Multinational Enterprises and Technological Effort by Local Firms: A Case Study of the Malaysian Electronics and Electrical Industry

It is often assumed that foreign MNEs are the driving force behind technological development in developing economies but it has become evident in recent years that the actions of MNEs in isolation from the domestic economy will not significantly improve the stock of technology in an economy. This study, therefore, examines the determinants of local firms' decisions to undertake technological effort, not only in isolation, but also in the context of linkages between domestic firms and MNEs. There is evidence that linkages between MNEs and local firms are important in explaining technological effort by local firms but direct technological assistance from MNEs does not seem to play a major role in fostering increased technological effort by local firms.     

Meeting the Information Needs of Older People: A Challenge for Local Governance

The challenge of the ageing population is not just to provide more services but to employ new strategies. One of these is the need to rethink the provision of information to older people and their carers. This paper makes four points. First, that information and access to information have become more critical issues. Second, that older people may place a much higher value on information than other citizen groups but their access is poor for a range of reasons. Third, that the processes by which older people seek information may be empowering. Finally, effective partnerships with creative older people can be a catalyst to changing governance cultures which is a vital step in modernising local government. The paper draws upon examples from the author's experience of working alongside older people under the umbrella of the Better Life in Later Life project in Newcastle upon Tyne.     

Balance Between Local Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability: A Multi-level Governance Perspective

This study seeks to explain why U.S. local governments utilize environmental sustainability to promote economic development. Economic development and environmental protection need not be competing objectives, but rather, environmental protection can enhance local economic competitiveness. Using data from the ICMA Economic Development Survey, this study tests an empirical model that includes state sustainability initiatives, participation in climate protection networks, and political attitudes toward economic development as predictors of local policy decisions. The findings reinforce a multi-level governance perspective on explaining the balance cities seek to achieve between environmental protection and economic growth.     

From Competition to Collaboration: Intergovernmental Economic Development Policy Networks

This study investigates the strategic collaboration among local jurisdictions in the competitive environment: how fragmented jurisdictions in a metropolitan area perceive each other as cooperative partners and what factors influence the establishment of collaborative relationships between them. To answer the research questions, we applied the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework, which assumes that institutional actors behave in ways such that their economic benefits are maximised and risks and costs of collaboration are minimised, and employed the exponential random graph (ERG) model, one of the statistical social network analyses. The results indicate that the physical, political and geographical similarities among municipalities positively influence collaboration among local jurisdictions. In addition, municipalities are more likely to prefer to establish the closed network relationship such as triad–triplet. This study allows to understand the mechanism to establish collaborative behaviour among local jurisdictions for their regional economic development in a metropolitan area.     

Women and Local Governance in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ejisu,Ghana

Since 1988, Ghana has implemented comprehensive reforms to promote grassroots and citizen participation in government. This article examined women’s participation in local governance. Through an interview of 353 women in Ejisu, it was found out that the women performed almost all household chores, 62.3% of whom partly financed their households while 17% solely financed their households. About 27% of the women were members of CBOs, and 25% were assembly members. The women were restrained in local government participation by marriage, perceived superiority of men, and illiteracy. Encouragement of women and girls’ education are contingent to promoting women’s participation in local governance.     

Infrastructure and Cluster Development: A Case Study of Handloom Weavers in Rural Ethiopia

Clustering is an important structure of production in the rural nonfarm sector. Based on a primary survey of rural handloom clusters in Ethiopia, this article examines the mechanism and performance of clustering. Given weak financial institutions, clustered producers and traders use trade credits to ease working capital constraints. Moreover, geographical clustering enables entrepreneurs with limited capital to enter the business through shared workspaces and fine division of labour. An improvement in infrastructure can further enhance firm performance in a cluster. In towns with electricity access, producers work longer hours by sharing lit workspaces at lower rental cost.     

From Competition and Collusion to Consent-Based Collaboration: A Case Study of Local Democracy

The high distrust in political institutions and a growing sense of powerlessness among many citizens suggest that prevailing democratic governance systems lack a capability for collective dialogue and learning. The key thesis here is that public governance systems can benefit from organizational arrangements informed by circular design. A case study conducted at a Dutch municipality illustrates how principles of circular design served to enhance the city council’s role of orchestrator of civil participation. This case also illustrates how a local democracy, which has long suffered from majority–minority ploys and voting schemes, can be transformed into a consent-based culture of collaboration.     

