Abstract
Kalb A. What determines local governments' cost-efficiency? The case of road maintenance, Regional Studies. This paper investigates the determinants of local governments' cost-efficiency in road maintenance for a panel of German counties using a broad variety of estimation approaches. More specifically, efficiency indices were calculated using non-parametric and parametric reference technologies, and were examined by estimating and comparing four different regression models. The results show that the disposable income of the counties' citizens, intergovernmental grants and the municipalities' payments to the counties influence efficiency negatively. Concerning political variables the results show weak evidence that efficiency decreases with an increasing share of seats of left-wing parties in the county council.
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 call
