Cost-utility analysis in municipalities: The case of Odunpazarı and Tepebası municipalities in the city of Eskisehir

Abstract

Within municipalities, the fulfillment of the demands and requests of the public is possible through the provision of services compatible with the public's expectations and needs. Social utility is measured by the degree that municipal services positively correlate with public expectations, and maximum social utility is identified through cost utility ratios. This study focuses on cost utility analysis for the municipalities in the city of Eskisehir, and it offers recommendations regarding which municipality should be given priority in the distribution of scarce resources in a way to best meet people's expectations. The characteristics of the two municipalities were determined by Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) to draw conclusions about the level of satisfaction with a given municipality's provision of services. The utility indicators from the GRA were then related to the costs to discover the cost-utility results. The relevant findings reveal that the municipality of Odunpazarı produced greater utility than the municipality of Tepebası, although the former failed to generate utility in cost. On the other hand, the municipality of Tepebası attained the greatest utility in cost. Mass transportation appears to be the service that provides the highest levels of satisfaction in both municipalities, whereas road construction and asphalt services provide the least satisfaction, according to the public.