Public and Social Services in Europe

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Comparative Study of Public and Social Services Provision: Definitions, Concepts and Methodologies

Abstract

In the introductory chapter, three distinguishing features of the book are highlighted: First, unlike most available comparative studies that deal separately with public and personal social services, the chapters of this volume comparatively comprise service sectors. Second, its country coverage is distinctly wider than most available studies especially by including Central Eastern European ‘transformation’ countries. Third, in pursuing a ‘developmental’ (historical) approach the book chapters, after discussing service provision in the post-1945 ‘advanced welfare’ state and its subsequent ‘neo-liberal’ (New Public Management, NPM) driven re-organisation (from public/municipal to private sector), focus on the most recent (‘post-NPM’) phase in part marked by a ‘comeback’ of the public/municipal sector (‘remunicipalisation’).

Hellmut Wollmann

Chapter 2. The Impact of EU Law on Local Public Service Provision: Competition and Public Service

Abstract

EU law has no direct impact on local government structure, but on law surrounding local government functions, deemed to enforce open competition in all utilities sector, as a consequence of generalised market. It has introduced new sets of principles, sometimes conflicting with domestic law. The duty to remove all exclusive rights is applicable to local governments. Nevertheless, recent treaties and EU legislation have consolidated the legal regime of services of general economic interest, the possibility for domestic authorities to meet differences of conditions and preferences according to countries or regions and the exclusive competence of member states as regards non-economic services of general interest. The scope of in-house contracting was enlarged. Local government discretion for choosing the way of delivering services has been preserved.

Gérard Marćou

Chapter 3. What Impact Have the European Court of Justice Decisions Had on Local Public Services?

Abstract

In the last two decades the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has dealt with a growing number of cases concerning the application of European Union (EU) law to services of general economic interest (SGEI). To date there have been no comparative reviews of the implementation of ECJ decisions at national and local levels, including the laws applicable to local public services. This chapter proposes such a review, drawing four concrete examples of case law from which we developed taxonomy of ECJ decisions based on whether they are implemented by local authorities or at national level.

Pierre Bauby, Mihaela M. Similie

Chapter 4. Delivering Public Services in the United Kingdom in a Period of Austerity

Abstract

Local government in the UK is undergoing major changes with a potential new renaissance in its relationship with central government. The Localism Act 2011 gives local authorities greater autonomy in the delivery of public services while retaining tight financial controls. Local government delivers many public services across a wide range of activities from refuse collection and social services including elderly care. Public services remain subject to contracting out and this may lead to a reduction in local authority participation. There are often contradictory strategies; decentralisation with increasing delegation is intertwined with tough financial controls. Local authorities are increasingly being made to find their own resources.

John McEldowney

Chapter 5. Local Government Public Service Provision in France: Diversification of Management Patterns and Decentralisation Reforms

Abstract

Decentralisation reforms have dramatically changed the distribution of tasks between the central government and the various local government levels. These reforms made social services the responsibility of departments, with the participation of municipalities, whereas most economic public services are under municipal and regional control. Changes in the utilities sector are more due to sector legislation than to local government reforms. Outsourcing by concessionary contracts awarded by local governments has been usual in France for a long time for the provision of economic public services, under local government control, in particular on physical assets of the service. Recent legislation gives more opportunity to local governments to shift utilities to local public sector corporations. The EU directive on concessionary contracts will require only minor adjustments in French law.

Gérard Marćou

Chapter 6. Remunicipalisation Revisited: Long-Term Trends in the Provision of Local Public Services in Germany

Abstract

This chapter contributes to the ongoing debate on the ‘remunicipalisation’ of local public services by looking back at more than 100 years of service provision in Germany and a broad range of local public services. The analysis shows that there is indeed some evidence of a ‘return of the pendulum’. However, there are strong sectoral differences, and the extent of remunicipalisation is only partly related to the degree of the original privatisation. Moreover, even in the sectors that have experienced a strong renaissance in local authority involvement there are striking differences between the ‘post-liberal’ present and the ‘pre-liberal’ past. Both these observations demonstrate that the recent trend towards remunicipalisation should thus be interpreted as a partial re-balancing rather than a fundamental rollback of market reforms.

