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Analyzing Local Government Capacity and Performance: Implications for Sustainable Development

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  • NakHyeok Choi

    (Department of Public Administration, Gachon University, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13120, Korea)

Abstract

Local infrastructure development is a crucial goal for sustainable development, for which local governments take charge of developmental policies. This implies that the capacity of the local government determines the performance of the developmental policies—local infrastructure development. In this sense, this study investigated the impact of local government capacity, measured via the quantity and the quality of human and financial resource factors, on its performance. Moreover, the study examined which of the multidimensional government capacity components affect performance, controlling a competition effect or spillover effect among localities. The study analyzed panel data containing six years (2013–2018) of information on 152 local bodies in Korea, employing the spatial autoregressive model, which is useful for controlling geographical spatial effects. The data show that, unlike the quality factors, the quantity of government capacity does not have a significant effect on its performance. Furthermore, the data also indicated that there are competition effects in relation to the performance of local development. The results imply that local governments need to improve the quality of managerial government capacity in order to increase their sustainable development performance.

Suggested Citation

  • NakHyeok Choi, 2021. "Analyzing Local Government Capacity and Performance: Implications for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3862-:d:527670
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Arif Setiawan & Prijono Tjiptoherijanto & Benedictus Raksaka Mahi & Khoirunurrofik Khoirunurrofik, 2022. "The Impact of Local Government Capacity on Public Service Delivery: Lessons Learned from Decentralized Indonesia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Majed Ibrahim Al-Sari’ & A. K. Haritash, 2025. "A logistic regression model to facilitate setting of organic waste composting policy for sustainable waste management," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(12), pages 30741-30760, December.
    3. Jahanzeb Waheed & Seemi Waheed, 2025. "Local Government Organizational Resources for Improving Service Delivery in Punjab, Pakistan," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 2181-2203, December.

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