... rights only Governance Local government Decentralisation Local government reform Central government In a multi-level governance scenario, central-local relations are increasingly important and politically relevant. In fact, this field is currently a key element of local development...

.... Sabine Kuhlmann can be contacted at: sabine.kuhlmann@uni-potsdam.de 02 01 2017 26 06 2017 24 08 2017 02 10 2017 © Emerald Publishing Limited 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited Licensed re-use rights only Benchmarking Administration Local government reform...

... Publishing Limited 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited Licensed re-use rights only Italy Local government reform Municipalities Intermunicipal cooperation Patterns of conflict Rescaling Consolidation is usually a response to fragmentation (Swianiewicz, 2010), although IMC may also be used...

.../methodology/approach Local government reforms are distinguished according to the institutional structure at which they are directed and local autonomy is assessed as a multidimensional concept. Drawing on a multilevel analysis of the Swiss case, this paper combines data stemming from a survey conducted...

... of collaboration. Public service Service delivery Local authorities Local government reform Inter-municipal cooperation Public networks Over the last 50 years, in all European countries, municipalities – and especially smaller ones – have encountered increasing difficulties in satisfying...

... – The paper is a critical analyses of the sustainability of local government system in Nordic countries. It discusses the possible negative consequences of the overemphasis of the welfare role of local government. Local government Decentralization Local government reform Amalgamations Nordic model...

... of local government reforms on budgetary processes and service design in a New Zealand local government entity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a qualitative case study research involving semi-structured interviews with the key informants to understand the evolving role of resource...

... improvement Local government Local government reform Resource efficiency United Kingdom UK governments since 1979 have developed a range of mechanisms to bring about change and improvement in the performance of public services. This paper considers on what Downe and Martin (2006) describe...

... of the economy, and economic liberalisation (World Bank, 1984, p. 17, 73). In 1987, the Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) was designed to contribute to improving the management of resources in the public sector. Ghana Local government reform Environmental management Governance Sustainable...

... systems (Perrow, quoted in Spender and Grinyer, 1995, p. 911). © MCB UP Limited 1999 Australia Local government Local government reform Change management Change management is easy to satirise. In the late twentieth century Dilbert induces a wry smile as we recognise the foibles...

... Democracy Local government reform Performance management South Africa he transformation of the public sector in South Africa is pressured by high expectations. It is committed to a calendar of reforms that were agreed five years ago, during the negotiations that led the way out of apartheid...

.... Decentralization Local government Local government reform Public administration Reorganization Strategic management The competing pressures of centralisation and decentralisation have long been an issue in the management of UK local government. During the Conservative years, the increasingly...

... spheres are not allowed to encroach. © MCB UP Limited 1997 Decentralization Democracy Government Local government Local government reform South Africa The notions which are discussed below are the hallmarks of classical representative local government democracy as practiced in many...