Did the Big Stick Work? An Empirical Assessment of Scale Economies and the Queensland Forced Amalgamation Program

In 2007, the Queensland Government imposed forced amalgamation with the number of local authorities falling from 157 to just 73 councils. Amalgamation was based inter alia on the assumption that increased economies of scale would generate savings. This paper empirically examines pre- and post-amalgamation (2006/07 and 2009/10) for scale economies. For the 2006/07 data, evidence of economies of scale was found for councils with populations up to 98,000, and thereafter diseconomies of scale. Eight percent of councils in 2006/07 (ten councils) – representing 64% of the state’s population – exhibited diseconomies of scale. For the 2009/10 data, the average cost curve remained almost stationary at 99,000 residents per council, but almost 25% of all councils (thirteen councils) were now found to exhibit diseconomies of scale. The compulsory merger program thus increased the proportion of Queensland residents in councils operating with diseconomies of scale to 84%.     

Municipal Mergers in New Zealand: An Empirical Analysis of the Proposed Amalgamation of Hawke’s Bay Councils

Local government policymakers across the developed world have frequently employed municipal amalgamation to improve the operation of local councils, and New Zealand is no exception. This paper empirically examines claims made in Potential Costs and Savings of Local Government Reform in Hawke’s Bay that the merger of the five local authorities in the Hawke’s Bay Region of New Zealand would generate significant cost-savings. We empirically test for the existence of scale economies in a single merged Hawke’s Bay council and find that no cost-savings can be expected. This removes a key argument for a forced Hawke’s Bay amalgamation.     

Does Size Still Matter? An Empirical Analysis of the Effectiveness of Victorian Local Authorities

Efficiency approaches to the question of whether population size matters to optimal local government have proved largely inconclusive. However, recent exploratory empirical work employing an effectiveness approach – as proxied by citizen satisfaction survey data – offers a promising way forward. The present paper seeks to build upon an earlier cross-sectional analysis of Victorian local government by employing longitudinal data over a three-year period – 2008 to 2010 – for Victorian local authorities. The greater depth of data confirmed the positive associations with population density but suggests that negative linear relationships dominate over parabolic associations for population size. This result underlines the need for the collection of more local government citizen satisfaction data by Australian local government systems, given its potentially fruitful application in tackling contentious questions in contemporary local government policy debates.     

都市生态治理中党政干部领导力探讨

推进都市生态治理是促进区域经济社会协调可持续发展的应有之义.本文以A省S市都市生态治理中党政干部领导力为基点,阐释了S市党政干部在生态治理中发挥的核心作用,同时也发现其中面临领导动力弱化、领导效益损耗、领导协同失效、领导制度选择性执行等困局.因此,应从增强都市生态治理中党政干部领导自洽力、提升领导转换力、激活领导制度力...     

市场经济中的行政监管责任研究——以欧典地板事件为例

"欧典事件"暴露出行政监管部门的失职问题,有效的解决方法就是使权力由单向形式改为双向形式,即使"权力与责任相统一",使"有权力者必有责任".     

医改的抉择:政府主导还是市场化——基于医疗卫生服务及其市场特殊性的分析

医疗卫生改革理应寻求解决民众的"看病难"、"看病贵"问题.医疗卫生服务及其市场是医改中所有问题的归结点.在对医疗卫生服务与其市场的特殊性进行分析中,表明医疗服务市场不同于一般的商品市场与服务市场,在政府与市场的分工上针对其特点进行合理界定,既否决单纯的市场主导,也否决一味的市场化,而是二者的理性结合.     

地方政府债务风险的宪法学释析

地方政府债务风险的处理应当遵循宪法逻辑,即政府与公民是一种信托关系,只要公民权利的需求仍在,政府就没有破产的理由。因此,地方政府破产只是财政破产但行政不破产。在地方政府破产重整程序中,地方政府提供的保障民生的基本公共服务优先于地方债的债权,因为前者保护的是大多数人的基本生存权。诉诸民主体制才能从源头上控制政府的发债权进...     

法治政府与诚信

诚信是法治政府的基础和本质,是法治政府的标准,是法治政府的义务和责任.只有加强诚信建设,我国才能实现建设法治政府的目标.当前各级政府应该做到:政府的政策与规范应具有稳定性与不可溯及性;公布的信息应具有真实性、准确性、全面性;应严格执行法律、法规、规章及有关政策;严格遵守信赖保护原则.     

法治视角的社会信用之构建刍议

社会信用是个人信用、企业的信用和政府信用的有机结合.其中,个人信用是社会信用的基础,企业信用是社会信用的主体,政府信用是社会信用的关键.社会信用缺失不独为个人信用和企业信用的缺失,政府信用缺失及其示范效应更为强烈.尽管个中缘由复杂,但法制及其整合功能的缺失无疑是问题的关键所在.因此,在法治视角下我们应以强化政府信用为重点,以确认和保护个人和企业的信用权为基础,以法治的功能性整合来构建我国的社会信用体系,实现社会信用的良性增长.     

"新农村"背景下农村法治的法哲学解读--方法论的检讨与重整

"新农村"背景下,我国当代农村的法治建设正在全方位展开,并取得了显著的成效.然而,由于方法论上存在着"义务本位"、"立法缺位"、"经济落后"等误区或缺陷,直接导致农村法治的当下窘态与困惑,滞碍了法制现代化的纵深运行,因而,必须进行方法论上的重整,其目标就是夯实农村法治的物质基础;建构农村法治的法理机制;强化法律至上的法治理念.