Reforming Public Administration in Multilevel Systems

Sabine Kuhlmann, Stephan Grohs and Jörg Bogumil

Chapter 13 in Public Administration and the Modern State, 2014, pp 205-222 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The reallocation of public tasks is a common reform strategy in most of the Western European states. On the one hand, there is a trend toward decentralization, on the other also some centralizing measures. Next to the appraisal of decentralization seen in some strands of the literature (see the next section), a comparative view offers a more nuanced angle. If we take into account that the actual strategies of decentralization, the fiscal measures, and the specific nature of delegated functions vary significantly across countries and regions, some differentiation is to be expected regarding the effects of such measures. Against this backdrop, we seek to analyze decentralization policies in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.1 In these three countries, varying decentralization strategies have been pursued, the impacts of which partly confirm and partly disprove common assumptions. Taking an evaluative approach, we seek to identify the conditions under which decentralization fulfills the promises (transparency and accountability, efficiency gains, improved citizen- centered services, better coordination, and service quality) that have made it one of the most prominent reform strategies worldwide (Treisman, 2007).

Keywords: Local Government; Vertical Coordination; Multilevel System; Democratic Accountability; Democratic Control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-43749-5_14

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DOI: 10.1057/9781137437495_14

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