Project description:
Efficiency of public services (EPS) at the local government level is important since the decisions of local authorities regarding the management of public funds affect every citizen. EPS implies how effectively local authorities manage budget funds (collection and distribution of budget revenues) and how much public goods and services they provide to citizens.
In addition to researching the definitions and ways of measuring EPS at the local level, our goal is to try to explain which political and socio-economic determinants are important for more efficient provision of local services in Croatia, with the help of variables that have already been established in the scientific literature as being related to efficiency. We will most likely investigate the relationship of EPS and the following political and socio-economic determinants: population density, population size, unemployment rate, residents' income, political fragmentation, etc. The methodological approach will be adapted to the needs of EPS variables and will be used mainly for non-parametric models.
The purpose of this project is to investigate, from the point of view of researchers and from the point of view of citizens:
- In what ways is it possible to define and measure EPS? How have others measured EPS?
- Are public services effectively provided at the local level in Croatia? In which local units?
- What are the political and socio-economic determinants of EPS in Croatia?
Since there is no continuous research on EPS in Croatia, it is hoped that this research will contribute to the importance of observing EPS at local level and its significant political and socio-economic determinants. The research results could help further promote this topic and the development of this research area. The results should offer both local and central authorities practical recommendations for the most efficient provision of public services to citizens and identify gaps in current knowledge for the needs of longer-term research.
Details of the project and a list of published articles are available in the Croatian Research Information System – CroRIS.