This book examines the issues and consequences of a declining property tax base with respect to local government autonomy. Some of the nation's leading scholars provide their views on how the property tax effects intergovernmental relations, local autonomy, and education finance. --from publisher description

This book offers an overview of the legal, political, and broad intergovernmental environment in which relations between local and state units of government take place, the historical roots of the conflict among them, and an analysis of contemporary problems concerning local authority, local revenues, state interventions and takeovers, and the restructuring of local governments. The author pays special attention to local governmental autonomy and the goals and activities of local officials as they seek to secure resources, fend off regulations and interventions, and fight for survival as independent units. He looks at the intergovernmental struggle from the bottom up, but in the process examines a variety of political activities at the state level and the development and effects of several state policies. Berman finds considerable reason to be concerned about the viability and future of meaningful local government.

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.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 70, Obafemi Awolowo University, course: Political Science, language: English, abstract: This term paper deals with the following questions: To what extent does Local Government autonomy influence service delivery in Nigeria? Do Local Government constitutional powers and functions enable execution of service delivery in Nigeria? Does Local Government autonomy has any impact on service delivery at the grassroots in Nigeria? It is a piece that revolves around Local Government. It aims at examining Local Government against the backdrop of its autonomy and the consequences on service delivery in Nigeria. Do access the groundbreaking analysis so as to be abreast with contemporary research on Local Government in Nigeria. The overall aim of this study is to critically examine the nexus between Local Government autonomy and effective social service delivery. In the light of this, the study seeks to examine the degree of Local Government autonomy on service delivery in Nigeria and to appraise constitutional powers and functions of Local Government as regards service delivery. It also examines the impact of Local Government autonomy on service delivery in Nigeria. Based on the aforementioned research questions, the following research assumptions are formulated for this study: Local Governments ineffectiveness and inefficiency on service delivery are due to their lack of autonomy. Constitutional powers and functions of the Local Government do not enhance service delivery at the grassroots. Local Government autonomy has no impact on service delivery in Nigeria.

This book considers local autonomy, measured as a multidimensional concept, from a cross-country comparative perspective, and examines how variations can be explained and what their consequences are. It fills a gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive study of the different components of local autonomy across a large number of countries, over time. It offers a theoretically saturated concept to measure local autonomy and applies it to 39 countries, including all 28 EU member states together with Albania, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland Turkey and Ukraine, over a period of 25 years (1990-2014).

This book compares local self-government in Europe. It examines local institutional structures, autonomy, and capacities in six selected countries - France, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, and the United Kingdom - each of which represents a typical model of European local government. Within Europe, an overall trend towards more local government capacities and autonomy can be identified, but there are also some counter tendencies to this trend and major differences regarding local politico-administrative settings, functional responsibilities, and resources. The book demonstrates that a certain degree of local financial autonomy and fiscal discretion is necessary for effective service provision. Furthermore, a robust local organization, viable territorial structures, a professional public service, strong local leadership, and well-functioning tools of democratic participation are key aspects for local governments to effectively fulfill their tasks and ensure political accountability. The book will appeal to students and scholars of Public Administration and Public Management, as well as practitioners and policy-makers at different levels of government, in public enterprises, and in NGOs.