Urban Regeneration Policy from the Integrated Urban Development Model in the European Union: an Analytical Approach Based on the Study of Spanish Cities

For several years, local governments have been tackling new challenges related to the regeneration of their cities within the physical sphere, as well as in their economic and social aspects. This task is developed in accordance with what has been called the Integrated Urban Development Model, understanding the integrated nature of this approach not only in terms of the spheres of public policy involved, but also in relation to their management. In this paper, this management is analysed in terms of the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance and New Public Management (NPM). Using Spanish municipalities as a case study, this paper develops an analytical tool for the analysis of this model of urban intervention within the European context, paying close attention to the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance from a multilevel perspective, as well as the development of mechanisms for NPM.     

Towards Performance,Quality and Environmental Management in Local Government: the Case of Spain

The search for improvements in the management and quality of public services seems to be a constant in all public administrations, and there is an ever-increasing use of management techniques and models from the business sector. The aim of this paper is to show which management systems are being used by Spanish local governments to improve their management in terms of economy, quality and the environment. Our analysis is based on a questionnaire sent to Spanish local governments about the tools they use and the factors that influence their implementation. The results show that more efforts are necessary to implement performance measurement and total quality management, but they also show some positive aspects, such as the usefulness of performance measurement and its application to decisions in those local governments that have implemented it.     

International Collaboration in Local Government Leadership Development: Insights Gained from a U.S. and Ireland Partnership

There is great value in international partnerships when developing leadership potential in local government. This article focuses on the lessons-learned from three innovative annual joint collaboration efforts under the auspices of the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in Ireland and DePaul University (Chicago). The purpose was to provide an “outside in” perspective of how local government works in different countries. This was illustrated by a recent series of collaborative programs to develop 59 senior individuals in local authorities throughout Ireland. Approaches used included shadowing local government officials, collaborations with community partners, and benchmarking meetings with officials to learn about innovative projects.     

Citizen Participation in German and Spanish Local Governments: A Comparative Study

In recent decades, citizens have become more and more disenchanted with the traditional institutions of representative government, detached from political parties, and disillusioned with old forms of civic engagement and participation. This has favored a renewed interest in citizen engagement and citizen participation and a growing re-emergence in academic and political discourse of ideas and values of community, localism, and citizen participation. This article analyzes the main objectives and the actual implementation of citizen participation initiatives in the local governments of two European Continental countries, Germany and Spain. The aim is to find out the factors that affect the possible decoupling between the objectives and the “real” uses of citizen participation. Our results show that most local governments in these two countries are using citizen participation only to increase the level of perceived legitimacy or to comply minimally with legal requirements, without really taking advantage of citizen participation to enhance decision-making processes. These findings confirm that institutional theory becomes the rationale to explain the implementation of citizen participation in these two European Continental countries.     

Organizational Commitment,Job Satisfaction and Attitudes toward Organizational Change: A Study in the Local Government

The present study investigates the direct and indirect relationships among job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and attitudes toward organizational change and their dimensions. Results indicated that employees in the investigated departments are highly satisfied with supervision and coworkers, whereas they are slightly satisfied with work conditions and job security, but they have low satisfaction with pay and promotion facets of the job. Results further demonstrated that employees in the investigated departments are remaining with their current departments either because they want to do so, or because they have to do so, but not because they feel they ought to do so.     

Migration and Livelihoods in Historical Perspective: A Case Study of Bihar,India

Whereas other contributions in this volume focus on contemporary migration, this article explores the role migration has played over a long period of time, in western Bihar, India. By doing so, it reinforces one of the central themes in this volume, regarding the importance of migration for livelihoods: this case study challenges the assumption that migration would be a recent phenomenon, and argues that to understand the history of this area one needs to take account of the complex interaction between migration and development. Migration has been a livelihood strategy for many groups within the area, and the study explores how migration has been caused by and in turn influences poverty and livelihoods for men and women, and how these relationships have changed over time.     

