Government for the Future: Unification, Fragmentation and Regionalism

by Ake E. Andersson (Editor), Bjorn Harsman (Editor), John M. Quigley (Editor)

Overview

The aim of this volume is to encourage comparative explorations of the links between economic regionalism and government behaviour. At present, the relation between government and the economy is in a state of flux. In the old "developed" world, supranational organizations such as the EU and the WTO, are exerting more influence over economic life. Simultaneously, regional governments have emerged to provide public services to local populations. In some European countries, economic decision making is no longer in the power of the nation state, but has been transferred to international and local organizations. The papers in this volume have been contributed by a broad range of policy makers, journalists, and academics. Theories of the public sector are reviewed, restructured and extended, in order to cover the new spatial and dynamic situation. The volume provides historical and institutional perspectives on the public sector, and presents empirical case studies of the public sectors in Sweden, USA, Belgium, Malaysia, England and Singapore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780444827678
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Publication date:	05/14/1997
Series:	Contributions to Economic Analysis , #238
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

The future of government (A.E. Andersson, B. Harsman, J.M. Quigley). Notes on the historical background of European government (A.E. Andersson, B Harsman). The public sector - European theoretical perspectives (A.E. Andersson, B. Harsman). Fiscal federalism and economic development - a theoretical overview (J.M. Quigley). Intergovernmental relations, service provision and the delivery of health care in California (J. Musso, J.M. Quigley). The decentralization of the Belgian government (L.C. Todman). The economic development and fiscal structure under a federal system: Malaysia's experience (I.M.M. Salleh). Recent trends in British local government (L.C. Todman). Regions and the collectivity: Swedish local government and the case of Stockholm (D. Andersson). Singapore's central provident fund system: Implications for saving, public housing, and social protection (M. Asher, P.S. Yong). Index of subjects. Index of authors.

Editorial Reviews

Policy makers, journalists, and academics speculate on the nature of links between economic regionalism and government behavior after the current transition in which economic decisions are increasingly being made by supranational bodies such as the European Union and the World Trade Organization, and responsibility for delivering public services to local populations are being transferred to regional governments. The ten papers, from a series of conferences in Stockholm beginning in 1991, review and restructure theories of the public sector to account for the new spatial and dynamic conditions; provide historical and institutional perspectives; and present empirical case studies in Sweden, the US, Belgium, Malaysia, England, and Singapore. Among other underlying themes that emerge is the recognition of the familiar tension between centralization and decentralization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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