This book examines the impacts of fiscal decentralization reforms on the efficiency of local governments in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. By offering a comparative perspective and by applying econometric methods and regression models, it analyses various reform trajectories and their effects on individual CEE countries. Furthermore, the book discusses input and output indicators for evaluating the efficiency of municipalities. Readers will learn about the common features of these countries, the impact of path dependence, and future prospects for decentralization reforms. In closing, the book discusses modern management and administration methods, opportunities for cooperation between municipalities, co-creative service delivery, and other measures that could improve the efficiency of public service provision.

This book sheds light on the central complexities of municipal cooperation and examines the dynamics, experiences and drivers of inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) in Europe. Particular attention is given to the features of governance arrangements and institutions created to generate and maintain collaborative settings between different local governments in a particular territory. The thematically grouped case studies presented here address the dearth of comprehensive and comparative analyses in recent scholarship. The authors provide fresh insights into the rise of inter-municipal cooperation and its evolution during a period of financial crisis and European Union enlargement. This includes critical examinations of the impact of austerity policies, the behavior and perceptions of key actors; and under-explored new member states. Crucially, this work goes beyond the comparison of institutional forms of IMC to address why the phenomenon so widespread and questions whether it is successful, manageable and democratic. This work which presents the most recent and innovative research on inter-local collaborative arrangements will appeal to practitioners as well as scholars of local government, public economy, public administration and policy.

This book examines local government performance in key areas of social services and economic promotion in eight towns in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia. It dispels the myth that socio-economic 'givens' or inter-governmental systems are key determinants of local development.

This book examines the democratic changes that took place in civil society in Central and Eastern Europe after the break up of the Soviet Union.

Innovation, skills, entrepreneurship and social cohesion are key drivers of growth, and essential goals of effective economic development strategies. Each has a strong governance component, which requires partnership between government, business and civil society for co-ordinating actions and adapting policies to local conditions. But what are the best governance mechanisms to fuel the drivers of growth? What is the role of central government in maximising their effectiveness? What specific actions must cities carry out to become more competitive and spread prosperity? How can public services be managed in the most effective way to support local competitiveness in the age of globalisation and networking? How can partnerships generate more funding and deliver better results? For this book, the OECD has brought together top world experts to translate policy lessons into concrete recommendations that will help policy makers and practitioners make the best governance decisions to stimulate growth.

This book presents new research results on the challenges of local politics in different European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Switzerland, together with theoretical considerations on the further development and strengthening of local self-government. It focuses on analyses of the most recent developments in local democracy and administration.

This book studies political leadership at the local level, based on data from a survey of the mayors of cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants in 29 European countries carried out between 2014 and 2016. The book compares these results with those of a similar survey conducted ten years ago. From this comparative perspective, the book examines how to become a mayor in Europe today, the attitudes of these politicians towards administrative and territorial reforms, their notions of democracy, their political priorities, whether or not party politicization plays a role at the municipal level, and how mayors interact with other actors in the local political arena. This study addresses students, academics and practitioners concerned at different levels with the functioning and reforms of the municipal level of local government.