The local vantage: how views of local government finance vary across councils

Smith, Neil; Choo, Mark; Glover, Jennifer; Goldsworthy, Julia; Jones, Nick; Lucas, Lauren Sudeall; Phillips, David

doi:10.1920/re.ifs.2017.0131

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The academic and policy inquiry has focused on England (Amin-Smith and Phillips, 2017; Greenhalgh et al., 2016; Muldoon-Smith and Greenhalgh, 2015), as local retention was adopted in 2013, thus initiating research related to the effects on local government finance. The approach in England, part of the far-reaching local financing agenda, started in 2012–13, with a 50% NDR retention scheme alongside tariffs or top-ups for councils’ budgets, and has developed since, with several 100% retention pilots already in operation (Amin-Smith et al., 2017). The retention in effect breaks the link between business rates and the RSG.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the current business rates scheme in Wales and the effects of a potential local retention

Kapitsinis

2019

Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit

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The shape of local government finance in the United Kingdom is changing. The UK Government has been promoting fiscal devolution in the context of austerity following the 2007 global economic crisis. Consequently, local government finance is becoming an increasingly important issue. According to the current regulation, the revenues from business rates, a local tax on non-domestic properties, are pooled to the Welsh Government and then redistributed to the councils, based on their adult population. In the context of fiscal devolution, and following England and Scotland, which adopted retention of business rates income, the discussion for the local retention of business rates revenues in Wales is topical. This paper looks at the organisation of the current business rates system in Wales and the impacts of a potential local retention. It provides a rigorous review of the current state of business rates scheme and the features of the councils according to the net difference between business rates, settlements and contributions. The findings suggest that the current system financially backs the economically disadvantaged Welsh councils, whereas a local retention of business rates income would possibly polarise the uneven allocation of local funding.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the current business rates scheme in Wales and the effects of a potential local retention

Kapitsinis

2019

Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit

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“…Kaufman's (2015a) model acknowledges the external environmental influences on EV (Figure 3). Politics and economics are significant to EV at the macro-level (Bashshur & Oc, 2015;Pohler & Luchak 2014b) in a context with year-on-year budget reductions (Amin-Smith et al, 2017). Environmental factors, such as labour markets and the political economy, are pertinent to local government in an era of austerity.…”

Section: Paradigmatic Assumptions Of Evmentioning

confidence: 99%

The employee voice of older local government workers: a critical perspective

Goodwin¹

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This study explores how environmental, organizational and individual factors combine to influence the employee voice of older local government workers in five councils in the North of England. It is built on a multiphase qualitative research design, using 36 semi-structured interviews, an observation and a workshop. Guided by critical theory and a cross-paradigmatic approach, the research draws on the perspectives of a stratified sample of participants to consider whether older workers have a consistently fair and equitable employee voice. Participants include leaders, managers, trade unionists and older workers. The findings are presented according to five key themes established using template analysis, relating firstly to the local government context; secondly human resource management practice; thirdly local government employee voice; fourthly the older worker's perception of voice and fifthly the significance of age to employee voice.The research finds that older workers are a heterogeneous group, who value direct forms of employee voice as a source of recognition and identity. Factors including role, disability and employment contract type, intersect to disadvantage certain employees, so supporting the legitimacy of the collective voice of the trade unions. Organizational factors restricting employee voice originate in new public management practices, such as the outsourcing that disrupts voice channels, and human resource management that has an increasingly managerial and unitarist outlook. A hierarchy of managerial hegemonies, with central government at the pinnacle and local government below, emphasise performance enhancing employee voice over social justice mechanisms.Organizational factors expediting employee voice in the councils are the traditionally pluralist employment relations, public sector ethos and an embedded respect for equality and diversity.The research concludes that as a component of an open system, external environmental factors are most significant to the employee voice of older workers. These include austerity, societal ageism, an incoherent central government strategy for older workers, weak equality legislation and unfavourable pension regulations.

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A Tale of Two Economies: Diachronic Comparative Analysis of Diverging Paths of Growth and Inequality in the United States and the United Kingdom

Karountzos,

Giannakopoulos,

Sakas

et al. 2024

Economies

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This study investigates the correlation between the Gini index and gross domestic product (GDP) in two of the world’s largest capitalist economies: the United States and the United Kingdom. Utilizing econometric methods, including stationarity tests and linear regression, this research work aims to elucidate the relationship between economic inequality and economic growth. The results for the United States reveal a significant positive correlation between GDP and the Gini index, suggesting that economic growth is associated with rising income inequality. In contrast, the United Kingdom shows a much weaker relationship, indicating that other factors, such as redistributive policies and social welfare programs, may mitigate the impact of economic growth on income inequality. These findings highlight the importance of national policies and institutional frameworks in shaping economic outcomes and can be used in policy making. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of the correlation between GDP and the Gini index in two major capitalist economies, offering fresh empirical insights.

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The local vantage: how views of local government finance vary across councils

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

A review of the current business rates scheme in Wales and the effects of a potential local retention

A review of the current business rates scheme in Wales and the effects of a potential local retention

The employee voice of older local government workers: a critical perspective

A Tale of Two Economies: Diachronic Comparative Analysis of Diverging Paths of Growth and Inequality in the United States and the United Kingdom

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