Local Government Relations Research Articles

Review: The Living City: How America's Cities are Being Revitalized by Thinking Big in a Small Way, Selling Places: The City as Cultural Capital, Past and Present, the Government and Politics of Spani, the British Planning System. An Introduction, Central — Local Government Relations in the 1980s: Glasgow and Liverpool Compared, British Social Welfare: Past, Present and Future

Review: The Living City: How America's Cities are Being Revitalized by Thinking Big in a Small Way, Selling Places: The City as Cultural Capital, Past and Present, the Government and Politics of Spani, the British Planning System. An Introduction, Central — Local Government Relations in the 1980s: Glasgow and Liverpool Compared, British Social Welfare: Past, Present and Future

Measuring Political Change: The Quantity and Effectiveness of Electoral and Party Participation in the Zambian One-Party State, 1973–91

The introduction of a ‘one-party participatory democracy’ in Zambia in 1973 under the United National Independence Party (UNIP) of President Kenneth Kaunda made significant changes in the nature and extent of political participation, regime structure and public policy in that country. Among a number of constitutional changes, the proscription of the opposition parties – African National Congress (ANC) and United Progressive Party (UPP) – was probably the most important. There is a relatively extensive literature describing these changes and evaluating their significance. A number of further changes which affected these political variables in varying degrees occurred during the life of the one-party system, which lasted until 1991, but much less has been written about these changes, at least in part because they have been assumed to be insignificant. This Note describes the collection of a systematic events dataset on changes in electoral and political party participation (including changes in policies towards participation and changes in party structures affecting participation), regime structure (including party–government relations, central government structure and central–local government relations), and policies affecting the economy, class structure and culture in Zambia from 1973 through 1985. It then describes the use of expert judges to scale events in the dataset and evaluate their cumulative significance for dimensions of change delineated by the investigator or themselves. Finally, it presents one substantive application of this methodology: specification of the overall directions and extent of change in electoral and party participation under the one-party system. Two contradictory directions of change not so far identified in the literature on the Zambian one-party state are uncovered. It is suggested that changes in the one-party state helped to undermine its support, even among some of those Zambians who initially believed in it.

Policy communities, public housing and area improvement in Sweden

Taking recent research on central and local government relations as its point of departure, the article sets out to demonstrate the analytical applicability of the concept of a policy community. R. A.W. Rhodes's four-dimensional definition of the concept provides a framework for an analysis of policy communities for public-housing area improvement in Sweden. Using a central government program as an example, the analysis is carried out on two levels, relating policy to program, and program to local projects. Finally, the article discusses the question of whether there are policy relevant lessons to be learned from the implementation of the area improvement program under study. Although it is problematic to transplant experiences from one more or less unique context to another, it is still argued that the policy community approach might have some policy relevance, even in a cross-national perspective, although it would require a separate study to demonstrate this point.

A Measure of Thatcherism: A Sociology of Britain

Thatcherism a change in the nature and direction of British society? class and sector key concepts in understanding the social and political effects of Thatcherism the social bases of British politics the 1979,1983 and 1987 general elections a mandate for Thatcherism attitudes and values in the 1980s central local government relations a case study the social impact of Thatcherism privatization progress and prospects radicalism and radicalisation in a period of change Thatcher's Britain in the 1980s the reckoning appendices the Greater Manchester study (GMS) other data sources British election study (BES) and British social attitudes (BSA) key sample sizes GMS1 1980-1 and GMS2 1983-4, BES 1987, and BSA 1987.

Book reviews

Politics and Public Policy in Scotland, Arthur Midwinter, Michael Keating and James Mitchell, pp. xii + 240, Macmillan, 1991, £9.95 (paperback). Training for the Future: the Rise and Fall of the Manpower Services Commission, Patrick Ainley and Mark Corney, Cassell, 1990, £12.95 (paperback). Effective Communication: A Guide to Public Relations in Local Government, Association of County Councils, pp. 108, Longman, 1990, £64.50. The Regions and European Integration, the Case of Emilia‐Romagna, Robert Leonardi and Raffaella Y. Nanetti (eds), Pinter Publishers, London/New York, pp. iv + 205, 1991, £27.50 (hardback). Government and Politics in Western Europe: Britain, France, Italy, West Germany, Yves Meny, OUP, Oxford, pp. xiv + 387, 1990, £30.00 (hardback), £7.95 (paperback). Local Government and 1992, Paul Bongers, Longman, pp. 141, 1990, £21.95. 1992: The Impact on County Council Services, CECSNET (Chief Executives’ Corporate Support Network), Final Report, May 1990, pp. 31. Public Sector Housing Rents and Subsidies: Alternative approaches and their application to selected localities, Glen Bramley, School for Advanced Urban Studies, University of Bristol, Working Paper 92, pp. 71, January 1991. Contracts and Small Voluntary Groups, Jo Woolf, London Voluntary Service Council, pp. 30, 1991, £7.95 (£4.95 for voluntary organizations).

