Corporatisation in local government: context, evidence and perspectives from 19 countries : differences and shared experiences in european national systems

"This book provides a comprehensive comparison of municipally owned corporations in Europe. Municipal corporatisation is the act of delivering public services at arm’s length from local government through municipally owned corporations. Although it has become an increasing trend in recent years, we still know little about cross-country differences in what these municipally owned corporations look like, what legislation applies to them, and how they are governed. This book seeks to fill this gap. Each chapter outlines the legal provisions that enable or hinder the formation of municipally owned corporations in a particular country, the trends around corporatisation, and the structure of the corporations that exist. Going beyond the national context, the book provides an overview of what unites countries in terms of the trend towards municipally owned corporations, and what differentiates them. It offers a critical comparison that will make finding regional and global trends easier for researchers, and will help practitioners to better understand the differences between countries to allow for greater collaborative policy learning."--Cover page 4 Systematic, thorough, and informative, this volume offers a very welcome contribution to the field of local government studies and, more generally, public administration. The authors show how apparently mundane organisational choices of service provision may raise fundamental questions of democratic accountability. Thus, this volume provides a solid platform for numerous future research projects about the role of corporations in public governance. -- Jacob Aars, Professor, Department of Government, University of Bergen "Municipally owned corporations are the invisible entities that shape our local public services. This insightful analysis draws on rich empirical material to provide a much-needed comparative picture of corporatisation in local government across 19 countries. An essential book for students of public management." -- Steven Van de Walle, Professor, Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven This book provides a comprehensive comparison of municipal corporatisation in nineteen countries belonging to five different administrative traditions. Municipal corporatisation is the act of delivering public services at arm's length from local government through municipally owned corporations. Although it has become an increasing trend in recent years, we still know little about cross-country differences in what these municipally owned corporations look like, what legislation applies to them, and how they are governed. This book seeks to fill this gap. Going beyond the national context, the book provides an overview of what unites countries in terms of municipally owned corporations, and what differentiates them. It offers a critical comparison that will make finding regional and global trends easier for researchers, and will help practitioners to better understand the differences and similarities between countries to allow for greater collaborative policy learning. Rhys Andrews is Professor of Public Management at Cardiff University, UK. Marieke van Genugten is Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Radboud University, the Netherlands. Ulf Papenfuß is Professor of Public Management and Public Policy at Zeppelin University, Germany. Harald Torsteinsen is Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the Arctic University of Norway. Bart Voorn is Assistant Professor of Public Management at Radboud University, the Netherlands