The Effects of Community Quality of Life on Local Policy Decisions

Abstract

Extensive scholarly debate still exists on the determinants of local policy decisions. Although many studies have explained how political, economic, institutional, and demographic factors influence local policy decisions, they have rarely applied the concept of QoL in existing public administration and policy literature. To examine the impact of QoL on local policy decisions, this study tests the relationships between QoL and local budgetary decisions, based on Peterson’s (1981) scheme that divides policy into three areas: developmental, allocational, and redistributive. Using local government expenditures and citizen surveys data from 167 municipalities in the U.S., this study finds that community QoL is a critical factor in all of the three policy spending areas. It also confirms that the impact of QoL on local spending is moderated differently across the three areas by city income levels. The findings may help local government scholars and practitioners to better understand complex and dynamic citizen needs, which in turn may result in more responsive policy decisions.