Managing Local Government
Managing Local Government

Author: Kimberly L. Nelson

Publisher: CQ Press

Published: 2017-08-04

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1506323367

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Managing Local Government: An Essential Guide for Municipal and County Managers offers a practical introduction to the changing structure, forms, and functions of local governments. Taking a metropolitan management perspective, authors Kimberly Nelson and Carl W. Stenberg explain U.S. local government within historical context and provide strategies for effective local government management and problem solving. Real-life scenarios and contemporary issues illustrate the organization and networks of local governments; the roles, responsibilities, and relationships of city and county managers; and the dynamics of the intergovernmental system. Case studies and discussion questions in each chapter encourage critical analysis of the challenges of collaborative governance. Unlike other books on the market, this text’s combined approach of theory and practice encourages students to enter municipal and county management careers and equips them with tools to be successful from day one.

World Development Report 2017
World Development Report 2017

Author: World Bank Group

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2017-01-23

Total Pages: 605

ISBN-13: 1464809518

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Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.

Saving Local Government
Saving Local Government

Author: Joseph Drew

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-19

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 9811643326

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This book focuses squarely on the problem of saving local government in the context of extraordinary financial challenges being faced across the globe. Saving Local Government is written principally for practitioners and employs a ‘conversational’ tone which makes complex theory both engaging and accessible. It augments world-best scholarship with Professor Joseph Drew’s extensive practical experience in guiding local governments away from the brink of financial insolvency. It is thus a ‘must read’ for local government executives, Mayors, Councillors and the regulators that oversee the sector. In Saving Local Government Professor Drew also makes a number of important contributions to address significant gaps in the scholarly literature. In particular, the book includes extensive treatment of de-amalgamation, applied natural law philosophy, Aristotelian epistemology for evaluating public policy success, as well as alternatives to financial administration. The work is therefore also compelling reading for scholars.

Local Government in Australia
Local Government in Australia

Author: Bligh Grant

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-03-06

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 9811038678

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This book offers a general introduction to and analysis of the history, theory and public policy of Australian local government systems. Conceived in an international comparative context and primarily from within the discipline of political studies, it also incorporates elements of economics and public administration. Existing research tends to conceptualise Australian local government as an element of public policy grounded in an 'administrative science' approach. A feature of this approach is that generally normative considerations form only a latent element of the discussions, which is invariably anchored in debates about institutional design rather than the normative defensibility of local government. The book addresses this point by providing an account of the terrain of theoretical debate alongside salient themes in public policy.

Local Governance in Developing Countries
Local Governance in Developing Countries

Author: Anwar Shah

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 0821365665

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This book provides a new institutional economics perspective on alternative models of local governance, offering a comprehensive view of local government organization and finance in the developing world. The experiences of ten developing/transition economies are reviewed to draw lessons of general interest in strengthening responsive, responsible, and accountable local governance. The book is written in simple user friendly language to facilitate a wider readership by policy makers and practitioners in addition to students and scholars of public finance, economics and politics.

Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government
Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government

Author: United States Government Accountability Office

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2019-03-24

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 0359541828

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Policymakers and program managers are continually seeking ways to improve accountability in achieving an entity's mission. A key factor in improving accountability in achieving an entity's mission is to implement an effective internal control system. An effective internal control system helps an entity adapt to shifting environments, evolving demands, changing risks, and new priorities. As programs change and entities strive to improve operational processes and implement new technology, management continually evaluates its internal control system so that it is effective and updated when necessary. Section 3512 (c) and (d) of Title 31 of the United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)) requires the Comptroller General to issue standards for internal control in the federal government.

Financial Report of the United States
Financial Report of the United States

Author: Thomas Nelson

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2006-08-13

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1418551929

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"Think of the federal government as a gigantic insurance company (with a side line business in national defense and homeland security) which only does its accounting on a cash basis-only counting premiums and payouts as they go in and out the door. An insurance company with cash accounting is not an insurance company at all. It is an accident waiting to happen." Peter R. Fisher, former Bush Administration Undersecretary of the Treasury "Our objective in preparing the fiscal year 2005 Financial Report of the U.S. Government is to give Congress and the American people a timely and useful report on the cost of the Federal Government's operations." John W. Snow, former Bush Administration Secretary of the Treasury "Scoring the budget on an accrual basis-the private sector norm and, I believe, a sensible direction for federal budget accounting-would better underscore the tradeoffs we face. Under accrual accounting, benefits would be counted as they are earned by workers rather than when they are paid out by the government." Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board "The significance of these accrual-based reports is that they show the implications of current budgetary decisions over a longer time horizon…. This information is therefore an important element of the debate about the real effects of governmental commitments." Paul H. O'Neill, former Bush Administration Secretary of the Treasury "[A] practical management tool for policy-makers and a source of useful information for the public about the assets, liabilities, and operations of the government." Lawrence H. Summers, former Clinton Administration Secretary of the Treasury "We believe that the publication of this financial report is an important step in providing the American public with useful information about their government's assets, liabilities and operations." Robert E. Rubin, former Clinton Administration Secretary of the Treasury In December 2005, the White House published its Financial Report of the United States Government-only 2000 copies were printed despite the purpose of the report being to explain the country's financial wellbeing to Congress and the American people. Now, for the first time, that report is widely published so the American people can see what's really going on with the nation's finances.