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Assessing the Performance of Local Government

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  • Philip Andrew Stevens

    (National Institute of Economic and Social Research, p.stevens@niesr.ac.uk)

Abstract

We consider the measurement of performance in the public sector in general, focussing on local government and the provision of library services by English local authorities in particular. We will consider two methodologies that assess the performance of local authorities in terms of the efficiency with which they provide services and consider methods that allow us to account for exogenous influences on performance, such as the socio-economic profile of the population served by the authority. We find that although both methods’ results appear similar, the implications for potential cost savings vary widely. Omitting to account for background factors leads to an overstatement of the level of inefficiency and hence the scope for reducing expenditure.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Andrew Stevens, 2005. "Assessing the Performance of Local Government," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 193(1), pages 90-101, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:niesru:v:193:y:2005:i:1:p:90-101
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    Cited by:

    1. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2010. "Voter involvement, fiscal autonomy and public sector efficiency: Evidence from German municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 265-278, June.
    2. Helen Simpson, 2009. "Productivity In Public Services," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 250-276, April.
    3. Chiara Fiorelli, 2020. "Have You Ever Seen the Void? Interest Groups Concerns Toward the Weakening Representational Role of Political Parties in European Countries," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 6, ejis_v6_i.
    4. Henning, Christian H. C. A. & Diaz, Daniel & Petri, Svetlana, 2020. "Voting vs. non-voting in Senegal: A nested multinomial logit model approach," Working Papers of Agricultural Policy WP2020-12, University of Kiel, Department of Agricultural Economics, Chair of Agricultural Policy.
    5. Mandy Kriese, 2008. "Effizienzanalyse der sächsischen Gemeinden," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(05), pages .3-13, October.
    6. Martin Ardanaz & Stanislao Maldonado, 2016. "Natural Resource Windfalls and Efficiency of Local Government Expenditures: Evidence from Peru," Documentos de Trabajo 14578, Universidad del Rosario.
    7. Shwu-Huei Huang & Ming-Miin Yu & Ming-Shenq Hwang & Yu-Shan Wei & Ming-Huei Chen, 2017. "Efficiency of Tax Collection and Tax Management in Taiwan's Local Tax Offices," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 620-648, October.
    8. Henning, Christian H. C. A. & Diaz, Daniel & Lendewig, Andrea & Petri, Svetlana, 2020. "How important are abstainers in presidential elections? A comparative analysis between Africa and Latin America," Working Papers of Agricultural Policy WP2020-13, University of Kiel, Department of Agricultural Economics, Chair of Agricultural Policy.
    9. Carolin Fritzsche, 2018. "Analyzing the Efficiency of County Road Provision – Evidence from Eastern German Counties," ifo Working Paper Series 249, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Stanislao Maldonado & Martin Ardanaz, 2023. "Natural resource windfalls and efficiency in local government expenditure: Evidence from Peru," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 28-64, March.
    11. Alexander Ebertz & Mandy Kriese & Marcel Thum & Helke Seitz, 2008. "Bewertung von lokalen Standortfaktoren für Haushalte und Unternehmen in Sachsen: Entwicklung von Indikatoren zur Überprüfung der Demographietauglichkeit von Förderprojekten der Sächsischen Aufbaubank:," ifo Dresden Studien, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 46, May.
    12. Sršen Andreja, 2018. "The Aspects of National Branding: Conceptual and Theoretical Framework," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 4, ejis_v4_i.
    13. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2007. "Local Governments in the Wake of Demographic Change: Efficiency and Economies of Scale in German Municipalities," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Benny Geys & Friedrich Heinemann & Alexander Kalb, 2008. "Local Governments in the Wake of Demographic Change: Evidence from German Municipalities," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 64(4), pages 434-457, December.
    15. Enrique J. Buch‐Gómez & Roberto Cabaleiro‐Casal, 2020. "Turnout, political strength, and cost efficiency in Spanish municipalities of the autonomous region of Galicia: Evidence from an alternative stochastic frontier approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 533-553, June.
    16. Henning, Christian H. C. A. & Diaz, Daniel & Lendewig, Andrea, 2018. "Voter behavior and government performance: Empirical application in Ghana," Working Papers of Agricultural Policy WP2018-04, University of Kiel, Department of Agricultural Economics, Chair of Agricultural Policy.
    17. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Kristof De Witte, 2016. "Local governments’ efficiency: A systematic literature review – Part II," Working Papers 2016/21, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    18. Mandy Kriese, 2008. "Effizienzanalyse der sächsischen Gemeinden," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(05), pages 3-13, October.
    19. Nana Zubek & Christian H.C.A. Henning, 2016. "Local Government, Spatial Spillovers and the Absorption of EU Structural Funds," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 368-397, June.

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