An Empirical Analysis of Scale Economies in Administrative Intensity in the Paraná State Local Government System in Brazil

A substantial empirical study has investigated scale economies in local government functions, most notably in local transportation, water, and wastewater provision. By contrast, relatively little effort has been directed at the empirical analysis of economies of scale in municipal administration, including in Brazilian local government, despite its significance for public policy on structural reform in local government. In order to address this gap in the literature, we investigate administrative scale economies in the Paraná state local government system in Brazil over the period 2006 to 2018. We find that there was a 'U-shaped' scale effect between council size by population and administrative intensity after controlling for a range of economic and social variables. Various public policy implications are considered

Australian government failure and the Green Loans Program

Since the 2007 federal election, the Australian government has implemented numerous new programs, many with dual economic and environmental objectives. A significant number of these initiatives have not only proved unsuccessful, but have also been criticized for their implementation and subsequent management. Using the conceptual prisms offered by the literature on decentralization, augmented by the government failure paradigm, this article considers the aborted Green Loans Program, which commenced in July 2009 with the aim of encouraging water and energy efficiency in existing homes through financial assistance for investment in water and energy-efficient technologies

Does religion influence educational attainment?

There is a relatively large literature on the association between educational attainment and religious affiliation. This work, which is dominated by studies from the United States, has largely escaped the attention of Australian researchers, where the religious tapestry differs markedly from the United States. To examine these associations, we estimated a series of econometric models using data from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey. We find support for the contention that religion does have statistically significant effects on educational attainment, even when controls are included for a vast array of variables that are often used to explain these associations

Is it Time to Rationalise Humanities Education in Australian Public Universities?

This study examines how Australian public universities have a presence in the various discipline areas recognised by the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Using the prism of public value, we interpret how universities articulate the legitimacy of teaching humanities. Through a careful audit of available secondary data, we advance a typology of humanities education. Our principal finding is that Australia's humanities presence is surprisingly homogenous, with only a few universities proposing a specialised offering. We contend that this creates an environment where universities may be forced to consider abandoning their humanities offerings unless a higher degree of differentiation takes place

Does religious affiliation influence trust?

Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to estimate and explore how religious affiliation may influence general and local trust in contemporary society. Design/methodology/approach: This paper employs data from the 2010 and 2014 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The association between religious affiliation and trust was estimated using an ordered logistic regression and conventional ordinary least squares model. Findings: The paper presents evidence of a statistically significant association between religious affiliation and trust that are consistent with theory. Social implications: This finding is important for a heterogeneous population like Australia as it seeks to build social cohesion in the face of threats to internal and external security. Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature by providing – to the best of the authors’ knowledge – the first results on the association between religious affiliation and trust for Australia

Religion and BMI in Australia

We estimated the relationship between religion and body mass index (BMI) for a general and representative sample of the Australia population. Data from the Household Income Labour Dynamics survey were analysed for 9,408 adults aged 18 and older. OLS regression analyses revealed that religious denomination was significantly related to higher BMI, after controlling for socio-demographic, health behaviours, and psychosocial variables. 'Baptist' men had, on average, a 1.3 higher BMI compared to those reporting no religious affiliation. Among women, 'Non-Christians' had, on average, a 1 unit lower BMI compared to those reporting no religious affiliation while 'Other Christian' women reported, on average, a 1 unit higher BMI. Our results also indicate that there was a negative relationship between religious importance and BMI among Australian women

Association Between Body Mass Index and Health-Related Quality of Life Among an Australian Sample

Objective: This study investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) and changes in BMI over time with health-related quality-of-life data among a general and representative sample of the Australian population. Methods: The sample consisted of respondents between the ages of 18 and 79 who completed the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey in 2007 and 2009. These respondents completed the SF-36 questionnaire and provided data on their height, weight, medical conditions, and sociodemographic characteristics. SF-36 questionnaire responses were converted into health state utility values using the SF-6D algorithm. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between BMI and utility, controlling for a range of obesity-related medical conditions and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Obese men (BMI value ≥30) had, on average, a lower utility score (-0.0190,

No Aladdin’s cave in New South Wales? Local government amalgamation, scale economies, and data envelopment analysis specification

Local government structural reform programs are often based on the purported benefits of increased scale. We examine this question in relation to the proposed amalgamation program for New South Wales (NSW) by the NSW Independent Local Government Review Panel using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We find evidence that a significant proportion of municipalities scheduled for amalgamation already exceed optimal scale and that the great majority of “amalgamated” entities will initially exhibit decreasing returns to scale. Our findings thus stand in stark contrast to the Independent Local Government Review Panel (ILGRP) contention that municipal mergers are the optimal approach to capturing economies of scale in NSW local government

Population size or population density? An empirical examination of scale economies in South Australian local government, 2015/16

Advocates of amalgamation typically claim that substantial scale economies flow from municipal mergers, which generate larger local government entities by population size. We examined whether economies of scale exist in council outlays by analysing the expenditure of 68 South Australian local government areas using data from the 2015/16 financial year. However, given the correlation between population size and population density it is important to determine whether the influence of population size on expenditure is due to variations in population density. We find that when local government areas are stratified into subgroups on the basis of population density, the evidence of economies of scale largely evaporates. From a policy perspective, this suggests that in place of municipal mergers, policymakers should instead explore avenues for shared service arrangements in those functions which exhibit scale economies

Is there a case for mandating directly elected mayors in Australian local government? Lessons from the 2012 Queensland local government elections

A ‘semi-executive’ model for Australian mayors, inclusive of direct election, is presently being explored in the Australian local sector (see, in particular, Sansom, 2012). This paper takes advantage of the differences across Australia\u27s federation to examine the recent experience of directly elected mayors in Queensland, especially the results of local government elections held in 2012. It is argued that several factors contributed to the high turnover rates of both mayors and councillors, including the 2012 Queensland state election and the 2008 amalgamation process. However, the requirement for directly elected mayors was an important factor contributing to what the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ, 2012, 12) described as a ‘significantly high’ proportion of ‘corporate knowledge’ being lost. Moreover, the direct election of mayors, in particular those charged with ‘semi-executive’ authority, is fraught with problems and thus should not to be implemented in all Australian local government systems