County Administration Research Articles

Diversity and health strategies for newly resettled refugees

PurposeIn general, newly resettled refugees have poorer physical and mental health than native-born Swedes. This indicates that the society must make special efforts to enable refugees to attain health that is on a par with the rest of the population. The challenges rest primarily with employees in the public sector. But what resources do professionals need to meet the refugees’ health needs? This paper is about the need to develop strategies for professionals working with diversity and health, with a focus on the establishment of newly resettled refugees in Sweden. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify the needs and obstacles in working with diversity and health for the newly resettled.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on focus group interviews with 40 professionals working in three large municipalities and one County Administrative Board, all of whom work with challenges related to migration and health on a daily basis.FindingsThe needs expressed by the interviewees are primarily about developing and improving communications. Three important areas of communication were expressed: how information can be transferred from sender to receiver, institutionalization and interactions at different levels.Originality/valueThis paper identifies important needs and obstacles when working with diversity and health in Sweden, with a focus on the establishment of newly resettled refugees. It is an important contribution because refugees in general have poorer physical and mental health than native-born Swedes and strategies to improve their health, therefore, need to be further developed.

Effects of Devolution on the Restructuring of the Provincial Administration in Kenya: A Case of Nairobi City County

Devolution in Kenya is about decentralising political, financial and administrative powers to forty seven counties. Kenya had practised devolution through the one year Majimbo government which lasted in 1964, before the highly centralised provincial administration was established. The provincial administration was centralised and gained control over all decentralized ministerial functions in the country; as an extension of the executive office of the president in the field. The Constitution stipulates that the provincial administration be restructured to align with the devolved administrative structure. Little research has been done on the structural frictions that arise from the fact that central governments are keen to retain or recapture the same authority that have been devolved to the lower level governments. Therefore, on this basis this study sought to establish the effects of implementing devolution on the operations of the Provincial Administration. The study was anchored on the objectives of establishing how devolution had shaped the structure of the Provincial Administration in Kenya; examine the extent to which functions of both County and National Government Administrators are interlinked and to identify the challenges faced in the implementation of Schedule Four of the Constitution. Both primary and secondary data were used. The study was guided by the Structural Functionalism theory of Emile Durkheim, which compare the society to an organism comprising of structures that influence each other for its own existence. A case study design was used with Nairobi City County as the study area. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample size for the questionnaires from the sample frame. Further the study used purposive sampling technique to select key informants for the interview guide. SSP version 21 and Content analysis were used to analyse the descriptive data. Data was presented in tables, charts and prose form. The study found out that the provincial administration had restructured through change of tittles and administrative units but not functions, there were points of roles interlinkages some of which are not procedurally and devolution was facing challenges such as: - revenue allocation, administrative and bureaucratic culture, organisational capacity and stakeholder mistrusts. The study concluded that duplication of functions by both levels of government still exists and that the aligning of the provincial administration with the schedule four was yet to be fully attained. Devolution advance national unity by recognising diversity and that it promotes participatory and transparent exercise of authority. The study recommends the enactment of legislation on functions to regulate the constitutional functions of the two levels of government and that commission on Revenue allocation to focus on Wards as the point of reverence in budgeting as they happen to be the service delivery vocal point. It further recommends the need for concerted efforts in creation of awareness on matters devolution through a structured civic education program. The fourth schedule needs to be implemented in tandem with the county government act 2012, for separation of functions between the National and County governments. There is need further research on devolution in future and to widen the study by including a bigger samples size, widening its scope and other variables not covered by this study.

Perceptions of interjurisdictional competition and cooperation: A gender comparison of administrators in economic development

ABSTRACT The desire to grow a tax base often compels local governments to compete and cooperate simultaneously with nearby jurisdictions. Managing interjurisdictional relations is an important role of administrative officers. While scholars have expressed concern about the dominance of masculine imagery and the underrepresentation of women in public administration, gender’s role in interjurisdictional relations has received little attention. This study compared perceptions of interjurisdictional competition and cooperation among US. city and county administrators. The main results suggest that men and women have similar perceptions of competition and cooperation. Moreover, perceptions of whether competition comes from nearby or distant jurisdictions also does not appear to vary by gender. Rather than being influenced by individual identities, perceptions varied based on institutional characteristics, such as the extent of local responsibility over economic development planning, the number of organizations that participate in the planning process, and fiscal decentralization.

