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Does accrual accounting improve municipalities' efficiency? Evidence from Germany

Author

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  • H. W. Lampe
  • D. Hilgers
  • C. Ihl

Abstract

The stressed financial situation in the public sector and the continuous aspiration for austerity in western governments and public bodies is omnipresent. As one core element in the New Public Management shift, Germany, like many other countries, has experienced significant reforms in public sector accounting and reporting in the last decade. We analyse the effect of new accounting and budgeting regimes. We therefore analyse the cost efficiency of German local governments in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia over 3 years using a stochastic frontier approach. This study presents evidence for increased efficiency amongst municipalities due to the adoption of accrual accounting.

Suggested Citation

  • H. W. Lampe & D. Hilgers & C. Ihl, 2015. "Does accrual accounting improve municipalities' efficiency? Evidence from Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(41), pages 4349-4363, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:47:y:2015:i:41:p:4349-4363
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2015.1030562
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Raffer, Christian, 2020. "Accrual Accounting and the Local Government Budget - A Matching Evaluation," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224630, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Christofzik, Désirée I., 2019. "Does accrual accounting alter fiscal policy decisions? - Evidence from Germany," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Florian Dorn & Stefanie Gaebler & Felix Roesel, 2021. "Ineffective fiscal rules? The effect of public sector accounting standards on budgets, efficiency, and accountability," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 387-412, March.
    4. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Mª Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Marko Petrovic & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2017. "Which estimator to measure local governments’ cost efficiency? An application to Spanish municipalities," Working Papers 2017/06, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    5. Zubir Azhar & Ervina Alfan & Krishnen Kishan & Nurul Husna Assanah, 2022. "Accrual Accounting at Different Levels of the Public Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 32(1), pages 36-62, March.
    6. García, Israel & Hayo, Bernd, 2021. "Political budget cycles revisited: Testing the signalling process," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Marko Petrović & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2020. "Which estimator to measure local governments’ cost efficiency? The case of Spanish municipalities," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 51-82, March.
    8. D’Inverno, Giovanna & Vidoli, Francesco & De Witte, Kristof, 2023. "Sustainable budgeting and financial balance: Which lever will you pull?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 309(2), pages 857-871.
    9. Xenia Frei & Joachim Ragnitz & Felix Rösel, 2018. "Kosten kommunaler Leistungserstellung unter dem Einfluss von demografischem Wandel und Urbanisierung," ifo Dresden Studien, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 80, July.
    10. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Kristof De Witte, 2016. "Local governments’ efficiency: A systematic literature review – Part I," Working Papers 2016/20, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    11. Thien-Vu Tran & Hosomi Shoichiro & Masayoshi Noguchi, 2023. "Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison of Public Asset Utilization in Tokyo Metropolitan Local Governments," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 197-218, March.
    12. Ifigeneia-Dimitra Pougkakioti, 2021. "Measuring The Efficiency And Productivity Change Of Municipalities With An Output Oriented Model:Empirical Evidence Across Greek Municipalities Over The Time Period 2012-2016," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 15(1), pages 98-125, JUNE.
    13. Désirée I. Christofzik & Florian Dorn & Stefanie Gäbler & Christian Raffer & Felix Rösel, 2020. "Bremst die Doppik öffentliche Investitionen? Ergebnisse aus drei aktuellen Evaluationsstudien [Does Accrual Accounting Reduce Public Investment? Evidence from Three Recent Evaluation Studies]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 100(9), pages 707-711, September.
    14. Benito, Bernardino & Martínez-Córdoba, Pedro-José & Guillamón, María-Dolores, 2021. "Measurement and determinants of efficiency in the municipal police service," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Florian Dorn, 2021. "Elections and Government Efficiency," ifo Working Paper Series 363, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    16. Dorn, Florian, 2023. "Elections and Government Efficiency," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277700, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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