Analysing Central–Local Government Relations in Different Systems: A Conceptual Framework and Some Empirical Illustrations*

Restructuring of central and local government relations has occurred in a number of countries during the 1980s, and has been a striking phenomenon even in such different countries as Poland, Sweden and the US. In the first part of the article a resource framework is presented, designed to make basic comparisons of these relations between different countries. Five sets of resources are identified: constitutional‐legal, regulatory, financial, political and professional resources. It is argued that local‐government disposal of such resources provides a potential for local discretion. The applicability of the framework is illustrated by reference to a study of Poland, Sweden and the US, focusing on the restructuring of central and local government relations in these countries during the 1980s. The conclusion is that decentralization has occurred in all three cases, especially in terms of regulatory and other non‐financial resources. However, in Sweden and the US this trend has been counterbalanced by centralization of financial control. In Poland the post‐communist revolution has paved the way for a restoration of the pre‐war local self‐government system. Democratic elections at the local level are seen as crucial to break down the old, centralized party‐state system, and to reintroduce a dual local government system. In all three cases economic pressure, related to the individual countries' positions in the world capitalist system, seems to have been the main driving force beind the decentralization processes. However, the forms, magnitude and effects of decentralization must be seen in relation to the specific political economies and histories of the three countries. Thus, to understand the causes, mechanisms and effects of central–local government restructuring in depth one has to relate the resource approach to a broader theoretical framework.

Workplace Industrial Relations in Local Government

The range of pressures which has impacted on local government in the 1980s has forced the emergence of dynamic and sophisticated forms of industrial relations at the workplace level. It is clear, however, that with conceptual tools forged to analyse developments in the private manufacturing sector, very few attempts have been made by academics, policy‐makers or commentators to discuss the structures and processes which have emerged. The character of the changes at authority level are considered using material from a survey of personnel officers in over a third of authorities in England and Wales and within the context of prevailing analytical and theoretical frameworks. It is argued that the distinctive development of the personnel function in local government has resulted in a managerial process which conforms to key features of the human resource management (HRM) model, in particular the devolution of personnel responsibilities to line managers and the integration of personnel concerns at the strategic level. However, other features of this model are less in evidence. The search for employee commitment and flexibility remains patchy and often appears as a practical response to labour market and competitive pressures. Furthermore, collectivist features of employee relations remain well entrenched with the continued encouragement of both union membership and involvement. This is not to deny change beyond the HRM model. Thus, it is clear that established joint machinery is becoming increasingly unable to deal with ongoing issues while the trade unions are gradually being forced into a consultative rather than a bargaining role.

Martin Laffin: Managing under Pressure. Industrial Relations in Local Government 1989, Basingstoke, London: Macmillan Education. 207 pages

Martin Laffin: Managing under Pressure. Industrial Relations in Local Government 1989, Basingstoke, London: Macmillan Education. 207 pages

Barrie Houlihan, Housing Policy and Central–Local Government Relations, Avebury, Aldershot, 1988. 229 pp. £29.50.

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Central and Local Government Relations: A Comparative Analysis of West European Unitary States

Central and Local Government Relations considers how best to organize local government units, and what powers and responsibilities should be devolved to local government. The book presents a comparative analysis of local governments in seven unitary states - Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Britain, France, Italy and Spain. It tests the hypothesis that any convincing explanation for the emergence of a particular pattern of central-local relations in one country must be able to explain why identical patterns are or are not found in others. The ability of local government to shape public services is discussed on the basis of three dimensions - the functions of local government, the type of discretion that it has, and the extent to which local political actors can influence central processes of decision making. The editors distinguish between the type of local governmnent system found in Britain and Scandinavia and that found in Southern European nations, and explore the reasons which explain these differences.

BOOK REVIEWS

Journal Article BOOK REVIEWS Get access Central and Local Government Relations: A Comparative Analysis of West European Unitary States, edited by Edward C. Page and Michael J. Goldsmith. London: Sage Publications, 1987, 224 pp., $45.00 (cloth only). J. Solé-Vilanova J. Solé-Vilanova University of Barcelona Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Volume 19, Issue 4, Fall 1989, Pages 249–251, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a037826 Published: 01 January 1989

Book reviews

Goldsmith, M. J. (ed.), New Research in Central‐Local Relations. Aldershot: Gower, 1986. Gottdiener, M., The Decline of Urban Politics. Political Theory and the Crisis of the Local State. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1987. Page, E. C. and M.‐J. Goldsmith (eds), Central and Local Government Relations. A Comparative Analysis of West European Unitary States. London: Sage Publications, 1987. Richard D. Bingham, Roy E. Green and Sammis B. White (eds), The Homeless in Contemporary Society. Newbury Park, Cal.: SAGE Focus Edition, 1987. Jürgen Friedrichs (ed.), Affordable Housing and the Homeless. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1988. Tadashi Toyama, Identity and Milieu. Stockholm: Royal Institute of Technology, 1988. Ray Forrest and Alan Murie, Selling the Welfare State: The Privatisation of Public Housing. London and New York: Routledge, 1988.

