Lance D. Fusarelli examines the relationship between the charter school and voucher issues: To what degree does political support for charter schools--from a coalition of teacher associations, school board groups, superintendents, and voucher advocates--slow or even stop the forces for vouchers? Or, do these coalitions, which successfully pushed charter school legislation through the legislature, actually fuel the fires of privatization? Charter schools legislation has enjoyed bipartisan support precisely because the threat of vouchers is so great. And, contrary to the strategy of voucher opponents, the spread of charter school increases, rather than alleviates, the push for vouchers.

Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States is an accessible, non-technical evaluation of the most recent economic thinking on the nexus between local land use and tax policies. In Part I, Helen Ladd provides a comprehensive summary of the extensive literature on the interaction of local land use and tax policies. She explores the theoretical controversies and clarifies issues such as the use of land use regulation as a fiscal tool, the effects of taxes on economic activity and the success of tax policies to promote economic development. In Parts II and III, a group of experts presents new research on important issues such as the impact of growth on tax burdens, metropolitan tax base sharing, the incidence of impact fees and the shift to land value taxation in urban areas. This book raises provocative questions concerning the conventional wisdom in fiscal policy. It will be indispensable for economists and students interested in urban issues and local public finance as well as planners and policymakers.

Local government can be defined as a public entity acting as the sub-unit of a state or of a region, charged with the task of enforcing public policies. There have been many reforms of local government in recent years from the grassroots-led movement that took root in the 90's to the overarching effects of globalization and decentralization. Local governments must adapt their practices in order to most effectively provide for their constituents. Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Government addresses the effects of recent reforms in the political-administrative system of local governments and politics as well as future outlooks. It reviews the challenges, innovations, and lessons from local governments while providing theoretical perspectives on methods for positive reform. This book is a critical reference source for policy makers, government organizations, professionals, and actors in both local and international politics.

World population and the number of city dwellers are steadily growing. Globalization and digitalization lead to an increased competition for skilled and creative labor and other economic resources. This is true not only for firms, but increasingly also for cities. The book elaborates on resulting challenges and opportunities for urban management from the European perspective, and discusses theories, methods and tools from business economics to cope with them. Contributions in this volume come from scholars and practitioners of economics, business administration and urban management, and cover aspects ranging from urban dynamics to city marketing. They draw on experiences from several European cities and regions, and discuss strategies to improve city performance including Open Government, Smart City, cooperation and innovation. The book project was initiated and carried out by the Center for Advanced Studies in Management (CASiM), the interdisciplinary research center of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. It is addressed to scholars and managers in Europe and beyond, who will benefit from the scientific rigor and useful practical insights of the book.

Asian security institutions have struggled to adapt to the so-called 'non-traditional' security issues that characterise the strategic landscape of the 21st century. The resulting gaps in governance have increasingly been filled by think tanks, which have arguably begun to change the way that Asian security is governed.

In The Role of State Supreme Courts in the New Judicial Federalism, Susan P. Fino presents a comprehensive analysis of the work of the state supreme court in the context of the new emphasis of states' rights. She provides both quantitative and qualitative data on state supreme court decisions, and includes an analysis of over 1,200 opinions rendered by six selected courts, thus laying the foundation for a systematic study of the state supreme court system. Fino also presents hypotheses to explain the variations in decision making observed from state to state. Her work concludes with observations on the prospects for an enhanced role for the state supreme court system, and suggestions for improving the institution.

The nature, organization and delivery of public services and how to cope with increasing demands for welfare in a globalizing world has become a central topic of debate - both political and academic - throughout the developed world. In this important new text, Rajiv Prabhakar reviews the evidence for different models of public services arguing that a combination of state, market and civil society provision is essential in the twenty-first century and drawing out the implications for different contexts, services and forms of provision.

The e-governance revolution is said to be changing everything, but will all the modelling tools, electronic meeting management systems and online consultations really change political judgement in policy formation? Using case studies from local and federal government in the US and Europe, Perri 6 examines these claims and presents a new theory of how policy makers use and reject information and do and don't trust each other with information in using the new tools, before analyzing the implications for democracy.

The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform explores the entire spectrum of local government reform and focuses specifically on the question of structural reform in local government. It presents new theoretical models in an area largely lacking in analytical foundations and assesses the validity of these models against recent structural developments. Changes to local government are some of the most heartfelt and hotly contested political issues in advanced democracies today. The authors draw on recent policy developments in seven countries, as well as academic literature, to present new thinking on optimal municipal governance in the face of future policy challenges. This timely book will be invaluable for both undergraduate and graduate local government students in political science, public administration and public policy courses. Practitioners and policymakers in local government will also find this book an enlightening read.

