The Price of Democracy? Political Representation Structure and Per Capita Expenditure in Victorian Local Government

Drew, J; Dollery, B

The Price of Democracy? Political Representation Structure and Per Capita Expenditure in Victorian Local Government

Drew, J Dollery, B

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Publisher:: SAGE Publications
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Urban Affairs Review, 2017, 53 (3), pp. 522 - 538
Issue Date:: 2017

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Drew, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dollery, B	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:14:41Z
dc.date.issued	2017	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Urban Affairs Review, 2017, 53 (3), pp. 522 - 538	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1552-8332	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41796
dc.description.abstract	Local government systems across the world face acute and ongoing fiscal challenges. In Australia, the regulatory response has focused squarely on council consolidation. This has, unfortunately, meant that comparatively little attention has been paid to alternate, less disruptive methods for enhancing municipal sustainability. One such possibility lies in modifying the structure of local political representation. We conduct a number of estimations on a four-year panel of Victorian municipal data to test whether the “law of 1/n” has empirical support at the local government level. Our results clearly show that the number of geographically defined fragments, or wards, within a given municipality is a statistically significant determinant of local government expenditure. A number of public policy recommendations follow from the empirical evidence that might be broadly applicable to other municipal systems.	en_US
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Urban Affairs Review	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/1078087416629806	en_US
dc.rights	Urban Affairs Review, 2017, 53 (3), pp. 522 - 538. Copyright © 2017 SAGE Publications. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1078087416629806	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Urban & Regional Planning	en_US
dc.title	The Price of Democracy? Political Representation Structure and Per Capita Expenditure in Victorian Local Government	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	53	en_US
utslib.for	1205 Urban And Regional Planning	en_US
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography	en_US
utslib.for	1605 Policy And Administration	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/lnstitute for Public Policy and Governance
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - IPPG - Institute for Public Policy and Governance
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	53	en_US

Abstract:

Local government systems across the world face acute and ongoing fiscal challenges. In Australia, the regulatory response has focused squarely on council consolidation. This has, unfortunately, meant that comparatively little attention has been paid to alternate, less disruptive methods for enhancing municipal sustainability. One such possibility lies in modifying the structure of local political representation. We conduct a number of estimations on a four-year panel of Victorian municipal data to test whether the “law of 1/n” has empirical support at the local government level. Our results clearly show that the number of geographically defined fragments, or wards, within a given municipality is a statistically significant determinant of local government expenditure. A number of public policy recommendations follow from the empirical evidence that might be broadly applicable to other municipal systems.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41796