No abstract

In the last two decades, local governments have increasingly engaged in energy conservation and sustainability programs and policy. However, the benefits of these policies (i.e., cleaner air, less congestion, etc.) are often perceived as dispersed and costly. As such, localities consider collaborating with one another. However, decisions to collaborate pose considerable risks that can be magnified or mitigated by the mechanisms through which collaboration occurs. We investigate decisions to engage in formal and informal collaboration in the area of energy efficiency and conservation as a response to collaboration risks.

No abstract

We advance and test a theory of grant compliance in single-shot games by combining the insights on grant management from Pressman and Wildavsky's classic work with the role that goal congruence and local political institutions play in the intergovernmental grant process. One-time grants, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, require unique grant management techniques on the part of the federal government and local political institutions to foster credible commitments between federal and local authorities. Based on administrative records from the U.S. Department of Energy and a national survey of local government recipients of DOE grants, we predict delay in expending grant funds given that the goal of the federal government is to rapidly stimulate the economy and produce gains in energy efficiency. We employ survival modeling to estimate the time from receipt of a stimulus grant until the funds are expended. We find compelling evidence that effective grant management and local government institutions and policies are salient for limiting delays.

Purpose There is a robust and growing literature on the adoption of sustainability policies in US local governments. Scholars have examined locality involvement in climate protection networks, sustainability policy adoption and the allocation of resources for sustainability-oriented responsibilities. While a significant body of literature, the substantive meaningfulness of the sustainability policies being investigated has varied greatly. Design/methodology/approach The authors assert that governments that engage in green procurement activities are truly putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainability policy. They ask the question of whether the traditional determinants of sustainability policy adoption influence the adoption of permissive and mandated green procurement policies in local governments. Findings In particular, scholars have not examined one of the most significant ways that local governments have of promoting environmentally responsible behaviors and mitigating climate change: public procurement.