Frank Bönker, Jens Libbe, Hellmut Wollmann

Chapter 7. Local Government and the Market. The Case of Public Services and Care for the Elderly in Sweden

Abstract

The local government in Sweden is politically accountable for a wide range of services and the provision of these services has been increasingly contracted out, and municipally owned companies have increasingly become players in various markets. Municipal companies are ‘hybrid organisations’ which means that they act as commercial enterprises in a competitive environment whilst also serving the public interest. Contracting out of social services was extended in the 2000s, mainly to for-profit companies. Municipal politicians and professionals are required to act in a ‘competition neutral’ manner, that is, in-house providers and private competitors must be treated equally. Gradually the market has entered into local government and local government has entered into the market, which means that the boundary between public and private has become even more blurred.

Stig Montin

Chapter 8. Local Public Services in Italy: Still Fragmentation

Abstract

In Italy, the local government and public services have long been treated as a complex, incoherent ‘puzzle’ across multiple levels of authority. The chapter analyses how, and how much, the governance of public and social services in Italy has been affected by NPM-inspired reforms aimed at rationalising provision and at increasing efficiency for over two decades. The authors show that reforms in both fields have had the effect of greatly increasing power at the local level at the expense of the intermediate levels, leading to widespread fragmentation. Moreover, in the absence of sound coordination mechanisms, such fragmentation has paved the way to an unclear definition of responsibilities; and the marked decentralisation of decision-making has implied poor integration and an inefficient scale of service delivery.

Giulio Citroni, Andrea Lippi, Stefania Profeti

Chapter 9. Delivery of Municipal Services in Spain: An Uncertain Picture

Abstract

The Spanish local government system is highly fragmented, with a large number of territorial entities. The responsibilities of a municipality vary according to the population. All municipalities are supposed to provide essential services, and the law establishes a scale of services which may be compulsory depending on the number of inhabitants of each municipality. The range of options of service delivery includes forms of in-house delivery, contracting out, but also corporatised (which includes a set of different juridical structures), and inter-municipal or multi-level cooperation tools. The main aims of this chapter are to present the structure of municipal public services, to analyse the range of delivery modes and to explore the extent of use of the options of delivery in the set of municipal services.

Jaume Magre Ferran, Esther Pano Puey

Chapter 10. From Municipal Socialism to the Sovereign Debt Crisis: Local Services in Greece 1980–2015

Abstract

The Greek central state, historically, has adopted an overcautious approach to local administration, until the 1980s when, under the socialist governments, the responsibilities and resources of Greek local governments were significantly expanded. The enlargement of local powers was extensively associated with corporatisation, partly under the influence of European policies promoting the principles of competition. Various forms of municipal companies were used to provide local services and to implement social programs. Greek municipal corporatisation, however, cannot be associated with the NPM momentum that dominated Europe over the same period. Municipal companies remained under public ownership while business-like flexibility was used chiefly for clientelist purposes. Since the mid-1990s, the ‘clientelistic and corporatised municipal socialism’ is gradually reversed, while currently sovereign debt crisis significantly limits local policy-making.

Theodore N. Tsekos, Athanasia Triantafyllopoulou

Chapter 11. Mixed System: Transformation and Current Trends in the Provision of Local Public Services in the Czech and Slovak Republics

Abstract

This chapter covers two new EU member states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It describes the socialist era and the transformation after 1989. Concerning changes, main local public utilities were first transferred from national committees to local governments and soon afterwards the process of at least partial asset privatisation and outsourcing began. Water and sewage services are delivered in a non-competitive environment by legal entities with various ownership structures. Energy supply is a regulated service provided by a small number of suppliers using common infrastructure and competing on price. Education and healthcare have been converted into a real public-private civil sector mix of forms of delivery (financing is predominantly public), whilst there has been comparatively little de-institutionalisation and de-nationalisation of care for the elderly.

