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Comparative Local Government Research: Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Findings from a European Perspective

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The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview on analytical key-concepts and outcomes of comparative local government research. It focuses on local government systems in Europe and their reforms from a cross-countries and overtime perspective. This chapter presents various frameworks that have been put forward in order to capture the multi-faced institutional developments at the local level of government and thus highlights the progress that has been made so far in comparative local government research, conceptually, analytically, as well as empirically. Two examples of local government reforms are analyzed, one from a longitudinal perspective, the other based on a cross-countries approach. This chapter concludes with some reflections on a possible future research agenda for the comparative study of local government.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Ellen Wayenberg

  2. University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Sabine Kuhlmann

Authors
  1. Ellen Wayenberg
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  2. Sabine Kuhlmann
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Correspondence to Ellen Wayenberg .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise—PulSE Faculty of Business and Law , The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

    Edoardo Ongaro

  2. Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Sandra Van Thiel

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Wayenberg, E., Kuhlmann, S. (2018). Comparative Local Government Research: Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Findings from a European Perspective. In: Ongaro, E., Van Thiel, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55269-3_44

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