Local Government Reforms In Germany

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Political Systems - Germany, grade: A, Ryerson University (Canada Toronto Ryerson University), course: Public Administration and Governance, 25 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: While frontrunners like the United Kingdom (UK) under Thatcher, the United States under Reagan and the New Zealand began New Public Management (NPM) reforms in the 1980s, Germany's federal government level only showed movement toward modernization in the late 1990s, and efforts still have not gone far enough to be evaluated with confidence. The most notable government reforms were, undertaken by the local governments, which engaged in incremental reforms in the 1980s, and only began engaging in NPM after a ten-year delay in the 1990s, when the UK and other countries had started concentrating government reform efforts on engaging multi-stakeholder networks through local and public governance measures. Focusing on the local level of government I attempt to explain the puzzle as to why Germany was a decade behind in adopting NPM measures, and why the initiative to reform public management started primarily at the local level and remains mainly limited to the local level of government. Subsequently, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate to what extent local government reforms in Germany vary from those perused by the NPM pioneer, the UK. A focus will be on institutional and ideological particularities of the German NPM response, and detailed information about the NPM contents implemented in the Federal Republic will only be mentioned if they support comparative claims. Further, I will provide a broad assessment to what extent German reform feature can be ascribed directly to internation NPM influences. Relevant information about the UK, its governmental structure and reform efforts will be given. Moreover, the structure of the German government system, and local government reforms since the 1960s will be el

The edited book aims at comparatively analysing the development and current situation of state and local government reforms in France and Germany. The articles address State and administrative traditions, intergovernmental relations, decentralisation, administrative modernisation, public finances, public sector personnel, local democracy, local (mayoral) leadership and decentral/local social policy.

The edited book aims at comparatively analysing the development and current situation of state and local government reforms in France and Germany. The articles address State and administrative traditions, intergovernmental relations, decentralisation, administrative modernisation, public finances, public sector personnel, local democracy, local (mayoral) leadership and decentral/local social policy.

Nearly all Western and Central European local government systems have been reformed since the 1990's. Taking into account variations in historical and national context, the book looks for different ways of local government reform, their emphases and their divergent trajectories.

The book will give a comprehensive introduction into Germany’s local government system in covering its (federal and European) intergovernmental setting, its territorial, political, administrative, functional and financial structures as well as the respective recent reforms thereof. The potential and limits of local government to cope with the current financial and socio-economic crisis will loom large in the analysis. In order to bring out the specific profile of Germany’s local government its crucial features will be placed in a comparative European perspective. Since an English language monograph on the German local government system is still largely lacking in the pertinent international literature the book is expected to contribute to filling this gap.

This book compares local self-government in Europe. It examines local institutional structures, autonomy, and capacities in six selected countries - France, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, and the United Kingdom - each of which represents a typical model of European local government. Within Europe, an overall trend towards more local government capacities and autonomy can be identified, but there are also some counter tendencies to this trend and major differences regarding local politico-administrative settings, functional responsibilities, and resources. The book demonstrates that a certain degree of local financial autonomy and fiscal discretion is necessary for effective service provision. Furthermore, a robust local organization, viable territorial structures, a professional public service, strong local leadership, and well-functioning tools of democratic participation are key aspects for local governments to effectively fulfill their tasks and ensure political accountability. The book will appeal to students and scholars of Public Administration and Public Management, as well as practitioners and policy-makers at different levels of government, in public enterprises, and in NGOs.

This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany’s public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Länder and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.