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Local territorial reform and regional spending efficiency

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  • António Afonso
  • Ana Venâncio

Abstract

We investigate the effect of a local territorial reform, which reduced the number of parishes, on municipality spending efficiency in the period 2011-2016. We build a composite output indicator and use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute efficiency scores, which we then analyze through a second stage regression with socio-demographic, economic factors and the reform. We find efficiency gains for around 10% of municipalities overall. In Alentejo and in Centro, more than 50% of the municipalities improved efficiency. The second stage results show that the reform did not improve local spending efficiency in Mainland Portugal, particularly in the Norte region.

Suggested Citation

  • António Afonso & Ana Venâncio, 2019. "Local territorial reform and regional spending efficiency," Working Papers REM 2019/71, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    • Handle: RePEc:ise:remwps:wp0712019
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    Cited by:

    1. Ant—nio Afonso & João Tovar Jalles & Ana Venâncio, 2023. "Government spending efficiency, measurement and applications: A cross-country efficiency dataset," Chapters, in: António Afonso & João Tovar Jalles & Ana Venâncio (ed.), Handbook on Public Sector Efficiency, chapter 3, pages 44-71, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Muchen Luo & Yimin Wu, 2022. "Data-Driven Evaluation and Optimisation of Livelihood Improvement Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, July.
    3. António Afonso & Ana Venâncio, 2022. "Local Property Tax Reform and Municipality Spending Efficiency," CESifo Working Paper Series 9538, CESifo.
    4. Chin-Yi Fred Fang, 2020. "Perspective of Local Government on the Performance Assessment of District Sports and Leisure Centers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-21, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public spending efficiency; local government; data envelopment analysis (DEA); local organizational reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • R50 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - General

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