Economic Transition in Latin American and Post-Communist Countries: A Comparison of Multilateral Development Banks

This article examines regional development banks and their relationship with the World Bank. Specifically, the article analyzes the roles of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the factors that have influenced the creation of these international financial institutions. Most of the literature examines regional development banking practices and development strategies as if all regional banks were the same. However, the missions of the IDB and the EBRD are quite distinct. While the IDB primarily provides social sector loans to nation-states, the EBRD primarily provides private sector loans for finance and business development. Given that Latin America and the former Soviet Union share many of the same economic, political and social problems, it is surprising that these institutions are so different. What accounts for the different missions of these regional banks? We find that the influence of borrowing and non-borrowing member states in the creation of these banks can help explain some of the differences between the IDB and the EBRD.     

Local Council Development Areas and Local Service Delivery: How a Fourth-tier Government Unit is Improving Access to Primary Health Care and Education Services in Lagos,Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Emerging accidentally from an array of political and legal contestations is a fourth-tier government unit in Lagos state – Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). The LCDAs have survived almost two decades of existence without the ’traditional’ monthly federal allocation, which has been the mainstay of the existing 774 LGAs in Nigeria. This study attempts an explanation of this apparent survival by examining the institutional structure of the LCDAs vis-à-vis their service delivery performance. Different from earlier studies that have examined service delivery using final outcomes, the study examines accessibility as an intermediate output; dimensioned as availability, adequacy and affordability. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study shows that Lagos LCDAs’ inclusive operational structure is significantly improving access to primary health care and education services. Thus, the study finds evidence within the operational structure of Lagos LCDAs for Acemoglu and Robinson’s theory of inclusive and extractive institutions.     

Financial Sustainability as a Driver for Transparency and E-Democracy: A Comparative Study in Italian and Spanish Local Governments

Today expectations of accountability and trustworthiness in governing entities is greater than ever before. The process of change has been given impetus by new information and communication technologies resulting in e-government and e-democracy. This research aims to analyze transparency and democratic participation in Italian and Spanish LGs. The web pages of Italian and Spanish LGs with more than 100,000 inhabitants are analyzed using twenty determinants of fiscal transparency and eight determinants of e-democracy. Results show considerable similarity between Italian and Spanish LGs with regards to the disclosure of financial information, while the adoption of e-democracy tools requires further development in both countries.     

Underdevelopment,Urban Squatting,and The State Bureaucracy: A Case Study of Tanzania

This article investigates a part of the “story of the story” of the 1924 revolution, the first popular anticolonial uprising in Sudan to be framed by a nationalist ideology. Considering that the process that turns a past event into history is neither linear nor predictable, I draw on Trouillot's “catalogue of silences” to compare two sets of sources that correspond to two moments in the making of 1924 as history: first, the judicial records produced by the Sudan government during 1924, and second the Ewart Report, written in 1925, to “seal” the revolution. A comparison of these two sources reveals radical discrepancies in the narrative, as well as the silences imposed on and well-concealed fine-tunings of the various voices of the revolution. Of these two sets of sources, it is the Ewart Report that provides the most influential interpretation of the 1924 revolution.     

Political Identity,Public Memory and Urban Space: A Case Study of Parcul Carol I,Bucharest from 1906 to the Present

This article analyses the inter-relationship between political identity, public memory and urban space in South-east Europe through a case study of Parcul Carol I (Carol I Park) in Bucharest, Romania from 1906 to the present. The article analyses how the urban cultural landscape has been reshaped to support the political ambitions of three successive regimes—Romania as a kingdom and liberal constitutional monarchy (1881–1938); state-socialist Romania (1947–1989); and the post-socialist Romanian state from 1989. The article highlights complex continuity from the state-socialist period under post-socialism, rather than destruction of the landscape of state-socialism, combined with the return of pre-socialist landscape elements. The article argues for the need for studies of the fate of state-socialist urban landscapes under post-socialism which consider the complexities introduced by the persistence of landscape elements from the pre-socialist and state-socialist periods and their combination with pre-socialist and post-socialist landscapes to produce hybrid memory-scapes and spaces of the nation.     

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.