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Capacity in municipalities: Infrastructures, maintenance debts and ways of overcoming a run-to-failure mentality

Author

Listed:
  • Jens Alm

    (25543The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) and Sweden’s National Centre for Research and Education on Public Transport (K2), Sweden)

  • Alexander Paulsson

    (83197Lund University School of Economics and Management, Sweden)

  • Robert Jonsson

    (Centre for Local Government Studies, Linköping University, Sweden)

Abstract

There is a growing maintenance debt of ageing and critical infrastructures in many municipalities in European welfare states. In this article, we use the multidimensional concept of local capacity as a point of departure to analyse how and in what ways Swedish municipalities work with the routine maintenance of infrastructures, including municipal road networks as well as water and sewage systems. For the road networks, maintenance is generally outsourced to contractors and there is also a large degree of tolerance for various standards on different road segments within and between the municipalities. Less used road segments are not as prioritised as those with heavy traffic. For the water and sewage systems, in-house technical capacity is needed as differences in water quality are not tolerated. Economies of scale mean that in-house capacity is translated into the creation of inter-municipal bodies. As different forms of capacities tend to reinforce each other, municipal capacity builds up over time in circular movements. These results add knowledge to current research by pointing to the ways municipalities are overcoming a run-to-failure mentality by building capacity to pay off the infrastructural maintenance debt.

Suggested Citation

  • Jens Alm & Alexander Paulsson & Robert Jonsson, 2021. "Capacity in municipalities: Infrastructures, maintenance debts and ways of overcoming a run-to-failure mentality," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 36(2), pages 81-97, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:36:y:2021:i:2:p:81-97
    DOI: 10.1177/02690942211030475
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Honadle, Beth Walter, 2001. "Theoretical and Practical Issues of Local Government Capacity in an Era of Devolution," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 31(1), pages 1-14.
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    4. Stephen Graham, 2000. "Constructing premium network spaces: reflections on infrastructure networks and contemporary urban development," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 183-200, March.
    5. Christian Bergholz & Ivo Bischoff, 2018. "Local council members’ view on intermunicipal cooperation: does office-related self-interest matter?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(12), pages 1624-1635, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Blomkvist, Pär & Karpouzoglou, Timos & Nilsson, David & Wallin, Jörgen, 2023. "Entrepreneurship and alignment work in the Swedish water and sanitation sector," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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