TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Local government reform between 'exogenous' and 'endogenous' driving forces : Institution building in the city of Paris N2 - The article attempts to analyse institutional reforms in the multi-level system of the French capital city. The key questions are the developments in central-local relations and what factors influenced these changes over the last century. The author seeks to identify 'critical junctures' in institutional development and explore their impact on the relationships between state and municipality on the one hand and between upper and lower tiers of city- government on the other. Looking at institution building in Paris as the dependent variable the article takes a primarily institutionalist approach in identifying the relevant factors which explain local government reform in the capital city ('what shapes institutions?') Y1 - 2006 UR - http://www.metapress.com/link.asp?id=104725 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030500518790 SN - 1471-9037 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Jäkel, Tim T1 - Competing, collaborating or controlling? - Comparing benchmarking in European local government JF - Public money & management : integrating theory and practice in public management N2 - The way that local authorities in OECD countries compare and benchmark their performance varies widely. This paper explains some of the reasons behind the variations. The current local government benchmarking schemes in Europe their governance, coverage and impactlargely depend on the institutional characteristics of the respective administrative and local government systems (in other words, the starting conditions). There are signs that, as a result of the fiscal crisis in Europe and need to cut public sector costs, many countries (but not England and Wales) are leaning towards compulsory large-scale benchmarking projects. KW - Benchmarking KW - cross-country comparison KW - local government KW - performance assessment KW - public sector reform Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2013.799815 SN - 0954-0962 VL - 33 IS - 4 SP - 269 EP - 276 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Grohs, Stephan A1 - Bogumil, Jörg T1 - Reforming public administration in multilevel systems BT - an evaluation of performance changes in european local governments JF - Public administration and the modern state : assesing trends and impact Y1 - 2014 SN - 978-1-137-43748-8 SP - 205 EP - 222 PB - Palgrave CY - New York ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Veit, Sylvia A1 - Bogumil, Jörg T1 - Public Service Systems at Subnational and Local Levels of Government : a British-German-French Comparison T2 - Comparative Civil Service Systems in the 21st Century Y1 - 2015 SN - 978-1-137-32578-5 SP - 162 EP - 184 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Hampshire ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Administrative Reforms in the Intergovernmental Setting BT - Impacts on Multi-Level Governance from a Comparative Perspective JF - Multi-Level Governance: The Missing Linkages (Critical Perspectives on International Public Sector Management) N2 - Purpose This chapter is aimed at contributing to the question of how institutional reforms affect multi-level governance (MLG) capacities and thus the performance of public task fulfillment with a particular focus on the local level of government in England, France, and Germany. Methodology/approach Drawing on concepts of institutional evaluation, we analytically distinguish six dimensions of impact assessment: vertical coordination; horizontal coordination; efficiency/savings; effectiveness/quality; political accountability/democratic control; equity of service standards. Methodologically, we rely on document analysis and expert judgments that could be gleaned from case studies in the three countries and a comprehensive evaluation of the available secondary data in the respective national and local contexts. Findings Institutional reforms in the intergovernmental setting have exerted a significant influence on task fulfillment and the performance of service delivery. Irrespective of whether MLG practice corresponds to type I or type II, task devolution (decentralization/de-concentration) furthers the interlocal variation and makes the equity of service delivery shrink. There is a general tendency of improved horizontal/MLG type I coordination capacities, especially after political decentralization, less in the case of administrative decentralization. However, decentralization often entails considerable additional costs which sometimes overload local governments. Research implications The distinction between multi-purpose territorial organization/MLG I and single-purpose functional organization/MLG II provides a suitable analytical frame for institutional evaluation and impact assessment of reforms in the intergovernmental setting. Furthermore, comparative research into the relationship between MLG and institutional reforms is needed to reveal the explanatory power of intervening factors, such as the local budgetary and staff situation, local policy preferences, and political interests in conjunction with the salience of the transferred tasks. Practical implications The findings provide evidence on the causal relationship between specific types of (vertical) institutional reforms, performance, and task-related characteristics. Policy-makers and government actors may use this information when drafting institutional reform programs and determining the allocation of public tasks in the intergovernmental setting. Social implications In general, the euphoric expectations placed upon decentralization strategies in modern societies cannot straightforwardly be justified. Our findings show that any type of task transfer to lower levels of government exacerbates existing disparities or creates new ones. However, the integration of tasks within multi-functional, politically accountable local governments may help to improve MLG type I coordination in favor of local communities and territorially based societal actors, while the opposite may be said with regard to de-concentration and the strengthening of MLG type II coordination. Originality/value The chapter addresses a missing linkage in the existing MLG literature which has hitherto predominantly been focused on the political decision-making and on the