Central and local government relations : a comparative analysis of West European unitary states

Abstract

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.