Are we there yet? Understanding the implementation of re-municipalization decisions and their duration

ABSTRACT

Studies of the drivers of the decision to re-municipalize have increased recently, but research on its implementation is very scarce. We analyse how service characteristics and institutional factors influence the implementation of re-municipalization. For that purpose, we use an extensive database on re-municipalization decisions, and analyse the available data by means of logistic and negative binomial regressions. Strong network characteristics are associated with lower probabilities of implementation and longer implementation processes. Re-municipalization of personal services is more likely to be fully implemented and is finalized faster. Interestingly, after the great recession the probability of implementing reforms increased.

KEYWORDS:

• Re-Municipalization
• privatization
• implementation policy
• policy analysis
• quantitative analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The countries included in the database employed are the following: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Central African Republic, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaisya, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

2. The survey is highly representative of Europe, North America and South America, but countries are Africa and Asia are less represented. Because of this we need to be cautious about generalization of findings to these last regions, and also call for future research that could further validate the results.

3. Other local government services include a miscellaneous set of activities such as parking, sports, cleaning, security, bike rental, maintenance of public space, housing, funeral services, parks and gardens, municipal crane, sidewalk, contact centres, police station, cinema, school catering, IT services, support services, and human resources.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya [2017 SGR644]; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [PID2019-104319RB-I00].

Notes on contributors

Daniel Albalate

Daniel Albalate Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona (Department of Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics, Public Policy Section). He holds an MA University College London 2007; and PhD Universitat de Barcelona 2008. His main research fields are public sector reform, analysis and evaluation of public policies and economics of transportation. Has published 40 articles in JCR journals, among leading journals in these fields (Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Governance, Public Administration Review, International Public Management Journal and Journal of Economic Policy Reform; Transport Policy; Transportation Research Parts A and E, Journal of Transport Geography and Regional Studies, among others). He received the Mosher Award to the best article of the year presented by the American Society for Public administration in 2009. Website: www.danielalbalate.cat

Germà Bel

Germà Bel Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Barcelona (Department of Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics, Public Policy Section). He is director of the Pasqual Maragall Chair in Economics and Territory, and of the Observatory for Analysis and Evaluation of Public Policies at UB. He has taught as a visiting lecturer at Cornell University and Princeton University, and has been a visiting researcher at Harvard, Paris I-Sorbonne, EUI-Florence, KU Leuven and State University of Saint Petersburg. His main areas of research are public sector reform, local government, privatization, regulation, and infrastructure and transport. On these subjects he has published several academic books and more than one hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Governance, Public Administration Review, Public Administration, Economic History Review, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Public Choice, Energy Economics, Journal of Regulatory Economics, Transport Policy, Energy Policy, Transportation Research-A, -D, and -E, Urban Affairs Review, Journal of Transport Geography, and Journal of Economic Geography, among others. Editor of Local Government Studies. More information at http://www.ub.ed/oap/germa-bel

Eoin Reeves

Eoin Reeves Professor Eoin Reeves is the Head of the Department of Economics and Director of the Privatisation and PPP Research Group at the University of Limerick, Ireland. His research interests lie primarily in the economics of infrastructure and the public-private mix in public service delivery. This includes issues such as privatisation, liberalisation, and different forms of private sector participation in the delivery of infrastructure and public services such as PPPs. He has published one book (Palgrave-Macmillan) and over 50 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters in journals such as: Public Administration, Public Management Review, Policy Studies, Applied Economics, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Economics and Industrial Democracy. He currently serves as co-editor of the Annals of Public and Co-operative Economics. More information at https://www.ul.ie/research/assoc-prof-eoin-reeves