Interlocal collaboration and local climate protection

ABSTRACT

The influences of state government have been curiously absent from most studies of collaboration among cities. Extant research on city collaboration which promotes on climate and environmental sustainability issues focuses primarily on local-level institutions, politics, and processes. Thus, the role of states to constrain or facilitate collaboration among local governments needs to be more fully accounted for. Building on transaction cost and institutional collective action theory and drawing on data from a national survey of US cities, we investigate the influences of city-level factors together with the hierarchical effects of state rules and policies on the extent to which mechanisms for interlocal collaboration are employed in pursuing climate protection and renewable energy development goals. The results confirm predictions that multilevel intergovernmental forces influence the extent to which cities collaborate. These results have both theoretical and practical implications for understanding interlocal collaborations.     

Opportunities for Collaboration and the Adoption of Local Government Investment Pools

This study examines the determinants of state adoption of local government investment pools (LGIPs) for commingling public funds for investment. It uses aggregate local government panel data from 41 states over a 40-year period and conditional fixed-effects logistic regression. The study finds that opportunities for collaboration, the extent of interlocal collaboration, local financial/economic conditions in a state, and proximate coterminous neighbors increase the likelihood that a state will adopt an LGIP. The finding that opportunities for collaboration contribute to the likelihood of LGIP adoption is an important evidence in support of the collaboration idea and extends the theory to interlocal cash management.     

Interlocal Agreements and Multilateral Institutions: Mitigating Coordination Problems of Self-Organized Collective Action

ABSTRACT

In the United States, competition among cities for economic development tends to be the norm. Cities are also collaborating more to improve their economic advantage. However, transaction costs inhibit various of interlocal agreements from being formed. This study examines the role of multilateral institutions in facilitating interlocal agreements for economic development. An analysis of survey data collected from city governments in eleven US metropolitan areas highlights the importance of regional institutions in moderating the effect of coordination problems on the formation of developmental joint venture agreements. The findings complement extant research on the governance mechanisms that mitigate transaction costs of collective action.     

Contract Management from the Perspectives of Bureaucrats and Contractors: A Case Study of Hong Kong

New Public Management (NPM) encourages private sector participation in the provision and delivery of public services through outsourcing. Bureaucrats and contractors assess the values, processes, and outcomes of contract management differently. This study adopts transaction cost economics (TCE), the resource-based view (RBV), and the principal–agent theory to analyze Hong Kong bureaucrats’ and contractors’ views on contract management. It finds that both groups are critical of the existing contract management system in Hong Kong. The study shows that the government’s neglect of the risks is causing transaction costs because it lacks a proper monitoring mechanism, two-way communication channels, and appropriate training, and because of contract complications and issues of accountability. There is insufficient proof to assert that the government purposefully conceals these risks, but they are not properly addressed.     

Collaborating with the competition? A study of interlocal partnership choices

In the US system of decentralized federalism, competitive dynamics among local governments are not incompatible with successful interlocal collaboration. Municipalities often collaborate with competing jurisdictions in the same region to provide services and solve problems. Yet, competitive relations among municipalities are expected to complicate collaboration, escalating transaction costs due to divergent goals and lack of trust. This article uses the Institutional Collective Action framework to examine the conditions under which local governments are best able to surmount competition-related hurdles and successfully partner with their chief municipal competitors. An original survey of mayors and councilors is used to test potential predictors of collaboration among top competitors. Results show that municipalities often collaborate with their chief competitors but are less likely to do so when they are situated in municipally-fragmented regions, when they are located in a different county from their top competitors, and when they are fiscally strong.     

Unemployment Risks and the Origins of Unemployment Compensation

This paper focuses on the distribution of sectoral unemployment risks and the role of political regimes in the foundational moments of unemployment compensation. The institutionalization of unemployment compensation is a function of two factors. First, it depends on the distribution of unemployment risks by economic sectors. Second, the effect of risk inequality is conditional upon the political regime type. I employ event history analysis of 144 countries throughout the world for the long historical period from 1880 to 2000. The results show that an overall societal level of unemployment risk and inequality of sectoral unemployment risks in a society are positively associated with the likelihood of the institutionalization of unemployment compensation. In addition, the effect of risk inequality is much higher under democracy than under dictatorship. A broader implication is that the creation of unemployment compensation is not only a function of homogeneous working class power but also a function of working class conflict that stems from the heterogeneity of unemployment risks among workers.     

“Victim Refuses to Cooperate”: A Focal Concerns Analysis of Victim Cooperation in Sexual Assault Cases

Research suggests that victim cooperation is a strong predictor of arrest and prosecution in sexual assault cases. Relatively little research has focused on identifying the factors that shape the decision to cooperate and the research that does exist is largely atheoretical. We address these gaps by examining victim cooperation using a revised version of the focal concerns perspective. We use data on cases reported to law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles to estimate models using factors situated within three victim focal concerns—crime seriousness, costs of cooperation, and likelihood of conviction—for three stages of the case process. We supplement these results with qualitative data from police reports regarding the reasons why victims refused to cooperate. The findings of this study provide initial support for the theoretical development of victim cooperation using the focal concerns perspective and provide potential guidance to criminal justice practitioners on how to increase victim cooperation.     