Juraj Nemec, Jana Soukopová

Chapter 12. The Evolution of Local Public Service Provision in Poland

Abstract

In Poland the evolution of local public service provision has followed a different development course from that taken in most of Western Europe, yet perhaps somewhat typical of Central and Eastern European countries. The starting point in 1990, at the beginning of a complex political and economic transformation process, was a centralised system dominated by state-owned providers, but major decentralisation reforms empowered local governments and made them the dominant service provider in many sectors. The paper brings the review of institutional forms of public service provision in Poland in different fields of public utilities (energy sector, water and sewage, public transport, waste management), education, healthcare and personal social services in the context of municipalisation, corporatisation and privatisation that followed the democratic breakthrough of 1989/1990.

Łukasz Mikuła, Marzena Walaszek

Chapter 13. From Municipalisation to Centralism: Changes to Local Public Service Delivery in Hungary

Abstract

Hungarian municipalities used to be local governments with a wide range of responsibilities in public service provision, but now they are not. Their case of reorganisation shows a relatively extreme answer on conflicts arising at intergovernmental levels in countries after their former transition process. Originally municipalities were given responsibility for quite a lot of services in 1990. Then a radical turn started in 2010–2011 targeted not only structural changes, but allocation of functions, as well. The system has become centralised. The national government started to take ownership of utility companies. At the same time provision of human services became purely administered by the state through newly established nationwide institutions. The study provides an account of this extraordinary development in the European regulatory environment.

Tamás M. Horváth

Chapter 14. Local Government and Local Public Services in Croatia

Abstract

In Croatia, the 1990s were the years of centralisation. The role of local government in the provision of public services was significantly weakened. Privatisation was connected with general transformation of the former ‘social’ ownership economy into market economy. In spite of being influenced by the new public management doctrine, the European Union’s liberalisation and privatisation policy, and efforts of the private sector, the Croatian public sector is still strong and able to provide a wide array of services to its citizens. Despite privatisation in many sectors (primary healthcare, telecommunications, waste management), vivid remnants of public esprit de corps exist. Thus, the role of the private sector in the provision of local services is developing gradually. There are no signs of re-municipalisation. The division of services between the state and the local government is still a more important issue than the potential failure of the private sector in the provision of quality local public services.

Ivan Koprić, Anamarija Musa, Vedran Đulabić

Chapter 15. Local Service Delivery in Turkey

Abstract

The local government reforms in Turkey since 1980 have strengthened the executive wing of municipalities in the personality of mayors. In the framework of this chapter, we shall discuss whether this managerial trend that we observe in the personality of mayors has been valid for other service domains. For this purpose, we shall examine how service provision methods in the delivery of water services, public transport, housing and social aids have evolved over time. Yet, before this, we shall present a rapid overview on the history of local governmental system of Turkey.

Ulaş Bayraktar, Çağla Tansug

Chapter 16. Local Government and the Energy Sector: A Comparison of France, Iceland and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The energy sector has undergone significant transformations following the adoption of international, European and national policies regarding climate change and market liberalisation. This has created new spaces of intervention as well as new obligations for local governments. This chapter looks at the changes observed in the management of this local public service in France, Iceland and the UK. The three countries experienced a similar historical evolution of the energy sector with a slow opening towards private partners and an increasing role of local governments. Yet today’s services are quite different in terms of renewable energy generation as well as transmission and distribution. There does not seem to be a harmonised path towards a low-carbon energy sector.