Since the early 1900s, the manager form of municipal government has had enthusiastic support. Today, it is one of the most popular forms of municipal government and brought greater efficiency and accountability to municipal operations. However, as Coppa makes clear, this wave of reform has not fully impacted the counties. The commission form, widely criticized for its lack of accountability, remains the most popular form of county government. Coppa suggests greater accountability and efficiency can be achieved if the commission form is replaced with the Union plan and existing county administrators are given greater executive power. The manager plan in Union County can serve as a model for counties without an elected executive, much the same way the Lakewood plan in California symbolizes county and municipal cooperation.

Although Coppa provides a guide to efficient and accountable county government, the book goes beyond its subtitle. It treats neglected topics, such as the legal status of counties, forms of county government, row officers, autonomous bodies, and the central role played by counties in reapportionment litigation. Supreme Court cases involving counties and critical issues such as free speech, elections, tax immunity, and the commerce clause are analyzed. Major issues such as the battle over ratables, revenue limits, and declining population are explored as well. Coppa examines the most critical issues faced by counties today--such as mandated expenditures--and raises the possibility of a constitutional amendment to treat unfunded federal mandates. Coppa recommends creative programs as well as an agenda for achieving efficient and accountable county government. To this end, he examines charter revision and the noncharter route as approaches to achieving economical and responsible county government. This work is an important analysis for students, scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with local and state government issues.

This rhetorical criticism of spoken discourse examines Ronald Reagan's polished attempts to persuade the public on economic matters. Amos Kiewe and Davis Houck examine the substance, style, and developmental pattern of Reagan's rhetoric on economic matters and discuss how that rhetoric informed the president's views on other issues. This book demonstrates how rhetorical forces can play a significant role in shaping and selling economic policy.

Kiewe and Houck employ a variety of theoretical perspectives for their longitudinal study of Ronald Reagan's economic discourse, beginning with the former actor/President's Hollywood years. Their analysis of close to a hundred speeches provides a chronological account of the character and development of Reagan's economic rhetoric (as opposed to a critique of its effectiveness). Synthesizing the strategies, self-contradictions, shifts, influences, and patterns in Reagan's economic discourse, Kiewe and Houck conclude that Reagan's economic discourse heavily influenced his views and rhetoric on foreign policy, national defense, the environment, and other issues--Reagan saw the world through economic lenses. This study is valuable to political scientists, economists, and scholars of rhetoric.

This book presents the experiences of eleven European countries in the field of territorial reforms. Based on case-studies that outline the basic features of the politics of territorial choice in the respective countries, the focus is on national policies, politics, and cleavages; the strategies employed and the outcomes of the reforms.

This book provides the first full account of America's relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran from Jimmy Carter's presidency to Barack Obama's. It discusses all major facets of Iranian policy of interest to the United States: nuclear proliferation, revolutionary export and support for international terrorism, efforts to undermine the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and violations of human rights. It compares developments in Iran to their perception in Washington, providing the clearest picture available yet of the discrepancies between the complex and elusive Iranian reality and its understanding in the United States.

Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor of London on a platform that included a congestion charge for central London, a policy that became reality on 17 February 2003. Richards uses his experience as Director of a bliog2.5 million Government congestion charging study, as one of those who created the scheme Livingstone adopted and as advisor to the London Assembly, to provide a critical record of the introduction of the London Congestion Charge, and of its implications for congestion charging elsewhere.

First published in 1969, this book is concerned with the processes of policy-making in local government. The authors address themselves to the basic challenge of planning in a democracy and consider issues such as how those elected to exercise choice on our behalf can preserve and expand their capacity to choose discriminatingly, when the sheer complexity of the issues facing them tends all the time to make them increasingly dependent on the skills and judgements of their professional advisers. This question is explored in relation to the many different, yet interdependent, aspects of the planning process which impinge on any local community - with particular reference to the planning of housing, transport, education, and shopping, of land use and local government finance. The book is the outcome of a four-year program of research during which a mixed team of operational research and social scientists was given a unique opportunity to observe the ways in which decisions were made and plans formulated in one particular city- Coventry. It covers both political and professional aspects of local government in 1960s Great Britain and has had important implications for urban governments throughout the world.

