Abstract
Local infrastructure development is a crucial goal for sustainable development, for which local governments take charge of developmental policies. This implies that the capacity of the local government determines the performance of the developmental policies—local infrastructure development. In this sense, this study investigated the impact of local government capacity, measured via the quantity and the quality of human and financial resource factors, on its performance. Moreover, the study examined which of the multidimensional government capacity components affect performance, controlling a competition effect or spillover effect among localities. The study analyzed panel data containing six years (2013–2018) of information on 152 local bodies in Korea, employing the spatial autoregressive model, which is useful for controlling geographical spatial effects. The data show that, unlike the quality factors, the quantity of government capacity does not have a significant effect on its performance. Furthermore, the data also indicated that there are competition effects in relation to the performance of local development. The results imply that local governments need to improve the quality of managerial government capacity in order to increase their sustainable development performance.
Highlights
Local governments are in charge of developmental policies due to the fact that local developments must be designed and implemented according to their own specific characteristics [1]
This study analyzed the link between government capacity (GC) and local development performance, considering the competition effect and other variables’ influences
Based on the previous studies [7,10,39,41] and theoretical backgrounds regarding the relation between GC and performance, I hypothesized that more capable local governments would achieve a greater performance
Summary
Many scholars in the field of public policy have examined the concept of GC. consensus has not been reached on how to define or measure it. Honadle [4] defined capacity as “the ability to anticipate and influence change; make informed, intelligent decisions about policy; develop programs to implement policy; attract and absorb resources; manage resources; and evaluate current activities to guide future actions.”. Ingraham and Donahue [12] stated that management capacity indicates “government’s intrinsic ability to marshal, develop, direct, and control its human, physical, and information capital to support the discharge of its policy directions” Donahue, Selden and Ingraham [3] described management capacity as a “government’s ability to develop, direct, and control its resources to support the discharge of its policy and program responsibilities” “the ability to anticipate and influence change; make informed, intelligent decisions about policy; develop programs to implement policy; attract and absorb resources; manage resources; and evaluate current activities to guide future actions.”.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
