The use of intergovernmental grants to municipalities for electoral purposes by subnational governments

Subnational governments devote a significant share of their financial resources to help municipalities provide local public services to their citizens. Compared to the large number of studies on national governments, little effort has been devoted to the influence of distributive politics on the use of intergovernmental grants by subnational governments. To fill this gap, this study uses a data set covering the period 2001–2011 to verify to what extent the Québec government used conditional grants to municipalities for electoral purposes. The results of this study show that the allocation of grants to municipalities is not exempt from electoral politics as municipalities located in districts held by governing parties or in high electoral competition districts receive more grants than other municipalities. However, the influence of electoral politics decreases substantially when the management of intergovernmental grants is under tight scrutiny by the opposition parties, mass media and the population. These findings suggest that distributive politics can be conceptualised as a political agency problem whose prevalence is seriously constrained by the improvement of the transparency of public policies management.     

Big change,little change? Punctuation,increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity

This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-layer processes, whereby radical ‘punctuated’ shifts in national funding can be mitigated to incremental adjustments in service delivery at a local level. However, the paper also suggests that the incremental appearance of change may be temporary, and that diminishing institutional resilience and emergent discursive shifts potentially prefigure a paradigm change in local governance.     

Dealing with Austerity: a case of local resilience in Southern Europe

Southern countries are undergoing a severe economic crisis that has renewed debates about the available strategies to economise their public resources. Political leaders have launched a wide range of different strategies aimed at reducing spending. According to generally accepted political discourse, drastic actions should be taken to guarantee economic and financial sustainability in times of austerity. We explore the main measures adopted by Spanish municipalities in order to examine their impact in budgetary terms. First of all, we identify the most frequently implemented mechanisms including organisational structure, public services and operational economic restructuration. After their quantification, we monitor the presence and impact of each set of policies to analyse the relationship between concrete measures and effective economic impact. The effective reduction of budgets is being implemented but data show that local governments are resilient to non-compulsory changes. The ‘government at a distance’ policy pursued by the central state administration has effectively reduced budgets but has not affected the institutional core of Spanish local governments.     

Adolescent Co-occurring Disorders Treatment: Clinicians' Attitudes,Values, and Knowledge

This study examined community-based clinicians’ (N = 294) attitudes, background/experiences, values, and knowledge relating to issues of co-occurring disorders, which occur at a high rate among adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system. Study results reveal that clinicians self-rate their clinical values and attitudes at or above the expected level of competency, but they concede that their skill and knowledge levels are not adequate. Comparison measures reveal that employment setting conditions, geographic region, hours worked per week, and strongly held convictions about the importance of integrated mental health and substance use disorders service delivery distinguish clinicians’ co-occurring disorders knowledge levels. Implications are offered.     

Local Government and Local Governance: 1944–2011

Abstract

Since the establishment of the tri-partite system of state education after the Second World War, the once simple relationships between central government and local government and the individual school have become increasingly complex. This article considers the key governance issues for schools and colleges in England and how they have been affected by the redistribution of power between central government and local government. The principal foci are the main legislative changes and the impact they have had on the respective powers and responsibilities of central government, local government and schools and colleges. The radical developments since the formation of the coalition government in May 2010 have accelerated the shift of power to central government from local government and by the end of the first term of the coalition the local authority will have little more than a vestigial role in the provision of secondary education and a diminishing role in primary and special education. As academy status becomes the norm (as it already is for secondary schools in some authorities) central government will be dealing directly with autonomous schools and academy chains. With more schools directly employing staff and with funding levels set nationally, the pattern and nature of public education will have been irrevocably changed.     

How Public Officials Gain Policy Influence—Lessons from Local Government in Sweden

That public officials influence public policy is generally agreed upon, but the issue of how individual officials gain this influence is less developed in the literature. Here, the stories and experiences of 10 officials, active in local environmental governing in Sweden, are used to identify, describe, and discuss key strategies for gaining policy influence. The result shows the importance of accessing key politicians; avoiding isolation within the administration; developing long-term strategies; and being skilled in communication, networking, and generating external resources. The way these officials act and think challenges some well-established theoretical notions and adds empirical insights to the democratic dilemma of bureaucratic power.     

论法治政府下行政立法听证制度的构想

法治政府是法治国家的必然要求。要建设法治政府,需要规范行政立法听证行为,我国《立法法》虽然对行政立法听证制度有明文规定,但条文过于简单,不具有操作性。因此,我国行政立法听证的范围、听证的物质保障、听证的主持人制度、参与人制度、笔录效力制度、运行程序制度都有进一步探讨的必要。     

对我国“大部制”改革若干问题的思考

大部制顺应了市场经济和服务型政府建设的要求,它是成熟市场经济国家与服务型政府职能相一致的政府组织体制,是与西方地方自治前提下的中央地方权力功能性分立相一致的。中国的国情决定我们在实行大部制改革过程中应深刻调整中央地方的关系,协调与党的机构、人大政协机构的关系,从决策、执行、监督相一致的高度设计,打破目前部门利益格局的权力运行框架。     

风险社会语境下的农业产业危机与政府干预——以海南“香蕉危机”为个案

在风险社会语境下,中国农业除要面对自然和市场的双重风险,还要面对科学技术和政策变递等带来的振荡。对农业风险的预防和治理需要政府发挥主导作用,而政府干预不当却可能诱发或加剧农业风险。海南爆发的“香蕉危机”作为中国现代农业产业危机的缩影再次暴露出在农业生产经营和农业风险管理方面政府干预存在的严重问题,文章试图通过对海南“香蕉危机”事件的分析,剖析政府干预在农业产业危机的形成与治理中的作用,并进而提出政府适度干预以应对农业产业危机的对策与建议。     

《政府信息公开条例》的民本思想探微

中国《政府信息公开条例》以法规的形式给予政府信息公开以强制性的规定,并作出了严格的制度安排。浏览其中条款处处彰显民本行政的思想,具体体现在法为民所立、权为民所用、利为民所谋、信为民所取、责为民所负五个方面,本文从以上方面入手探索其精神实质。