implementation of reforms in the intergovernmental settings of European countries, whereas the impact of such reforms and of their consequences for MLG has remained largely ignored. KW - Public administration KW - decentralization KW - institutional reforms KW - local governments KW - intergovernmental setting Y1 - 2015 SN - 978-1-78441-874-8 (print) SN - 978-1-78441-873-1 (epub) U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/S2045-794420150000004008 SN - 2045-7944 SN - 2045-7952 VL - 4 SP - 183 EP - 215 PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited CY - Bingley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Wayenberg, Ellen T1 - Institutional impact assessment in multi-level systems: conceptualizing decentralization effects from a comparative perspective JF - International review of administrative sciences : an international journal of comparative public administration N2 - Comparative literature on institutional reforms in multi-level systems proceeds from a global trend towards the decentralization of state functions. However, there is only scarce knowledge about the impact that decentralization has had, in particular, upon the sub-central governments involved. How does it affect regional and local governments? Do these reforms also have unintended outcomes on the sub-central level and how can this be explained? This article aims to develop a conceptual framework to assess the impacts of decentralization on the sub-central level from a comparative and policy-oriented perspective. This framework is intended to outline the major patterns and models of decentralization and the theoretical assumptions regarding de-/re-centralization impacts, as well as pertinent cross-country approaches meant to evaluate and compare institutional reforms. It will also serve as an analytical guideline and a structural basis for all the country-related articles in this Special Issue. Points for practitioners Decentralization reforms are approved as having a key role to play in the attainment of ‘good governance’. Yet, there is also the enticement on the part of state governments to offload an ever-increasing amount of responsibilities to, and overtask, local levels of government, which can lead to increasing performance disparities within local sub-state jurisdictions. Against this background, the article provides a conceptual framework to assess reform impacts from a comparative perspective. The analytical framework can be used by practitioners to support their decisions about new decentralization strategies or necessary adjustments regarding ongoing reform measures. KW - administrative reform KW - comparison KW - coordination KW - effectiveness KW - efficiency KW - impact assessment KW - institutional reform KW - local government Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852315583194 SN - 0020-8523 SN - 1461-7226 VL - 82 IS - 2 SP - 233 EP - 272 PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Reiter, Renate T1 - Decentralization of the French welfare state: from 'big bang' to 'muddling through' JF - International Review of Administrative Sciences N2 - This article analyses the decentralization of the French welfare state focusing on the transfer of the Revenu minimum d’insertion (RMI) welfare benefit to the departments in 2003 and 2004. We map and explain the effects of the reform on the system and performance of the subnational provision of welfare tasks. To evaluate the impact of decentralization on the RMI-related action of the departments, we carry out a qualitative document analysis and use data from two case studies. The RMI decentralization offers an exemplary insight into the incremental implementation of French decentralization. We find many unintended effects in terms of the performance and outcome of the subnational welfare provision. This is traced back to the combining of institutional and policy reforms and the inadequate translation of high political expectations into an inadequate action programme both resulting in excessive demands on the local actors. Points for practitioners The decentralization of public tasks is associated with high expectations in terms of the effects on the performance of public services and public governance on the subnational levels. For an in-depth measure the range of administrative performance and political systems effects should be taken into account. We propose a five-dimensional scheme allowing for the determination of decentralization effects on the resource input to and the operative output of subnational public services, on the horizontal coordination between subnational task holders and the affected non-public stakeholders, on the vertical intergovernmental coordination, and on the democratic accountability of subnational authorities. KW - decentralization KW - France KW - incremental reform KW - welfare state Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/0.1177/0020852315583194 SN - 0020-8523 SN - 1461-7226 VL - 82 IS - 2 SP - 255 EP - 272 PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Wang, Yukai ED - Färber, Gisela T1 - Local Government in Germany BT - Key Features and Current Reforms T2 - Comparative Studies on Vertical Administration Reforms in China and Germany (Speyerer Forschungsberichte ; 285) KW - China KW - Deutschland KW - Verwaltungsreform KW - China KW - Germany KW - administrative reform Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-941738-23-2 SP - 51 EP - 67 PB - Deutsches Forschungsinstitut für öffentliche Verwaltung CY - Speyer ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Bouckaert, Geert T1 - Conclusion : Tensions, Challenges, and Future "Flags" of Local Public Sector Reforms and Comparative T2 - Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis : national trajectories and international comparisons Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-137-52547-5 SP - 347 EP - 354 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - London ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Bouckaert, Geert ED - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Bouckaert, Geert T1 - Introduction : Comparing Local Public Sector Reforms BT - Institutional Polices in Context T3 - Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis : national trajectories and international comparisons Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-137-52547-5 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - London ET - 1 ER -