This book presents an overview of the political occurrences that have affected the regulation of conflict of interest in government. Exploring the far-reaching consequences of the conduct and misconduct of past administrations, this provocative study traces the development of standards-of-conduct regulations and the implementation of regulatory laws, beginning with the Truman presidency, followed by the Eisenhower years, the New Frontier, the Ethical Nightmare of the Nixon administration, Carter and Ethics Reform, and Ronald Reagan.

The aging of society is a growing concern in all advanced nations, and at the forefront of concern is long-term care for frail older people. Enactment of a new public long-term care insurance program by the Japanese government in 1997 provided an excellent opportunity for a conference focusing on an ideal long-term care system for frail older people. The conference was organized around four major themes: Social aspects, including family dynamics and the role of formal providers; Clinical aspects, including effective treatments for physical and mental disabilities; Macroeconomic and macropolitical settings for public policy; Program design and management issues. With contributions from the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, gerontology, political science, economics, and sociology, this volume provides an overview of key problems and possible solutions in programs for frail older people from a unique international perspective.

From 2003 to 2009 sensational judicial bribery scandals rocked Mississippi's legal system. Famed trial lawyers Paul Minor and Richard (Dickie) Scruggs and renowned judge and former prosecutor Bobby DeLaughter proved to be the nexus of these scandals. Seven attorneys and a former state auditor were alleged to have attempted to bribe or to have actually bribed five state judges to rule in favor of Minor and Scruggs in several lawsuits. This is the story of how federal authorities, following up on information provided by a bank examiner and a judge who could not be bribed, toppled Minor, Scruggs, and their enablers in what was exposed as the most significant legal scandal of twenty-first-century Mississippi.

James R. Crockett details the convoluted schemes that eventually put three of the judges, six of the attorneys, and the former auditor in federal prison. All of the men involved were successful professionals and three of them, Minor, Scruggs, and fellow attorney Joey Langston, were exceptionally wealthy. The stories involve power, greed, but most of all hubris. The culprits rationalized abominable choices and illicit actions to influence judicial decisions. The crimes came to light in those six years, but some crimes were committed before that. These men put themselves above the law and produced the perfect storm of bribery that ended in disgrace.

The tales Crockett relates about these scandals and the actions of Paul Minor and Richard Scruggs are almost unbelievable. Individuals willingly became their minions in power plays designed to distort the very rule of law that most of them had sworn to uphold.

After a decade and a half of decentralization reforms in post-communist states, we still know very little about their impact on local populations. This study, which examines local social services and economic promotion in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia, fills this important gap. The book dispels the myth that socio-economic 'givens' or inter-governmental systems are key determinants of local development. Party political factors and local civic activism can and do make a difference, and should be given greater prominence in the literature on local performance.

Based upon a sampling of some 800 public agency heads, division and bureau chiefs in 10 states, this study explores the world of state public management. It examines and reflects practicing public managers' judgments concerning the factors that contribute to and impede effective agency performance. It also looks at the role of state administrative units in shaping state policy and the impact of various nonadministrative actors on the conduct of state management. While a variety of problems are seen to be severe in the eyes of these managers--especially those that involve the adequacy and use of fiscal and human resources--most state administrative units seem to function despite impediments. While state managers are very important players in the processes of state policymaking, they and their organizations also must function within a highly complex influence matrix which substantially limits their automony.

The depth and breadth of this study provide a major contribution to the literature on state management. Its findings will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in public administration, public policy, and government.

Does the performance of your local government leave something to be desired? Maybe you're not satisfied with the services your government provides, or maybe the cost for these services is far too much. If so, take heart; you can do something about it.

Steps to Local Government Reform is your step-by-step guide to undertaking reform on the local level. Public manager Allyn O. Lockner combines years of experience in the public sector to show how you, as a resident or an elected local official, can work with others to successfully implement change within your community. Lockner explains how to make numerous choices regarding the preparation for, and the study, planning, marketing, approval, implementation, and evaluation of reforms. He also shows you how to share these reform results with others.

Using various criteria, comparisons, practices, analyses, and other studies aimed at local government performance, Lockner delves into the sometimes tricky world of enacting reform. He reveals how local government works and provides a map for maneuvering around bureaucratic roadblocks. In addition, he includes a comprehensive bibliography for research, an appendix of terms commonly used in the reform process, and guides to creating reform models that are likely to work.

With this compendium, you can help resolve vital issues, improve your community, and live a better life.

A broad-ranging assessment of continuities and change in local governance in the western industrialized world providing in-depth assessments by leading experts of a wide range of countries exemplifying between them the whole spectrum of types and models of local government systems and networks. A central focus is on the impact of public management reforms, new forms of community governance and changes in central-local relations.