Decentralization policy schemes (DPSs) in the public sector have been implemented in different ways by Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Both approaches have led to a transfer of competencies from state administration to self-government with the aim of improving the efficiency of the delivery of services. This paper presents a comparative scale efficiency analysis of the units performing services in the building order sector. The analysis is based on two unique regional datasets from two countries, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The DPS implemented in Slovakia is based on the principle of voluntary cooperation of municipalities. In the case of the Czech building sector, the competencies have been transferred to the newly created municipalities with delegated or extended competencies. This study aims to contribute to the research on efficiency in public administration. We focused on the relationship between two types of DPSs, and units’ scale efficiency. We also tried to determine whether a specific unit scale size could be identified as the most efficient. We employed a two-stage metafrontier approach based on procedures for evaluating program and managerial efficiency. The results show that different DPs have not led to statistically significant differences in performance, and it is not possible to identify the most efficient building office scale size.

Currently, green production is becoming more important than ever before. Reasons are obvious without being specifi cally mentioned. Policy makers support various tools to encourage individuals and entities of using green products. Green public procurement (GPP) is a tool intended to support the achievement of environmental goals through the green purchasing. However, there is still scope for better use of GPP. What do policy makers need to know to propose an effi cient intervention to stimulate the use of green products? An analysis of individual attitudes towards green products is particularly interesting in designing effective public interventions. The conclusions drawn from the literature review lead me to formulate the following research questions. What attitudes have Europeans towards green products? Which characteristics of individual infl uence his positive attitudes towards green products? I used the Open Data Barometer from 2012 and ordered logit models to identify statistically signifi cant characteristics of individuals, which they use to determine their attitudes towards green products. Based on the results, I estimate who has a higher odds of having a positive attitude towards green products and therefore is predisposed to use them. Gender seems to be statistically signifi cant predictor of more positive attitudes towards green products. Women have higher odds to have more positive attitudes comparing to men. Moreover, individual attitudes towards green products are determined by age, municipality size and working aspects. The results may be considered when making tailor-made interventions to support GPP and environmentally friendly production. This can be of interest to policy makers at regional or local level.

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