New Approach to Analysis Public Preferences for Local Financial Reforms: Greater Tel-Aviv Metropolitan Area as a Case Study

Abstract

Central municipalities (CM) provide services and facilities to their residents and businesses. However, daily commuters also use some of these services, whilst generally avoiding participation in their upkeep as they pay their local taxes elsewhere. This situation has, since the 1980s, led many Western countries to look for new financial sources and to initiate several local financing reforms. Using a survey among residents in the Greater Tel-Aviv Metropolitan Area (GTAMA), we investigated the feasibility of replacing the current local financial system with alternatives based on various cost-sharing schemes among all CM service users. The results were analyzed using 'Cusp Catastrophe' approach. They indicated a generally low level of support for financial reforms, with residential location and academic education being the only significant variables determining support, neutrality of rejection attitudes. Unexpectedly, the strongest support for the current allocation scheme was indicated in the GTAMA core (i.e., the city of Tel-Aviv), which residents could benefit most from changes in the local financial system. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p595