Does intermunicipal cooperation increase efficiency? A conditional metafrontier approach for the Hessian wastewater sector

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the relationship between intermunicipal cooperation and efficiency of public service provision. Organisational arrangements of public service production, including self-provision, joint provision or contracting, affect incentives and internal transaction costs. Hence, cooperation gains from scale effects need to be balanced against technical inefficiencies. We analyse relative efficiency of wastewater disposal for German municipalities. We employ a conditional analysis in conjunction with a metafrontier approach to calculate relative efficiency measures and technology gap ratios controlling for organisational arrangements and further environmental variables. Jointly providing municipalities and contractor municipalities exhibit lower technical efficiency than self-providing and contracting municipalities. As confirmed by previous research, scale effects from cooperation and contracting apply to small municipalities primarily.     

SIMILAR PROBLEMS,DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS: COMPARING REFUSE COLLECTION IN THE NETHERLANDS AND SPAIN

Because of differences in institutional arrangements, public service markets, and national traditions regarding government intervention, local public service provision can vary greatly. In this paper we compare the procedures adopted by the local governments of The Netherlands and Spain in arranging for the provision of solid waste collection. We find that Spain faces a problem of consolidation, opting more frequently to implement policies of privatization and cooperation, at the expense of competition. By contrast, The Netherlands, which has larger municipalities on average, resorts somewhat less to privatization and cooperation, and more to competition. Both options—cooperation and competition—have their merits when striving to strike a balance between transaction costs and scale economies. The choices made in organizational reform seem to be related to several factors, among which the nature of the political system and the size of municipalities appear to be relevant.     

Why Do Municipalities Cooperate to Provide Local Public Services? An Empirical Analysis

Intermunicipal cooperation is being increasingly adopted in various countries as a part of local service delivery reforms. This article draws on survey data from Spain's municipalities to examine the reasons underpinning the decisions of local governments to engage in intermunicipal cooperation and privatisation. Our empirical analysis indicates that small municipalities prefer to rely on cooperation for reducing costs, while their larger counterparts prefer to privatise the delivery of services. By cooperating, scale economies can be achieved with lower transaction costs and fewer concerns for competition than is the case via private production.     

Resource Management under Climatic Risk: A Case Study from Niger

In this article, we develop an empirical model of an agro-pastoral system subject to high climatic risk in order to test the impact of rainfall variability on livestock densities, land allocation patterns and herd mobility observed at the community level. Also, because grazing land is a common-pool resource, we determine the impact of cooperation on these decision variables. To capture different abilities of communities to cooperate in managing these externalities, we construct indices comprised of factors considered to affect the costliness of achieving successful cooperation. We then test hypotheses regarding the impact of rainfall variability and cooperation, using data collected in a semi-arid region of Niger. Results indicate that rainfall variability initially leads to higher densities, but the impact becomes negative as variability increases still further. This result indicates that the benefits of accumulating large herds in variable environments are eventually offset by the increasing probability of large losses. Mobility in the current period is strongly related to current rainfall, and is also positively related to long-term rainfall variability. Communities with characteristics hypothesised to favour cooperation have lower stock densities and greater herd mobility. Neither cooperation nor rainfall variability has a significant impact on the proportion of land allocated to crops or common pastures.     

Drivers and barriers of inter-municipal cooperation in health services – the Norwegian case

Inter-municipal cooperation in service delivery is widespread, as is the notion that this type of cooperation is primarily driven by economies of scale. However, the empirical results appear to be inconclusive, suggesting that additional explanatory factors are needed to explain why municipalities cooperate. This study aimed to identify the factors and conditions that influence the level of inter-municipal cooperation in health services by exploring a broad set of explanatory factors that go beyond simple economic concerns. In addition to confirming that a small population-size and fiscal stress constitute important drivers of inter-municipal cooperation, the results from this study also demonstrates the need to consider geographical location and heterogeneity relative to neighbouring municipalities as potential barriers to such cooperation.     

Governance of a public sector joint venture: the control challenges of dominated owners

Local governments increasingly choose to provide a wide range of services through cooperation with other local governments. Providing complex services through intergovernmental units creates collaboration risks and collective action dilemmas that need to be mitigated. Based on a longitudinal case study, an investigation is made into the dynamic processes in the governance of a public sector joint venture (JV) and the control challenges of dominated owners. The findings illustrate that the approach to mitigating collective action dilemmas is far less rational than that prescribed by the normative literature, resulting in control challenges at later stages in the relationship. Limitations in the assessment of collaboration risks are explained by drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT) arguments. Dynamic processes in the JV relationship create the need to adjust the governance system. However, adaptability is constrained by power asymmetry and control complexity.     

