The Provision Of Public Services In Europe - Between State, Local Government and Market

The book is the first of its kind to provide a comparative analysis of the provision of social and public services in France, Italy, Germany, the UK and Norway. This volume, co-authored by leading national experts, topically examines whether, when, how and why the delivery of social and public services, which was historically a responsibility of local authorities, has been significantly shifted to marketized and commodified forms. However, despite this considerable change, there have been recent indications of remunicipalization in some sectors. Combining both cross-country and cross-policy comparisons in a broad range of pertinent service fields, this volume fills a noticeable gap in the international literature currently available. Mirroring the underlying interdisciplinary approach of the book, the findings will be useful and attractive to students of law and economics as well as political science and sociology. Academic researchers and politicians on all intergovernmental levels will also find this book insightful and stimulating.

Preface 1. Introduction Hellmut Wollmann and Gérard Marcou 2. The Multi-level Institutional Setting in Germany, Italy, France and the UK: A Comparative Overview Hellmut Wollmann, Enzo Balboni, Jean-Pierre Gaudin and Gérard Marcou 3. New Public Management in Continental Europe: Local Government Modernization in Germany, France and Italy from a Comparative Perspective Sabine Kuhlmann and Paolo Fedele 4. The Local Government Role in Pre-school Child Care Policy in France, Germany, Italy and the UK Michael Hill, Martine Long, Anna Marzanati and Frank Bönker 5. Towards Marketization and Centralization? The Changing Role of Local Government in Long-term Care in England, France, Germany and Italy Frank Bönker, Michael Hill and Anna Marzanati 6. Health Services: Issues and Trends in Italy, France and Germany Dieter Grunow, Francesco Longo and Martine Long 7. Comparative Study of a Local Service: Waste Management in France, Germany, Italy and the UK Magali Dreyfus, Annette Elisabeth Töller, Carlo Iannello and John McEldowney 8. From Public Service to Commodity: The Demunicipalization (or Remunicipalization) of Energy Provision in Germany, Italy, France, the UK and Norway Hellmut Wollmann, Harald Baldersheim, Giulio Citroni, Gérard Marcou and John McEldowney 9. Neither State nor Market: Municipalities, Corporations and Municipal Corporatization in Water Services – Germany, France and Italy Compared Giulio Citroni 10. Comparative Aspects of Institutional Variants for Local Public Service Provision Giuseppe Grossi, Gérard Marcou and Christoph Reichard 11. From Public Sector-based to Privatized Service Provision. Is the Pendulum Swinging Back Again? Comparative Summary Hellmut Wollmann and Gérard Marcou Index