Roselyne Allemand, Magali Dreyfus, Magnús Árni Skjöld Magnússon, John McEldowney

Chapter 17. Water Provision in France, Germany and Switzerland: Convergence and Divergence

Abstract

This chapter provides a comparative analysis of local water provision reforms in France, Germany and Switzerland. We assess the main trends in institutional reforms of water provision from the nineteenth century until today. The three countries converge and diverge in their institutional reforms and demonstrate historical path dependency, as early models of water provision are mirrored in later reforms. France historically outsourced operating tasks to private players under a public ownership scheme. This model remains dominant despite cases of remunicipalisation since the start of the twenty-first century. Germany experienced modest market liberalisation reforms and greater public scepticism about privatisation than in France. Switzerland has the strongest municipal control and public criticism of privatisation, which has remained robust since the end of the nineteenth century.

Eva Lieberherr, Claudine Viard, Carsten Herzberg

Chapter 18. Hospital Privatisation in Germany and France: Marketisation Without Deregulation?

Abstract

The chapter provides insights into the recent restructuring of the hospital sector in Germany and France. While both countries belong to the Bismarckian welfare regime, characterised by a ‘welfare mix’ and a contribution-based funding system, they differ decisively when it comes to the institutional characteristics of their state and administrative systems. Since the early 1990s, German and French hospital policies were inspired by the idea of intensifying private action in the hospital sector. The chapter explores the reform trajectories in the two countries, with a particular focus on changes in the instruments and mechanisms of state regulation. We argue that the reform trajectories observed can be attributed to differences in the institutional context and to the distribution of power between the major actors of hospital policy.

Tanja Klenk, Renate Reiter

Chapter 19. Models of Local Public Service Delivery: Privatisation, Publicisation and the Renaissance of the Cooperative?

Abstract

After years of privatisation, remunicipalisation has now become a central issue in contemporary debate about modernisation of public services. However, the term ‘remunicipalisation’ does not accurately capture the phenomenon. The development of ‘bringing the public sector back in’ is not limited to the local level but also affects federal and EU levels. In this context, the neologism ‘publicisation’ is appropriate. Recognising publicisation as a concept, draws attention to a specific form of organisation which has so far been almost completely absent from academic debates although it is becoming more common in administrative practice: the cooperative. In Germany, the cooperative is increasingly becoming involved in local service delivery and was recently declared ‘trendsetting as a model for cooperation in municipalities and for innovative future management in municipalities’.

Hartmut Bauer, Friedrich Markmann

Chapter 20. Variance in the Institutions of Local Utility Services: Evidence from Several European Countries

Abstract

This chapter presents the different options of institutional choice for the delivery of local utility services like water, waste, energy or transport in selected European countries. The authors concentrate empirically on three major options: provision by a municipally owned corporation, by a public-private partnership and by a private corporation to which the service is contracted out. Furthermore, some trends of development over time are presented. In all countries under review, a remarkable proportion of utility services is still allocated to autonomous municipal enterprises. Private enterprises, however, are also strongly involved in local services: as co-owners and partners of municipal corporations with mixed ownership and as providers of outsourced services. Finally, the authors discuss several explanations of the emerging patterns and changes in the institutional landscape.

Giuseppe Grossi, Christoph Reichard

Chapter 21. Public and Social Services in Europe: From Public and Municipal to Private Provision—And Reverse?

Abstract

This concluding chapter is meant to highlight some of the findings that have been presented in the preceding chapters of this book. In pursuing the comparative study of public and social services provision in some 25 (Western as well as Central Eastern European) countries, three developmental phases have been discerned. During the advanced welfare state that climaxed in the early 1970s service provision was largely public/municipal sector-based. Subsequently, under the impact of neo-liberal market liberalisation and New Public Management guided modernisation, the public/municipal sector dominance gave way to pluralised and privatised service provision. Since the mid-/late 1990s divergent institutional trajectories have taken shape between further marketisation, pluralisation and privatisation of service provision, on the one hand, and a ‘comeback’ of public/municipal sector provision (‘remunicipalisation’), on the other.

Hellmut Wollmann

Backmatter