TQM and labor-management cooperation-- a noble experiment for the public sector

Recent initiatives by the Clinton Administration to promote labor-management cooperation and to reinvent government suggest reconsidering the efficacy of total quality management (TQM) and labor-management cooperation initiatives in the public sector. Key elements of both initiatives, for example, process improvement/innovation, focus on the customer, and employee empowerment, are inherent parts of the National Performance Review (NPR) and, as such, are critical to the achievement of NPR outcomes. Achieving these outcomes involves the simultaneous transformation of agencies and unions. This is no small task. The challenges and risks involved in such a large-scale transformation are identified, as well as the factors that make the public sector an appropriate (and safe) place for the American labor movement to experiment with new ways to manage relationships.     

Securing the Transatlantic Maritime Supply Chains from Counterterrorism: EU–U.S. Cooperation and the Emergence of a Transatlantic Customs Security Regime

This article offers an analysis of the cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United States on customs security in the context of the two actors' fight against terrorism. While other aspects of EU–U.S. counterterrorism cooperation have received some scholarly attention, not so much research has focused on security cooperation in the EU–U.S. customs and supply chain. To investigate the emergence of transatlantic cooperation in this field this article employs regime theory in examining the 2004 EU–U.S. customs security agreement, the 2012 EU–U.S. mutual recognition decision, and the transatlantic disagreement on the U.S. 100 percent scanning rule.     

On socialization,patriotism and trust: the migration of homeward-bound Russian academics

Because global labor markets affect the self-assignment of academics, they also affect structural changes in migration movements. To understand the migration patterns of highly qualified academic scholars, research has focused on their mobility, including their return migration. Thus far, studies have examined migrants from Latin America to the United States, but the impacts of cultural or societal contexts on migration have not been investigated.

Based on an empirical study of Russian academics who have migrated to Germany, we propose theory-based answers to the following questions: Is trust a relevant motivation for homeward-bound academic migrants to return to their native countries, and who or what is the object of this trust? Why do these migrants, in contrast to the vast majority of interviewees, self-identify with their society of origin? Does transaction cost theory explain these academics' motives for migration? Is their temporary stay beneficial to the host society?     

DESIGNING CONTRACTS FOR COMPLEX SERVICES

In this article, we employ transaction cost economics and the contingency stream of organization theory to answer two related questions. First, when contracting for complex services, do governments design contracts for flexibility? Second, is the contingency perspective relevant to understanding contract design? Examining 130 professional service contracts awarded by state government agencies in the USA, we find that task complexity and task unpredictability, two dimensions of task uncertainty, increase the probability of flexible governance. This research highlights for managers the important fact that the potential for opportunism and task complexity are different sources of uncertainty that pose different challenges and call for different governance solutions. The study enriches our understanding of transaction costs by probing the conditions under which task uncertainty matters most (and least), and further shows the utility of integrating transaction cost economics with contingency theory to better understand contract governance.     

Managing the contract: A transaction cost analysis of externalisation

This paper examines the externalisation of the London Borough of Ealing's Technical Services Group between 1994 and 1999, the first local government Technical Services function to be externalised as a whole. The case is discussed in the light of transaction cost theory from economics. The study illustrates the difficulties that arise under local authority competitive tendering where the parties enter into an incomplete contract and rely on mutual goodwill to adjust the contract terms later. The study confirms that transaction costs can be pervasive in local government contracting.     

Gun Carrying and Gun Victimization Among American Adolescents: A Fresh Look at a Nationally Representative Sample

A scant literature has identified gun carrying as a potential risk factor for victimization at the individual level. To date, however, research has generally focused on high-risk individuals rather than samples drawn from the general population. Additionally, prior studies have not often enough included controls robust enough to feel strongly that the relationship between gun carrying and victimization, gun victimization in particular, is not simply the spurious outcome of factors that influence both variables. The current study uses data from Add Health participants (N = 13,568) to look at the effect of gun carrying on gun victimization among adolescents. Results suggest that even when robust controls are considered, a measure of gun carrying significantly and positively correlates with gun victimization. The results support a model of the gun carrying-gun victimization relationship wherein gun carrying increases risks for gun victimization independent of factors that may influence both risky behaviors and victimization. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.     

粤台高科技产业合作模式及其影响因素研究

全球经济结构调整刺激了海峡两岸产业转型升级，扩大内需政策为两岸共同寻找产业突破口提供了重要支撑，而粤台经贸交流层次与水平的持续提升则为粤台高科技产业提供了更具想象力的合作空间。综合运用区域产业合作相关理论，从参与合作的企业角度可以将粤台高科技产业合作模式划分为授权合作、异业合作、卫星联盟、在地联盟、营销合作、代工合作和外包合作等七种主要类型。这些合作模式受到政策环境、企业组织和合作风险等因素影响，需要采取针对性的政策措施，以促进粤台高科技产业合作的持续性发展。