Relationship between Transparency and Efficiency in Municipal Governments: Several Nonparametric Approaches

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine whether transparency influences efficiency of public services delivery and, therefore, the economic performance of municipal governments. First, and taking into account previous research, we select the appropriate inputs and outputs to calculate efficiency using several nonparametric methodologies such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), DEA-boostraping, Free Disposal Hull (FDH), order-m and order-α partial frontiers. Second, the results are related to different variables, with transparency playing a prominent role. In general, transparency influences efficiency, although this sometimes depends on the specific indicator used to measure the latter and on the methodology utilized to calculate it. In particular, our results show that the greater the economic and financial transparency and the more information there is on public service contracts and on urban planning and public works, the more efficient the municipality is, i.e. the more optimally the scarce resources of public administrations are managed. This is relevant for policy makers, as they have to implement policies that make administrations more transparent, which will facilitate the supervision of both users of services and upper governmental authorities (regional/central).

Keywords:

• DEA
• efficiency
• local governments
• public services
• transparency

Notes

1 Cucciniello et al. (2017) review research addressing the topic of government transparency published between 1990 and 2015.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Javier Cifuentes-Faura

Javier Cifuentes-Faura is a researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Murcia, Spain. His research focuses on transparency, public policy, and sustainable education. He has published articles in journals such as Journal of Policy Modeling, Spanish Accounting Review, Local Government Studies or Educational Review.

Bernardino Benito

Bernardino Benito is a professor of public sector accounting at the University of Murcia, Spain. His research interests focus on public administration, accountability and management, public finance, transparency, performance budgeting and cost of public services. He has recently published in, among other publications, Social Policy and Administration, Local Government Studies, Waste Management and Revista de Contabilidad-Spanish Accounting Review.

María-Dolores Guillamón

María-Dolores Guillamón is Associate Professor in Accounting and Finance at the University of Murcia, where she earned her PhD in Business Science. Her research interests focus on public sector management, public sector accounting, budget transparency, indebtedness, electoral cycles, corruption and budget forecast deviations, among others. Her work has been published in relevant international journals, such as the International Public Management Journal, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Public Management Review, Government Information Quarterly, Regional Studies, Cities or Local Government Studies, among others. She has attended to several international conferences in accounting and public sector, as well as she was visiting researcher in Edinburgh University Business School (UK) and Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico).

Úrsula Faura-Martínez

Úrsula Faura-Martínez is a professor of Statistics at the University of Murcia. Her research is mainly focused on the development and application of statistical and mathematical models applied in different scientific fields: economics, education, public sector and health sciences, among others. She has published papers in journals such as Mathematics, Social Indicators Research, Cities, Spanish Accounting Review and Applied Economic Analysis. 2