive Cooperation: New Paradigm for Territories Development

The modern economic space demonstrates, on the one hand, the intensifying competitive struggle of various territorial entities for natural and financial resources, investments and business, for the population, qualified personnel, tourists, etc. On the other hand, the process of formation of competitive cooperation of territories, which does not exclude competition, and complements it, acting as a driving force for the development of the economy of regions and municipalities. The authors in the study assessed the current level and prospects of territorial competition, clarified the goals of competition of regions and municipalities. Consideration of the territory as a subject of competition is explained by the fact that the regions acquire the quality of a mega- enterprise. The potential of cooperation between the territories in the modern competitive economy is revealed. In modern Russia, competitive cooperation between territories is still very rare. A number of features of the evolution of competitive cooperation of territories are revealed: cooperation is specifically limited in time; any cooperation is inherent in risk; its formation and implementation always involve certain financial, intellectual, labor and other costs. The results of expert surveys conducted by the authors in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and in 2019 made it possible to highlight positive and negative results, as well as the consequences of interregional and intermunicipal cooperation in a competitive economy. An assessment of the readiness of territories (regions, municipalities) for cooperation is given. The paper draws attention to the fact that the regions and municipalities of Russia have different economic potentials, differ in the volume and specificity of resources, have features of spatial position, etc., which determines the possibilities for the development of their competitive cooperation. In the process of research, general scientific methods were used, in particular the dialectical method, the unity of the historical and logical, abstractions, analogies, expert surveys, etc. The results of the study can be used in the development and implementation of strategies for the socio-economic development of regions and municipalities in the modern competitive economic space.

Features of metropolitan area governance models

The article develops a methodological basis for choosing the optimal model for managing the agglomeration of settlements. The existing agglomeration problems and the need to accelerate growth due to the agglomeration effect form a challenge to the agglomeration governance system. For an adequate response it is important to understand the capabilities of governance models. These capabilities can be expressed through the description of the features of the models.For a large-scale description of the features of models, it is necessary to form groups of features, characterize each feature, compare the models according to the degree of its manifestation, and, if possible, explain the reason for the differences. The article investigates research papers within the framework of the theory of municipal reformers, the theory of public choice, in particular on the issues of centralization / decentralization of municipalities, intermunicipal cooperation, the efficiency of the economy of the public sector. The authors used general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, grouping, comparison.The revealed features make it possible to assess the governance model in terms of what the agglomeration will receive from its implementation. All features are combined into five groups: economic, social, administrative efficiency, democratization, stability. The study revealed 29 features, presented their explanation and degree of development, depending on the type of governance model.As a result of the study, the possibilities for justifying the feasibility of introducing models have increased. The authors represented scientific novelty by a more complete list of the features of models, a more detailed presentation of them, the approach of presenting information “from features”, a convenient grouping that allows you to use the characteristic to assess the effectiveness of the activities of government authorities. The study can be useful for civil servants in charge of agglomeration processes.

Long-Term Benefits of Intermunicipal Cooperation for Small Municipalities in Waste Management Provision

Intermunicipal cooperation offers an interesting alternative in cases when municipalities are too small to individually provide public services at an efficient cost level but are reluctant to form a municipal amalgamation in order to benefit from economies of scale. Forming a body consisting of multiple municipalities with a specific focus provides a way to reduce costs on service provision while maintaining municipal sovereignty in other areas. In our paper, we quantify the cost benefits of utilizing intermunicipal cooperation in the field of municipal solid waste management. We examine this using data from a 10-year period from municipalities in the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic, where high municipal fragmentation results in many dominantly small municipalities that often are not able to provide public services at reasonable costs. This analysis contributes to the literature by conducting a long-term study of the effects of intermunicipal cooperation on public service provision costs. Our results suggest that municipalities participating in intermunicipal cooperation focused on waste management experienced annual cost savings of approximately 13.5% for provision of this service throughout the examined period of 2010–2019 when compared to municipalities that did not cooperate. These long-term results show how beneficial intermunicipal cooperation can be in reducing service costs. In addition to the direct financial benefits, municipal representatives stated that intermunicipal cooperation often brings other qualitative and non-financial benefits such as better service quality, the possibility to share infrastructure, and relief from administrative and managerial burdens through the utilization of professional management, which was especially appreciated by the smallest municipalities with limited administrative staff.

Area Social Plans and Local Governance of Interorganizational Collaborations

Recent advances in the literature regarding local government and governance are demonstrating that models of intermunicipal cooperation are becoming widespread and having an impact on both the organizational dimension and the policy making/service planning side. The success of these arrangements can vary according to several variables such as the regional context, and the services on which is focused the cooperation and the presence/absence of normative constrains that promote these models of cooperation. The aim of this article is to develop a better understanding of a new regional policy focused on area social plans which requires a change in the governance of interorganizational collaborations. This article addresses the gap in the literature on local governance of interorganizational collaborations and area social plans. An empirical study was conducted of four emblematic case studies in one of the most important Italian regions. The results confirm that the new governance of interorganizational collaborations must be characterized by positive interaction between structures, processes, and actors. The results also showed that the presence of certain circumstances such as close ties, many pre-existing relations among the municipalities, and a high level of trust among political parts and administrative offices, appears to smooth the path to success of intermunicipal coordination.

ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICE OF INTER-MUNICIPAL COOPERATION IN THE ASPECT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPATIAL NEOLIBERAL POLICY

The present study is devoted to an analysis of the state and prospects of a practice of inter-municipal cooperation of a subjects of the Russian Federation in the aspect of an implemented spatial neoliberal policy — a key element of the global neoliberal paradigm of socio-economic development of countries and their regions. So, in an opinion of most researchers, the indicated practice (intermunicipal cooperation) is one of a possible option for mitigating a consequences of large-scale budget cuts in municipalities in countries of the World — the main provision of neoliberalism implemented in public policy. Main methods used in this work were descriptive and correlation analysis, which allow analyzing the main trends in the dynamics and relationships of a processes and phenomena considered in the study. As a result of the study, it was found that the most common practice of inter-municipal cooperation in Russia is a participation of the Ministry of Defense in inter-municipal non-profit organizations. The practice of creating inter-municipal commercial organizations is much less often used. At the same time, the authors determined that over time (for a period from 2007 to 2020), a use of both practices is gradually decreasing. It was also revealed that there is a mutual, mainly positive, influence of dynamics of a participation of municipalities of subjects of the Federation in a practice of inter-municipal cooperation and a development of social infrastructure (educational organizations, health care institutions, cultural and sports organizations) facilities in them. Based on the results obtained, in a future, it is necessary to expand analysis of the studied processes and phenomena, focusing on, on the one hand, the conditions for the functioning of the created inter-municipal organizations, on the other, on the main circumstances of the reduction of social infrastructure facilities. In addition, according to the authors, a thorough study of determinants that have a differentiated effect on an established relationships are necessary. A theoretical significance of results of the study is to expand a theoretical understanding of process of socio-economic development of local territories, considered in an aspect of an implemented neoliberal policy. In practical terms, findings allow authorities at various levels to assess effectiveness of an implementation of a practice of inter-municipal cooperation in Russian regions.

Size matters: Development and cooperation of municipalities in the Brno metropolitan area (Czech Republic)

The Czech Republic is typical for its fragmented settlement structure with a high number of small self-governing municipalities. Such a distinction causes many problems, including a non-effective way of their management. Even though various integration methods have already been applied in Europe for several decades, the Czech Republic, due to its historical development influenced by the period of communism, is still looking for intermunicipal cooperation opportunities at a higher (metropolitan) level. The presented text aims to evaluate a municipalities’ willingness to cooperate on particular activities and participate in selected topics on strategic and spatial planning at a metropolitan level. Their willingness is analysed according to the population size category of municipalities so that diverse approaches towards the willingness to cooperate could be identified for municipalities in different categories. The results are demonstrated by the example of the Brno Metropolitan Area, which is regarded to be a leader in the development of inter-municipal cooperation at a metropolitan level in the Czech Republic. The results were obtained from a questionnaire survey carried out with the mayors of the Brno metropolitan area in 2020. From a total of 184 municipalities, 175 municipalities took part in the questionnaire survey. Thus, the return was 95%. The results show that the assumption of the importance of the municipality population size is significant when making decisions about future development and cooperation within a metropolitan area. Although most municipalities in all size categories consider it useful to engage in cooperation and solve selected topics together at a metropolitan level, the municipalities in the smallest size categories of up to 1,000 inhabitants had a significantly lower proportion of very positive responses (definitely yes) than municipalities in the other categories. This fact may be attributed to the specific development of the Czech settlement system and the so-called historical memory of the residents from small municipalities during the directive merger in the 1970s and 1980s.

Factors of International Activity of Russian Cities: The Results of the Empirical Analysis

The international activities of governments at the subnational level have become widespread practice. Cooperation between local authorities, which began in Europe with the aim of promoting peace, international understanding, and reconciliation between peoples in the post-war period, has spread throughout the world over time. International cityto- city partnerships, also known as sister cities, have become an instrument for promoting economic development. The movement of sister cities is considered not only as a form of cross-border intermunicipal cooperation, but also as one of the aspects of paradiplomacy. One of the consequences of regionalization that swept post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s was the growth of foreign economic activity, international contacts of both Russian regions and cities. This is reflected in the signing of intermunicipal agreements. This research is aimed at determining the factors on which the international activity of Russian cities depends. The theoretical and methodological basis of the work was the concept of paradiplomacy in general and city diplomacy in particular. The author put forward several hypotheses in the framework of the approaches to high international activity of cities existing in the scientific literature. The database was a list of sister cities, including 150 Russian municipalities compiled by the International Association of Related Cities. Statistical calculations were performed by multiple linear regression. As a result of the study, it was found that a large number of sister cities are observed in Russian cities, which can be attributed to megacities and large cities. It was revealed that a high level of international activity of Russian cities is characteristic of municipalities located in border regions. It is shown that economic characteristics directly affect the number of contracts. The author came to the conclusion that the status of the administrative center of Russian regions positively affects on the number of sister cities. The article emphasizes the influence of the historical heritage of territories on the development of inter-municipal cultural cooperation. In conclusion, it is noted that the influence of demographic, geographical, economic, political, legal, and cultural-historical features of municipalities on the number of sister cities does not explain all cases. The author believes that the political factor has a certain explanatory power.