The value of crisis plans.

This case study elaborates on the theme of crisis planning and addresses the question of the value of crisis plans and for whom. This study is based on the data collected during a water pollution incident and consists of interviews, notes, and observations at a Municipal Council, County Administrative Board, and County Council in Sweden. Merton's concept of manifest and latent function offers a new understanding in the discussion of crisis plans. The result is then related to how known the place, task, and situation are to them. The manifest function im-plies that preparing crisis plans are supposed to direct officials in how to act when a crisis occurs. However, the plan was not made by or intended for the operative personnel who handled the water pollution crisis. Rather, this study shows that the personnel acted on the basis of their professional knowledge and earlier experiences when handling the crisis, and their knowledge can be related to the context of the crisis, and how known the place, task, and situa-tion are to them. This research adds to the knowledge of the use of crisis plans. It shows that the importance of having a crisis plan is related to how known the situation and the place is to those handling the crisis, and if the task to be done is known to them. Knowing the place and task helps the personnel to improvise in an unknown situation, and the crisis plan is not used. The value of a crisis plan arises when the task is unknown.

Devolving power from the state: local initiatives for nature protection and recreation in Sweden

ABSTRACTQuests for devolving more power to local actors for nature protection stem from both international and national policies. Also, there is a growing recognition of the need for local governments to promote green infrastructure for citizens to recreate and learn about their environment. Starting in 2004, the Swedish government has allocated special funding towards these goals through the Local Nature Conservation Programme (LONA). Virtually all Swedish municipalities have received such funding in pursuit of facilitating wide access to nature and promoting recreational activities, including the protection of nature areas, creating pathways, information devices, and promoting these areas among new societal groups to enjoy. This study presents the results of ten years of experience with LONA. A survey with respondents from 191 municipalities and 20 county administrations, together with 20 key informant interviews, show that the programme has been a success in several respects. Not only have most municipalities created a wealth of new ways to engage local organisations and citizens in nature conservation and recreation, but they have also broadened the ways they think about how nature is important to their constituencies. Due to innovative ways to count voluntary work as local matching of funding, smaller and less resourceful municipalities have also become engaged. Still, the local needs for further initiatives are deemed considerable. State support coupled with knowledge sharing is important to show policy priority to such bottom-up initiatives.

CADASTRAL EFFECTS OF THE CONSOLIDATION PROCEDURE

Agricultural land consolidation schemes have been implemented in Poland with European Union financial support since 2004. The improvement of farm layout facilitates the achievement of economic benefits by farmers. However, methods for full evaluation of the economic viability of consolidation projects are still lacking. The aim of the paper was an attempt at determining the cadastral effects of consolidation proceedings received by land owners and county administrator offices as a result of sorting out plot borders and land registration as a consequence of the consolidation procedure. Conducted analyses show that, in entities characterised by the most fragmented area structure of farms, the overall non-productive benefits obtained jointly by land owners and county administrator offices, as a result of completing the consolidation procedure, can exceed the total cost of carrying out consolidation. However, where farms are characterised by a larger average surface area of agricultural plots subject to consolidation and where the shapes of such plots are regular, much smaller benefits should be expected. The proposed solutions require further improvement and adaptation to local conditions. Still, even these pioneer studies clearly demonstrate that cadastral effects of consolidation proceedings can prove important in the discussion over the economic viability of consolidation projects. It can encourage land owners and county administrator offices to take advantage of consolidation schemes, and constitute a strong argument in favour of continuing to finance consolidation projects from public funds.

Equity versus equality: Discourses and practices within decentralized welfare‐to‐work programs in California

AbstractThe U.S. welfare reform of 1996 brought about highly decentralized Welfare‐to‐Work (WTW) programs, granting discretion to states and local governments to implement policies. Previous research has emphasized racial disparities in WTW sanction rates, by focusing on state/county characteristics or frontline‐workers' biases. There is a dearth of research focusing on different understandings of equity or equality and corresponding practices embedded within WTW programs at the state and local levels. This knowledge is important to better understand how race disparities in WTW may be shaped. Our case is California's comparatively generous and highly devolved WTW program and its implementation in two most different counties. Descriptive analysis of administrative data reveals racial disparities in WTW sanctions and exemptions at the state‐level and contrasting racial disparity patterns across two counties. Drawing on an equity framework, critical discourse analysis (CDA) of policy documents and interviews at the state level reveals conflicting discourses and practices around equity and equality, leaving room for interpretation at local agencies. CDA of county‐level documents and interviews with county administrators showcases contrasting discourses and practices: while one county operates on an equality discourse that does not challenge existing disparities, the other county adopts an equity‐related discourse of providing better treatment towards some historically disadvantaged groups. The observed discourses and practices help to understand the different racial disparity patterns. We conclude that in the absence of a clear equity framework at the state level, decentralization in WTW complicates the manner in which equity discourses and practices play out at the local level.

