Pragmatic Municipalism: U.S. Local Government Responses to Fiscal Stress

Warner, Mildred E.; Aldag, Austin M.; Kim, Yun-Ji

doi:10.1111/puar.13196

Cited by 43 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In business organizations, the structure of the market (competition, concentration), technological dynamism, capital and market growth are considered the prominent environmental factors (Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven 1990; Pe'er, Vertinsky, and Keil 2016). In public organizations, a combination of economic, institutional, and demographic factors could affect the selection of strategies (Boyne et al 2005; Warner, Aldag, and Kim 2020). Examples of environmental factors employed in public service organizations are urbanization, community wealth, population growth, government support, deprivation, and external technical support (Boyne et al 2005; Brown 2001; Damanpour and Schneider 2009; Hefetz and Warner 2012).…”

Section: Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Organizational Antecedents of Plural Sourcing of Public Services

Damanpour

Sanchez‐Henriquez

Avellaneda

2021

Public Administration Review

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Organizations use multiple governance modes (make, buy, ally) to produce their services. We consider plural sourcing as a portfolio of governance mode choices that a public service organization selects to provide its services, and investigate environmental and organizational factors that stimulate plural sourcing of public services. While studies of governance mode have usually relied on insights from theories of organizational economics (transaction cost, public choice, agency), we rely on insights from theories of organization management (strategic adaptation, structural contingency, organizational capability) to construct a theoretical framework and develop propositions on the determinants of plural sourcing. Theory is tested by a four‐panel dataset we constructed by merging data from three different sources within 1992–2007. The results using multilevel (hierarchical) logit identify conditions under which organizations choose to externalize, internalize, or co‐produce their services. We discuss the implications of our findings for sourcing of organizational activities and suggest ideas for future research. Plural sourcing is a governance form when an organization combines the three governance choices of make, buy, and ally in producing and delivering its products or services. Environmental and organizational characteristics variably influence government organizations’ choice of three service delivery modes – internalization, externalization, and cooperation. Organizations tend to choose a service delivery governance mode that is prevalent among members of their organizational population. The decision structure of organizations influences governance choice: when top decision‐makers are elected leaders, internalization tends to be preferred; when professional administrators decide, cooperation is favored; and when elected officials and professional administrators decide jointly, cooperation is more likely and internalization is less likely. Choice of public service provision is driven by both economic factors (community wealth, financial resources, and fiscal pressure) and institutional factors (political leadership, trends in provision mode, and non‐fiscal pressure).

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Section: Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Organizational Antecedents of Plural Sourcing of Public Services

Damanpour

Sanchez‐Henriquez

Avellaneda

2021

Public Administration Review

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“…Public-sector unions gained power in exchange for labour peace after the 1960s and today the public sector is more unionised than the private sector in the USA (Hebdon and Kirkpatrick, 2005). However, local government managers pursue privatisation, despite union power (Warner and Hefetz, 2019), often as a response to fiscal stress (Warner et al, 2019). Wisconsin is where the most notable recent case of attacks on public-sector unions has occurred.…”

Section: The Austerity Narrative: From Greedy Bankers To Greedy Bureamentioning

confidence: 99%

Blocking the progressive city: How state pre-emptions undermine labour rights in the USA

2020

Self Cite

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While some US cities and states have taken the lead in protecting labour rights, a counter-trend is found in state pre-emptions – state laws that prohibit cities from making any ordinances or laws related to certain policy areas. What drives these state-level actions that undermine progressive city leadership in the USA? We examine recent state legislations that pre-empt city authority to regulate labour conditions and protect labour rights in the private and public sectors (i.e. minimum wage, paid leave, fair scheduling, right to work, prevailing wage). We use a 50-state regression model to explore what differentiates states with more pre-emption of labour rights and potential sources of pushback. States with low minimum wages, which have never had strong labour protections, pre-empt more. Unions can be sources of pushback – greater unionisation is linked to fewer pre-emptions. However, in Republican-controlled states, more unionisation is linked to more pre-emptions. We use Wisconsin as an example of a state that adopted anti-union policies – despite strong pushback from the public – to explore how strong labour protections can act as a ‘trigger’ for states to undermine labour rights.

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“…Revenue losses from measures to counter the negative effects of the pandemic may put local governments in a difficult situation, particularly in lagging areas with an unfavourable demographic structure (Warner, Aldag and Kim, 2020). This requires the government to elaborate new strategies and scenarios.…”

Section: Policy Responses To the New Coronavirus Pandemic And Its Effmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy responses in Hungary

Kovács¹,

Koós²,

Uzzoli³

et al. 2020

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Relevance. The new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has brought major changes to everyday life and economy in 2020. The impacts of the pandemic are still difficult to measure and interpret. This paper analyses the key socio-economic factors that shaped the course of the pandemic and its regional effects in Hungary. Research objective. The aim of this paper is to provide a secondary data-based analysis of regional disparities in Hungary as well as the implications of the coronavirus pandemic and the related policy responses. Data and methodology. The analysis consisted of the three stages: first, we processed the official epidemiologic data related to the coronavirus pandemic and the territorial patterns of infections as well as the data on the socio-economic impacts of the lockdown (on retail trade, employment, tourism, local governments’ revenues, etc). Second, we collected the data related to the socio-economic effects of the pandemic and revealed the territorial impacts of the crisis. Finally, we evaluated the government’s measures and interventions introduced in the first wave of the pandemic in terms of their efficiency. Results. Our results demonstrate that while the epicentre of the pandemic was the capital city and its surrounding area, the socio-economic impacts of containment measures implemented by the Hungarian government were felt across the whole country. In some areas, the lockdown measures could have been unreasonably tight as no reasonable justification for these restrictions was provided. Therefore, territorial monitoring and development of regionally differentiated policies are the main tasks in preparation for further waves of the pandemic. In our opinion, it is necessary to devise an action plan that would regulate the protocols of prevention and protection in connection with the regional focal points (hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc.) and their immediate surroundings. Conclusions. Although territorial aspects have been taken into account by the government in their efforts to contain the pandemic in Hungary, they have been given significantly less attention in terms of socio-economic support. Thus, as the article makes clear, it is important to devise and implement regionally differentiated policies of containment as well as socio-economic protection measures.

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Pragmatic Municipalism: U.S. Local Government Responses to Fiscal Stress

Cited by 43 publications

References 69 publications

Environmental and Organizational Antecedents of Plural Sourcing of Public Services

Environmental and Organizational Antecedents of Plural Sourcing of Public Services

Blocking the progressive city: How state pre-emptions undermine labour rights in the USA

Regional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy responses in Hungary

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