<Paper>Public Relations and Political Problem in Local Government

<Paper>Public Relations and Political Problem in Local Government

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Beechey, V. and Perkins, T. 1987: A matter of hours: women, part‐time work and the labour market.Darden, J.T., Child Hill, R., Thomas, J. and Thomas, R. 1987: Detroit: race and uneven development.Duncan, S. and Goodwin, M. 1988: The local state and uneven development.Eades, J. editor, 1987: Migrants, workers and the social order.Henderson, J. and Karn, V. 1987: Race, class and housing: inequality and the allocation of public housing in Britain.Hughes, J.W. and Sternlieb, G. 1987: The dynamics of America's housing.Jenkins, R. and Solomos, J. editors, 1987: Racism and equal opportunity policies in the 1980s.Linge, G.J.R. editor, 1988: Peripheralisation and industrial change.Lubeck, P.M. 1987: Islam and urban labour in northern Nigeria: the making of a Muslim working class.Massey, D. 1987: Nicaragua.Matzerath, H. 1985: Urbanisierung in Preußen 1815–1914.Page, E.C and Goldsmith, M.J. editors, 1987: Central and local government relations: a comparative analysis of west European unitary states.Hoffman‐Martinot, V. 1987: Finances et pouvoir local: l'expérience allemande.Pradilla, E. 1984: Contribucion a la critica de la teoría urbana: del espacio a la crisis urbana.Pradilla, E. 1987: Capital, estado y vivienda en América Latina.Reade, E. 1987: British town and country planning.Savage, M. 1987: The dynamics of working‐class politics: the labour movement in Preston 1880–1940.Teague, P. editor, 1987: Beyond the rhetoric: politics, the economy and social policy in Northern Ireland.Wilson, G. 1987: Money in the family.

Book reviews

Getting Closer to the Public, Local Government Training Board, 1987, pp.96, £5.00. Central and Local Government Relations: A Comparative Analysis of West European Unitary States, Edward C. Page and Michael J. Goldsmith (eds), Sage, 1987, pp.179, £25.00. Decentralization and Local Government, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, vol.3, no.2, Summer 1987, Oxford University Press, no price quoted. Rent Control, R. Albon and D. C. Stafford, Croom Helm, pp.128, £22.50. The Rise and Fall of the Socialist Republic: A History of the South Yorkshire County Council, Alan Clarke, Sheaf Publishing, 1987, pp.120, £2.95 (available, £1 postage and packaging, from Sheaf Publishing, 35 Mooroaks Road Sheffield S10 1BX). Economic Development Policies: An Evaluative Study of the Newcastle Metropolitan Region, F. Robinson, C. Wren and J. Goddard, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987, pp.146, £8.95 paperback. Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Economic Development, Andrew Coulson, Local Government Training Board and Coventry Open Tech Unit, 1987, pp.184, £48.50. Environment and Economic Development in the Regions of the European Community, Frank Joyce and Gunter Schneider, Gower, 1988, pp.148, £18.50. Job Sharing: Putting Policy into Practice ‐ The Local Authority Experience, New Ways to Work (309 Upper St, London NI 2TY), 1987, pp.77, £6.00. Two Track Training: Sex Inequalities and the YTS, C. Cockburn, Macmillan Education Limited, 1987, pp.227, £7.95. Racism and Equal Opportunity Policies in the 1980s, Richard Jenkins and John Solomos (eds), Cambridge University Press, 1987, £25.00.

Edward C. Page and Michael Goldsmith (eds.), Central and Local Government Relations. A Comparative Analysis of West European Unitary States, London: Sage Publications, 1987, 179 s., £ 25.00.

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Central ‐ local government relations in Northern Ireland

(1986). Central ‐ local government relations in Northern Ireland. Local Government Studies: Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 15-24.

Centralisation and Decentralisation: A Framework for Comparative Analysis

One of the reasons for the paucity of comparative studies of central — local government relations is the absence of a common set of terms and concepts which may form the basis for comparison. Commonly used terms, such as ‘centralisation’ and ‘decentralisation’, are highly ambiguous. In order that comparative study may develop, it is important to isolate the salient dimensions along which patterns of central-local relations vary cross-nationally. On the basis of an exploration of central — local relations in European unitary states, there are three main dimensions for comparison: The functions of local government, the discretion that local authorities have in carrying them out, and the patterns of access between the political and the administrative elites of the centre and locality.

Industrial relations in British local government

Local government is at present the subject of much criticism and legislative attention. Unfortunately the debate centres more around emotion than factually based reason. This article presents new survey findings on remuneration and industrial action in the sector which has good and bad news for supporters and opponents alike.

The Marginalisation of Local Political Elites in Britain

Experience since the late 1970s in Britain has shown the limitations of regarding central -local government relations as a bargaining relationship between interdependent actors, as found in the United States of America, France, and West Germany. The actions of the present Conservative Government highlight the weakness of British local government. This weakness can be attributed to a process of development, involving globalisation and professionalisation, common to many Western nations, but which in Britain has led to a marginalisation of local political elites.