Regional Ecological Risk Assessment of Wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain with Respect to Human Disturbance

Characterization of the intensity of regional human disturbances on wetlands is an important scientific issue. In this study, the pole-axis system (involving multi-level central places and roads) was recognized as a proxy of direct risk to wetlands stemming from human activities at the regional or watershed scale. In this respect, the pole-axis system and central place theory were adopted to analyze the spatial agglomeration characteristics of regional human activities. Soil erosion and non-point source (NPS) pollution, indicating the indirect effect of human activities on wetlands, were also considered. Based on these human disturbance proxies, which are considered regional risk sources to wetlands, incorporated with another two indicators of regional environment, i.e., vulnerability and ecological capital indexes, the regional ecological risk assessment (RERA) framework of wetlands was finally established. Using this wetland RERA framework, the spatial heterogeneity of risk grades within the Naoli River Basin, a typical concentrated wetland region in the Sanjiang Plain, was analyzed. The results showed that (1) high- and very high-risk source intensity areas displayed a ring-shape distribution pattern, which reflected the influence of the regional pole-axis system; (2) owing to their high ecological capital value per unit area and vulnerability level, the wetlands had the highest risk grade, as did central places (i.e., those areas where county seats and administration bureaus of farms were located). In terms of proportion, the low-, medium-, high-, and very high-risk areas accounted for 72.0%, 16.8%, 10.1%, and 1.1% of the study area, respectively. The identification and classification of risk sources to wetlands that are related to human activity at the watershed scale could provide clear perspectives in order to reduce severe risk sources to these areas, especially those Ramsor Convention-appointed sites of international importance. Moreover, the assessment framework used in this paper will provide a helpful reference for related research in the future. Finally, the new management guidelines proposed in this paper will be beneficial for lowering the ecological risk level of wetlands at the watershed or regional scale for the Sanjiang Plain or other wetland-concentrated regions.

County marshal of nobility in the system of local government and self-government in Belarus (1861–1914)

The article discusses the role and place of the marshal of nobility in the system of county administration and self-government in the post-reform period. The object of the study is the institute of county marshals of nobility in the Belarusian provinces in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. The study deterncines the changes in the government policy of the Russian autocracy related to the noble elections in Belarus after the 1863–1864 uprising. The main functions of County leaders in the sphere of class self-government are revealed. The main directions of activity of local heads of nobility in management of administrative district institutions are shown. The characteristics of the functioning of the institute of county marshals of nobility on the territory of Belarus are given. As a result of analysis of the laws the conclusion is made that the marshal of the nobility took the place of a full head of county, and during the period under review, the trend of expanding the powers of the marshals of nobility, testified to their transformation from in-class bodies in administrative, public bodies.

The Role of Local Governments in Supporting Creative Industries—A Conceptual Model

Local government relates to the public administration of towns, cities, counties, and districts. One of the key responsibilities of local government is the administrative purpose of supplying goods and services. Local governments should also represent and involve citizens in determining specific local public needs and how these local needs can be met. As the structure of gross domestic product (GDP) in many countries across the world changes, so do the expectations towards the role of local governments as far as supporting local economic growth is concerned. The administrative purpose involves creating conducive conditions for economic development. Statistical figures show that the share of the creative economy in the GDP of the most developed countries is steadily increasing. New economic sectors such as “creative industries” pose a challenge to local governments. In this paper, we present a conceptual model for measuring the efforts of local governments in developing and supporting the creative industries. The model proposed by the authors allows for the comparison of smaller administrative units such as counties regarding their advancement and commitment to supporting creative industries.

