Signy Irene Vabo

Conceptualizing the Tools of Government in Urban Network Governance

The alleged increase in new governance arrangements is often understood as a challenge, since public leaders are considered to be less able to influence and govern when government is only one out of several stakeholders. Some scholars argue that steering in such settings is fundamentally different from steering in a hierarchical context. This article aims to assess how a classic and generic analytical framework to tools of government, the NATO-scheme developed by Christopher Hood, fits in a setting where local governments attempt to influence networks. Based on in-depth studies of nine urban networks in Norway, we have assessed the toolbox and the use of different tools. The article demonstrates that the suggested generic framework makes sense in a network context. Thus, to bridge the classic literature on policy instruments and the growing discourse on meta-governance would probably be beneficial.

Universalism and the local organisation of elderly care

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of territorial equality as an indicator of universalism in locally provided care services for older people. The research question explored is how the local organisation of care services impacts on and either strengthens or weakens local universalism.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on case studies in six municipalities in Finland, Norway and Sweden.Findings – The paper shows that three kinds of organisational characteristics are of relevance for local universalism: the explicitness in assignment criteria, the organisational strength of service guarantees and the degree of co‐payments. Local universalism is highly dependent on the specific organisational arrangements at the local level, but in interplay with national level regulations. Of the three investigated kinds of organisational conditions, the local impact is largest on access criteria and the organisational strength of service guarantees.Originality/value – Although, t...

What Causes Municipal Amalgamation Reform? Rational Explanations Meet Western European Experiences, 2004–13

The chapter develops a theoretical model consisting of factors that exert pressure to undertake amalgamation reforms (fiscal stress, urbanization, decentralization, reform history), and factors that mediate the causal relationship between pressure to reform and decisions to implement amalgamation reform (e.g., political system characteristics). The model’s predictive power is tested using data on seventeen Western European countries between 2004 and 2013. During this period seven of the countries undertook reforms and ten did not. Based on mixed results of this model test, the authors discuss potential measurement problems, model construction (whether relevant variables are included), and potential weaknesses with the definition of the dependent variable—national amalgamation reform. Finally, suggestions are offered for future research into the causes of amalgamation reforms.

Performance audit as a contributor to change and improvement in public administration

The last 30 years of the New Public Management ‘regime’ in many western countries have resulted in increased use of audit and other control mechanisms. These mechanisms are supposed to contribute both to accountability and improvement. In this article, theories of evaluation and organizational learning are used to understand how the dynamics of control affect change processes. We analyse responses to performance audit reports carried out by the country’s Supreme Audit Institution – an important control institution in Norway, as in most other countries. The findings are primarily based on survey data from 353 Norwegian civil servants. The auditees reported that they were mostly positive towards the reports and used them to make improvements in their control systems; however, civil servants also perceived the reports to be unbalanced. The results indicate that the performance audits’ contributions to improvements are less clear than they appear to be at first glance, and that personal and political factors may affect civil servants’ responses.

Territorial upscaling of local governments: a variable-oriented approach to explaining variance among Western European countries

ABSTRACT Local government systems change at varying speeds. While some countries have dramatically reduced the number of local governments during a short period of time, other countries have seen only incremental change or relative inertia. A number of explanations for structural change have been put forward in the comparative local government literature, but these explanations have to a small extent been tested empirically. This article uses statistical indicators to analyse changes in the local government systems in 17 Western European countries between 2004 and 2014. Some often-cited explanations for what drives structural change receive little support. Still, the article demonstrates that changes tend to occur in situations marked by different combinations of decentralisation, urbanisation, fiscal stress and a recent history of territorial upscaling.

Guest editorial: Shifts in Nordic welfare governance: introduction and outlook

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers included in this special issue and discuss the theme – shifts in Nordic welfare governance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses the major themes and sets out the structure of the special issue. Findings – The picture emerging is mixed and there is evidence for strong decentralisation where policy instruments allow for considerable local room to manoeuvre. Organisational arrangements for governance are also highly localised, but (over time) oscillate between decentralisation and centralisation. As for the consequences for universalism, the contributions point to three contrasting scenarios. The first, relatively optimistic assessment suggests that while decentralisation challenges territorial equality, in some Nordic countries there seems to be inbuilt self‐correcting mechanisms pulling in the opposite direction. The second scenario is more critical and here it is argued that shifts in welfare governance, such as decentralisation and the introduction of elements of self and market governance, challenge universalism; universalism has become highly contingent on local circumstances and the practice of welfare delivery mixes different types of justice. The final scenario is rather pessimistic about the prospects of universalism and suggests that the shifts in welfare governance challenge universalism on all counts and lead to a wide range of new inequalities among citizens. This echoes the analysis of non‐Nordic countries in Europe where the scope for universalism remains limited. Originality/value – The contribution of this special issue is twofold. First, using elderly care as a case study, the special issue analyses the complexity of welfare governance by looking at changes in both the vertical and the horizontal dimensions of governing. Second, focusing on Nordic countries, it assesses the substantive implications of shifts in welfare governance, notably in terms of universalism.

Evaluating performance in urban development networks – the Nordic context

This article examines the performance of three urban development networks typical of the Nordic countries. While such networks generally are believed to produce effective solutions to the complex problems they are established to solve, not all networks perform well. In the three illustrative cases discussed in the article the stakeholders themselves, despite obvious lack of immediate results, seem to evaluate the networks in rather positive terms. Positioned in the literature on evaluation and network performance we discuss whether there are instrumental reasons to believe in this self-evaluation. This article discusses four criteria: goal attainment, well-informed and joint understanding, participation/representativeness and favourable conditions for future collaboration.

Extensive Decentralisation - but in the Shadow of Hierarchy

The Nordic countries are classified as Social Democratic welfare states. They are unitary states with strong local government capacities. In the Nordic model the two spheres of government are integrated and responsibilities are divided between different levels of government in flexible ways. The system is decentralised with local government providing most of the welfare services, but with significant regulation from the national governmental level. Norway has 428 municipalities. Each municipality has an average of 11,000 inhabitants, but the majority is small with more than half of them having fewer than 5000 inhabitants. There have been several initiatives to merge municipalities into larger entities, but few of them have succeeded. Smaller municipalities prefer instead to base services provision by the use of inter-municipal cooperation.