Direct administration of failing local authorities: democratic deficit or effective bureaucracy?

Abstract

The recent economic slowdown has revealed major weaknesses in existing fiscal arrangements in local authorities, resulting in the introduction of stronger enforcement mechanisms in a number of OECD countries. This article describes an extreme intervention approach—the neutralization of the elected local leadership and its replacement with a convened committee (CC), in Israeli local authorities. The performance of local authorities headed by CCs was significantly improved with only a temporary loss of democracy. The Israeli approach could be an option for countries dealing with failing local administrations.

Keywords:

• Democratic deficit
• direct administration
• fiscal discipline
• local government
• organizational failure

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Division of Local Government Administration and the Mifamin Unit at the Ministry of the Interior of Israel which funded this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Itai Beeri

Itai Beeri is a lecturer and the Head of the MPA Programme of Local Government Administration & Policy at the Division of Public Administration & Policy, School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.