Медико-социальные аспекты системы социального попечения в отношении детей-сирот до и после 1917 года (на материалах Тамбовской губернии)

We examine the various health, epidemiological, and everyday life realities of the life of children’s social institutions pupils, in particular orphans in imperial Russia and in the first decade of Soviet power. Consideration of these aspects of childhood history in the context of morbidity and mortality in the children’s cohort was carried out on the materials of the Tambov Governorate, which made it possible to clarify and reveal little-known facts and manifestations of social policy and the protection of the health of children and adolescents at the governorate and county levels. A comparison of regional data and the capital’s recommendations on combating child morbidity and mortality showed that the central authorities were completely disconnected from the understanding of the processes and realities of the life of the provincial society, as well as neglect of the needs of children’s institutions outside the capital. This phenomenon was not exceptional, but reflected typical trends of contradictions in the socio-economic and health status of the center and regions. A study of childhood morbidity and mortality in the pre-revolutionary period of Russian history made it possible to confirm the hypothesis that the fate and life of foundling children was the most tragic and traumatic. The mortality rate of such “trouble children”, which reached up to 90 %, began to decline only after the transition of children’s shelters to the control and financing of local governments – county administrations. But the most effective and useful was the transfer of foundling children for upbringing to peasant families. This patriarchal tradition of children’s charity, supported by a little financial support from the counties, helped save and socialize most of the unhappy and ill foundlings who became members of the family of their adoptive parents and received food, shelter and living prospects and professional skills. Appeal to the initial period of everyday life and socialization of children and adolescents in orphanages in the Tambov Governorate through reconstruction and analysis of living conditions, nutrition, morbidity and mortality revealed catastrophic problems of these “flowers of life” of Soviet Russia. The shortage of medical personnel, the almost complete lack of drugs and sanitary facilities, the difficult epidemiological situation, hunger and cold caused a widespread morbidity and mortality rate among male and female pupils of children’s homes and children’s social and educational institutions. Comparison of the charity practices of “trouble children” in pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russia cannot be correct and justified, since the general socio-economic, everyday, legal and socio-cultural conditions of life of such children were not comparable, as well as health care in children’s social institutions. We clarify the possibilities of shelters for foundling children at county hospitals, maternity wards, private patronage. The role of medical workers is revealed, whose reports and surveys of children’s educational social institutions were the most reliable indicators of the real situation with the incidence and mortality of orphans. The historiographic approaches and source study traditions of both domestic and foreign historians are analyzed when studying the charity of orphans in the considered chronological period of Russian history. Attraction of primary archival documents made it possible to evaluate the poorly studied medical and social aspects of children’s everyday life in shelters and orphanages in the Tambov Governorate in the turbulent and crucial years of national statehood. We reveal the regional features of the formation of social protection system for orphans through the prism of medical statistics and medical reports before and after 1917. Attention is drawn to the importance of conducting comparative studies on childhood history in the regional, metropolitan, ethno-confessional and sociocultural dimensions.

Weather Anomalies and Their Economic Consequences: Penury in Northeastern Hungary in the Late 1870s

This study investigates an episode of penury in 1879–1880 in Borsod and Zemplén Counties which occurred as one of the negative consequences of a short-term weather change which was experienced across Europe in the late 1870s and early 1880s. From the mid-1870s on, due to the wetter and cooler weather, the annual crop yields repeatedly fell below the usual and expected averages in Hungary. After a catastrophic harvest in the autumn of 1879, when the quantity of harvested cereals was sufficient neither for reserves nor for spring sowing, the situation became severe. 1878 had also been a bad year for agriculture: the severe floods in the second half of 1878 not only had washed the crops from the fields but had also covered them with thick sludge that made it impossible to sow in autumn. Since the spring of 1879 was characterized by unfavorable conditions for agriculture (increased rainfall, widespread floods, low average spring temperatures), the local and national authorities continuously kept their eyes on the crops. Thanks to this preliminary attention, the administration was able to respond quickly and in an organized manner to the bad harvest in July and August and could avert catastrophe at national level. The leadership of the two counties responded more or less in the same way to the near-famine conditions. First, they asked the Treasury to suspend tax collection until the next harvest at least so that the farmers who were facing financial difficulties would not have to go into debt. Second, they appealed to the government for financial and crop relief to save the unemployed population from starvation. For those who were able to work, they asked for the approval of public works and major construction projects from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. For many, such state-funded road construction or river regulation projects were the only way to make a living. Third, the county administrations also gave seeds for spring sowing to the farmers. While Borsod county survived the years of bad harvests without dire problems due to the higher proportion of better quality fields, in the more mountainous region of Zemplén, most landowners had smaller and lower quality lands, and they often chose to emigrate to avoid starvation. These difficult conditions may have provided the initial impetus for mass emigration to Western Europe and America.

