Governance in Transition
Ján Bucek, Andrew Ryder (Editors)
Since the 1980s, there has been a global trend to give more power to local governments. Even in Korea and the United Kingdom, the most centralised countries in the OECD, local government powers have increased, with substantial economic benefits. Within the European Union, the principle of subsidiarity has enshrined the idea of devolution. New member states, particularly in central and eastern Europe, have significantly created new and self-sufficient local and regional governments. However, this process has been complicated. Devolution is not a panacea in its own right, and need not lead to economic growth. While it can encourage savings through collaboration, it can also lead to confused lines of authority and can complicate policy formation and implantation. Devolution can strain local budgets, forcing local governments to rely on their own sources of finance, rather than central government transfers. Suburbanisation, rural depopulation, the growth of some regions, and the decline of others have raised new problems, particularly related to inter-governmental cooperation among local governments and different levels of government. In many cases, an increased number of governments has increased administrative costs. This book looks at experience in government restructuring and devolution from a variety of national and international perspectives, both within the European Union and elsewhere, focusing on lessons learned and ways forward.
Contents
Introduction Andrew Ryder Pages 1-15
Governance, Intergovernmental Relations, and Development
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Metropolitan Integration in Poland - Tomasz Kaczmarek, Andrew Ryder - Pages 19-39
The Sydney Metropolitan Strategy: Implementation Challenges - Patrick Fensham - Pages 41-64
Governmental Devolution as a Motor of Local Development - Andrew Ryder - Pages 65-89
Theories of Metropolitan Government and the Post-socialist Experience: The Case of Poznan Metropolitan Area - Lukasz Mikula - Pages 91-107
Regional Elites, Networks and the Beauty of Regionalism in Hungary - Ilona Pálné Kovács - Pages 109-131
Rural Governance in the New EU Member States: The Experience of the Polish LEADER+ Pilot Programme (2004–2008) - Marek Furmankiewicz, Wojciech Kniec, Jane Atterton - Pages 133-153
Crossborder and International Co-operation in Development
Strategic Cooperation Between Regions: Building and Utilising Transnational Relations - David Rylander, Pontus Tallberg - Pages 157-173
Changing Patterns of City-Hinterland Relations in Central and East European Borderlands: Szczecin on the Edge of Poland and Germany - Péter Balogh - Pages 175-194
Transformation Processes in the Former Black Triangle - Rick Glöckner, Isolde Roch - Pages 195-219
The Influence of Regional Identities on Spatial Development: A Challenge for Regional Governance Processes in Cross-Border Regions - Stefan Obkircher - Pages 221-240
Administrative Systems, Services Delivery and Local Finance
The Empowerment of Local Democracy and Decentralisation of Service Delivery in Local Government Reform: Evidence from Portugal - Carlos Nunes Silva - Pages 243-255
Municipal Bonds in Hungary: Constraints and Challenges - Gábor Kovács - Pages 257-274
Municipal Property During the Post-socialist Transition in Slovakia - Ján Bucek - Pages 275-307
Governing the Transformation of the Built Environment in Post-socialist Bratislava - Pavel Šuška - Pages 309-322
Springer Geography, Hardback, english, 341 pages
