TY  - CHAP
A1  - Kuhlmann, Sabine
A1  - Marienfeldt, Justine
ED  - Teles, Filipe
T1  - Comparing local government systems and reforms in Europe
BT  - from new public management to digital era governance?
T2  - Handbook on local and regional governance
N2  - The study of subnational and local government systems and reforms has become an increasingly salient topic in comparative public administration. In many European countries, policy implementation, the execution of public tasks and the delivery of services to citizens are largely carried out by local governments, which, at the same time, have been subjected to multiple reforms and sometimes comprehensive institutional re-organizations. This chapter discusses analytical key concepts and outcomes of the comparative study of local governments and local government reforms. It outlines frameworks and analytical tools to capture the variety of institutional settings and developments at the local level of government. It provides an introduction into crucial comparative dimensions, such as functional, territorial and political profiles of local governments, and analyses current reform approaches and outcomes based on recent empirical findings. Finally, the chapter addresses salient issues to be taken up in future comparative studies about local government.
KW  - comparative public administration
KW  - local government systems
KW  - digitalization
KW  - territorial reforms
KW  - decentralization
KW  - (post) new public management
Y1  - 2023
SN  - 978-1-80037-119-4
SN  - 978-1-80037-120-0
U6  - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371200.00033
SP  - 313
EP  - 329
PB  - Edward Elgar Publishing
CY  - Cheltenham, UK
ER  -