Biodiversity, road transport and urban planning: A Swedish local authority facing the challenge of establishing a logistics hub adjacent to a Natura 2000 site

The aim of the article is to analyse and reflect upon the process and outcome of a potential clash between urban biodiversity and road transport interests in the Swedish city of Örebro, as a case of planning in the face of conflict. Combining an application of multilevel governance theory with negotiation planning and narrative method, it examines the siting of a huge warehouse and “logistics centre” at the edge of a Natura 2000 site on the outskirts of the city. Despite the city’s ambitious environmental goals and sustainability profile, the local authority decided to offer the company a site adjacent to a wetland area intended for preserving and developing biodiversity. After an intervention by the central state County Administrative Board [länsstyrelsen], the local authority had to implement certain security measures, and also reserve an additional, large natural land area to compensate for the threats to the Natura 2000 site. Before the final decision was made, a series of negotiations occurred between the involved actors, mainly the local authority, the multinational Sonepar Group/Elektroskandia and the County Administrative Board, and the case is a fruitful target for a multifaceted analysis illuminating the tension between the goals of preserving urban biodiversity and promoting road transport and urban growth. It also offers an inside view of the negotiation and planning process. The key issue is how the siting of a potentially hazardous, transport intensive national warehouse in a city renowned for its high environmental-protection profile was possible. Considering Sweden’s high-profile regarding sustainability, the selected case also offers food for reflection on the potentials and barriers of implementing ecological modernization more generally. The lessons learned from an examination of the local authority’s attempt to harmonize such diverse policy priorities as urban biodiversity and intensive road transport for economic growth, on a site adjacent to a Natura 2000 wetlands area, may help enable urban planners and scholars to find creative policy solutions, avoid causing damage to biodiversity, and increase ecosystem values in terms of residents’ and other visitors’ experience and understanding of nature. However, at the end of the article we address the question of whether our empirical conclusion is not “too good to be true”, and raise concerns regarding the intricate relationship between sustainability and resilience; the systemic power exerted by the global Sonepar Group/Elektroskandia; and the potentials and limits of public negotiation planning.

Collaborative governance and role of the Grantee in HIV/AIDS health services: the Broward County of South Florida experience

ABSTRACTThis research examines the collaborative engagement of target populations, service providers, and non-elected community leaders following a legislative mandate to provide care and treatment to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-infected and HIV/AIDS-affected populations with the Grantee as the critical variable. The study relies mainly on in-depth interviews of key stakeholders in 2016 and is complemented by observations in 2013–2014 to generate relevant data for analysis and interpretation. Findings point to the Grantee’s essential role in allocation priorities, stakeholders’ capacity building, conflict resolution, strategic engagement and planning, contracts with a network of providers, and attendant execution and performance measures. The study highlights the Grantee’s pivotal role in the convergence of community and county administration in collaborative governance toward purposeful ends with collective impact on some vulnerable segments of the population. The study also exemplifies a rare case of public policy addressing a public problem consistently over the years despite some resource challenges.

Transport Demand Model Management System

A huge amount of data is required to the contemporary city management, control over its operation and sustainable development. Transport systems are one of the basic components of society each day life. Effective management of the present operation of transportation systems as well as their effective development according to transport demand management requires the use of a number of IT tools. One of them is undoubtedly the transport demand model. The main purpose of such mathematical model is to reconstruct the phenomenon of the transportation systems operation being a service to meet the current transport demands of residents of the study area, including private and commercial trips. Large amount of data is needed to build such a powerful tool. Both land use and transport infrastructure data must be included, and additionally their users - residents and visitors. The sources of this data are located in various council of city/town or county administrators, including, among others, urban planning councils, road administrators and public transport supervisors. Undoubtedly, the reliability of data collected in these models is one of the biggest problem. With intensive technical and social progress, many residential, industrial, etc. investments, data is very quickly outdated. Consequently, it leads to erroneous results of transport analyses, which may lead to an increase in broadly understood transport costs. Therefore, there is a need for such organization and availability of this data to enable fast and efficient updating of transport demand models. Bearing in mind the above, the article presents a framework for a comprehensive transport demand model management system. The article is summarized by conclusions regarding further work on the transport demand model management system.

