Public Choice Theory and Local Government

GEORGE BOYNE is Senior Research Fellow and Coordinator of the Public Services Research Unit at Cardiff Business School, University of Wales. He was previously Professor of Public Policy at the University of Glamorgan where he worked from 1980 to 1995, and a lecturer at the Robert Gordon University in his native Aberdeen from 1978 to 1980. He has published over 50 articles in academic journals mainly in the areas of local policy variation and local government structure, finance and performance. His other work includes Constraints, Choices and Public Policies.

• Introduction Competition Between Local Authorities Competition Between Political Parties The Extent of Competition Between Public and Private Producers of Services The Effects of Competition Between Public and Private Producers of Services Conclusion References Index

'...a study of high-relevance as well as profound scholarship, examining the role of all forms of competition in local government. An impressive treatise of the public sector in the UK and the USA which must attract the interest from all studying the democratic market economies.' - Jan-Erik Lane, University of Geneva'The book can be highly recommended as a careful and comprehensive exposition of the application of public choice theory to local government, bringing together a wide literature in a convenient and enjoyable readable form.' - Peter A. Watt, Local Government Studies'This is a lucid and probing analysis. It confronts public choice theories with solid evidence to test them, and shows where each falls short. Critical results emerge for theorizing as well as policy making.' - Professor Terry Nicholls Clark, University of Chicago