Description
Book SynopsisThis incisive book presents a critical compilation of empirical studies assessing local government performance in Latin America. Analysing original administrative data from municipalities in the understudied countries of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico, Claudia N. Avellaneda and contributors pose the titular question: what works in Latin American municipalities?
Chapters operationalize municipal performance across six different dimensions and policy areas, including: fiscal inputs, effectiveness in grant acquisitions, education outcome quality, financial efficiency, participatory decision-making, and responsiveness to urban changes. The six studies test different theoretical frameworks derived from political science, public policy, and public administration literature, focusing on the variety of individual, organizational, and contextual factors affecting municipal performance across the region. Examining a diverse range of factors, from mayoral characteristics and bureaucratic expertise to guerrilla presence and intergovernmental cooperation, the book highlights the complexity of identifying what works in Latin American municipalities and ultimately makes the case for how future research should be undertaken.
Timely and original, the book will be an essential read for public administration, public management, and local government practitioners. Its original empirical research will also prove beneficial to students and scholars of government, public policy, political science, and public administration across Latin America and the rest of the world.
Trade Review‘Claudia Avellaneda brings together a line-up of skilled authors at the forefront of Latin American public administration to craft a critical overview of the performance of municipalities. The volume examines long-standing concerns about human capital, bureaucratic quality, decision-making, environmental shocks and governmental effectiveness to provide cutting edge knowledge on this understudied region.’ -- Richard M. Walker, City University of Hong Kong
‘The performance of local public services is an issue at the top of the policy agenda across the world. This superb collection presents cutting-edge empirical research casting much-needed light on what works for improving local government performance in Latin America, offering numerous valuable lessons for researchers and policy-makers everywhere.’ -- Rhys Andrews, Cardiff University, UK
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction to What Works in Latin American Municipalities? 1 Claudia N. Avellaneda 1 Assessing the influence of Brazilian mayors’ human capital and political context on fiscal inputs 16 Claudia N. Avellaneda and Marco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto 2 Administrative capacity and Chilean local governmental effectiveness 55 Gabriel Piña and Claudia N. Avellaneda 3 Colombian education quality: political, managerial, or bureaucratic quality? 81 Claudia N. Avellaneda 4 Mayor’s gender and task-specific education influences on Ecuadorian municipal financial efficiency 107 Julio C. Zambrano and Claudia N. Avellaneda 5 Explaining Mexican mayors’ preferences for participatory decision-making: an experimental analysis 128 Claudia N. Avellaneda and Johabed Olvera 6 Determinants of property value reappraisals: municipal responsiveness to urban changes 149 Claudia N. Avellaneda and Gabriel Piña 7 Conclusion to What Works in Latin American Municipalities? 202 Claudia N. Avellaneda Index