Ministros-técnicos e ministros-políticos nos governos do PSDB e do PT

Resumo Estudos sobre recrutamento ministerial têm identificado a presença tanto de políticos profissionais quanto de técnicos no gabinete ministerial brasileiro. Todavia, análises de carreira têm se restringido apenas aos técnicos, enquanto estudos sobre ministros políticos focam majoritariamente o critério partidário de recrutamento. Este artigo possui dois objetivos: demonstrar empiricamente as diferenças e semelhanças entre as carreiras dos ministros políticos e dos não políticos (“técnicos”) durante os governos do Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB) e do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), entre 1995 e 2014; e explorar os principais aspectos relativos à profissionalização dos ministros políticos, a partir de suas experiências em cargos eletivos e de alto escalão de governos estaduais e municipais. Os resultados indicam que tanto políticos como não políticos possuem larga experiência profissional, inclusive administrativa, embora os não políticos possuam maior afinidade com a área ministerial para a qual foram nomeados. Por sua vez, ministros filiados ao partido do presidente possuem maior afinidade com a área de jurisdição ministerial quando comparados com os ministros filiados a partidos da base aliada. A despeito dessas nuanças, não foram constatadas diferenças significativas entre os governos peessedebistas e petistas quanto à expertise dos seus ministros.

Assessment of the Economic Impact Associated with the Recreational Scallop Season in Hernando County, Florida

Recreational scalloping has become an increasingly popular activity within the Big Bend region of Florida and Hernando County is the southern extent of healthy, harvestable bay scallop populations. A previous study (Stevens, et al, 2003) found that the recreational scallop fishery generated 35 jobs and $1.6 million in economic impact to the economy of neighboring Citrus County in 2003. State resource managers and County administrators expressed a need to know how the recreational scallop season impacts the local economies.

Indigenous rights to defend land and traditional activities

One of the largest remaining unexploited iron ore deposits in Europe is the Kallak Iron Deposit in the province of Norrbotten in northern Sweden, where a significant Sámi population is located. Since 2011, the UK-based company, Beowulf Mining, has begun a large campaign for extraction in northern and southern Kallak. However, the Sámi of the region, together with environmentalists and non-Sámi individuals have drastically expressed their opposition blocking with various ways the processes. The Sámi being aware of the environmental risk have concerns about their ability to drive reindeer across the land, and the impact Beowulf’s operations are likely to have on the reindeer migratory patterns. Nowadays, seven years after the initial application for licensing, the approval of the application is still pending and Beowulf is pressing more and more the Swedish authorities for a final response in order to start extracting. Only the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, despite its initial consent, still advocates for Sámi and their reindeer refusing to issue licensing for the British company. Accordingly, this article was designed as a descriptive study of the legal framework of the implementation of this endeavour addressing the legal arguments of both sides as they derive from a qualitative study of official documents, environmental reports, and relative articles of scholars. Concluding, the article illustrates the gaps of legal protection of indigenous land-rights in Sweden presenting their vulnerability to such kind of challenges.

Merging county administrations – cross-national evidence of fiscal and political effects

ABSTRACTWhile many central governments amalgamate municipalities, mergers of larger county administrations are rare and hardly explored. In this article, we assess both fiscal and political effects of county mergers in two different institutional settings: counties act autonomously as upper-level local governments (Germany), or counties being decentralised branches of the state government (Austria). We apply difference-in-differences estimations to county merger reforms in each country. In both cases, some counties were amalgamated while others remain untouched. Austrian counties (Bezirke) and German counties (Landkreise) widely differ in terms of autonomy and institutions, but our results are strikingly similar. In both cases, we neither find evidence for cost savings nor for staff reductions. Instead, voter turnout consistently decreases in merged counties, and right-wing populists seem to gain additional support. We conclude that political costs clearly outweigh fiscal null benefits of county merger reforms – independent of the underlying institutional setting.

IV B-a2 Official Reply to Guangdong Province Canceling Kaiping County and Establishing Kaiping City Civil Administrative Approval (1993) No. 1

"IV B-a2 Official Reply to Guangdong Province Canceling Kaiping County and Establishing Kaiping City Civil Administrative Approval (1993) No. 1." Chinese Law & Government, 50(3-4), p. 234