A comparative study of institutional frameworks for local public service partnerships in Finland and Scotland

This research presents a cross-national comparative review of the institutional arrangements for how local public service partnerships are regulated and governed in Finland and Scotland.Both legal and administrative differences of partnership policies are analysed in order to explain the nature of the incentives and obligations for local governments to collaborate with external partners. Institutional theory and conceptual partnership approaches are utilised in the analysis. The Scottish institutional framework provides defined requirements for public-private partnerships. The partnership term is not recognised in the Finnish legal framework;instead it operates with the general concept of co-operation. Both Scottish and Finnish municipalities have more institutional obligations than incentives for partnerships or collaboration. The Scottish institutional framework requires municipalities to partner with external organisations, while in Finland, the legislature has not been proactive in promoting or encouraging public-private partnership. While the political incentives for partnerships are stronger in Scotland, Scottish municipalities have limited financial incentives to look for budgetary savings from partnership arrangements. In contrast, in Finland such financial incentives exist. However, the fixed forms of municipal-municipal collaboration may inhibit the search for more effective forms of partnerships

Organizational innovations of municipal Waste management in Finland and Norway

This empirical study compares the public policies of municipal waste management in Finland and Norway by analyzing organizational innovations of municipal waste management services in order to identify contributing factors of the organizational evolution and evaluate associated stakeholder concerns or implications. Our findings demonstrate that municipal waste management services have been extensively corporatized and regionalized, because municipalities have been too small entities to modernize waste treatment methods and respond to ambitious recovery targets set by the European Union. However, the organizational innovations have caused criticism concerning problems with democratic control, transparency, and fair competition

Pricing joint use of municipal services : theoretical perspectives and regulatory issues

This paper analyses price regulation of inter-municipal contracts in Finland to demonstrate interpretative problems of regulatory rules specifying full-cost or market prices and, by so doing, deepen understanding of the theoretical underpinnings for pricing collaborative municipal services. It considers how to price inter-municipal services taking into account the specific socio-economic nature of inter-municipal cooperation, including both financial and non-financial objectives, through a new joint-use pricing model of municipal services that challenges the supremacy of full-cost pricing requirements in cases of inter-municipal collaborative contracting. Acknowledging limitations and benefits, it concludes European Single Market rules militate against municipal discretion and localism.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Catches of Ips duplicatus and other non-target Coleoptera by Ips typographus pheromone trapping

Catches of non-target Coleoptera in Ips typographus pheromone traps baited with Ipslure® were analysed along a geographic gradient running from southwestem Finland to eastern Finland and Russian Karelia. Besides I. typographus, two other bark beetles, Pityogenes chalcographus and Ips duplicatus were caught in high numbers. I. duplicatus occuned on northeastern sites only, suggesting a more restricted distribution than previously known. High numbers of Thanasimus spp. beetles indicate that I. typographus pheromone is also an effective attractant for bark beetle predators. In addition, the originally North American ambrosia beetle Gnathotrichus materiarius, now widely spread in Europe was found for the first time in nature in Finland

Impacts of joint municipal agencification on the democratic governance of waste management

Purpose: The study examines how introducing joint municipal arm's length bodies (ALBs) into municipal waste management has influenced the preconditions of democratic governance. Design/methodology/approach: The authors describe and explain the democratic implications of joint municipal agencification by reviewing the perspectives of representative and participative democracy. Through this approach, the authors apply the exit–voice framework developed by Albert Hirschman to highlight the potential roles and rights of citizens. This research includes country case studies of Finland and Norway. The authors analyse and systematize Finnish and Norwegian waste and organizational policies by reviewing national regulatory documents, commentaries and guidance materials to identify the fundamental missions and institutional traditions of the alternative organizational forms of joint ALBs. Findings: The study findings highlight that joint agencification has an adverse effect on the democratic governance of waste management policy and services even though these are public monopoly services. They also demonstrate that all joint municipal ALBs limit the classic elements of representative democracy in general, and that private-law ALBs limit residents' rights to influence and participate. Originality/value: This study contributes to local public management studies by applying Hirschman's theory to comparative reviews of joint agencification and ALBs. It revealed the similarities and differences between the different organizational forms of joint ALBs applied in Finland and Norway. It also demonstrated how the democratic rights of residents depend on how municipalities collaborate.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Kunnallisten jätehuoltoyhtiöiden taloudellinen suoriutuminen: Tilinpäätösanalyyttinen vertailu yksityisiin jätehuoltoyrityksiin

Tämän tilinpäätösanalyyttisen tutkimuksen tavoitteena on arvioida ja vertailla, miten kannattavasti ja tehokkaasti jätehuoltoalan kuntaomisteiset osakeyhtiöt ja yksityisesti omistetut osakeyhtiöt ovat toimineet. Tutkimusotos sisältää 762 yritysvuosihavaintoa jätehuoltoyhtiöistä vuosilta 2019–2021. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisen hypoteesin mukaan kunnalliset jätehuoltoyhtiöt ovat vähemmän kannattavia kuin yksityisesti omistetut jätehuoltoyhtiöt, ja toisen hypoteesin mukaan kunnalliset yhtiöt toimivat yksityisiä tehottomammin. Logistisen regressiomallin tulokset osoittautuivat ristiriitaisiksi. Ensimmäinen hypoteesi hyväksytään, mikäli mittarina käytetään sijoitetun pääoman tuottoprosenttia, mutta hylätään, jos mittarina käytetään liiketulosprosenttia. Vastaavasti jälkimmäinen hypoteesi hyväksytään, jos mittarina käytetään pääoman kiertonopeutta, mutta joudutaan hylkäämään, jos mittarina pidetään henkilöstön käytön tehokkuutta. Saadut tulokset eivät anna yksiselitteistä tukea kansainvälisten vertailututkimusten pääviestille, jonka mukaan yksityiset yritykset ovat kannattavampia ja tehokkaampia kuin julkisomisteiset. Sen sijaan tulokset antavat viitteitä kuntaomisteisten ja yksityisesti omistetut jätehuoltoyhtiöiden erilaisista toimintastrategioista. Tulokset osoittavat myös, että kuntaomisteiset jätehuoltoyhtiöt ovat kooltaan suurempia, taserakenteeltaan vakavaraisempia ja niiden toimintahistoria on yksityisesti omistettuja pidempi

Outsourcing in Sandy Springs and Other US Cities: Insights for Other Countries

This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA local government, focusing on the city of Sandy Springs which became widely known for its large-scale ‘turnkey’ outsourcing of provision of its services in the mid-2000s. This city has been referred to in the literature as a special case not applicable to other countries, such as the UK, because of their very different contexts. However, there is now a public sector austerity context within which to reassess Sandy Springs’ use of turnkey outsourcing to achieve significant cost savings and improve services. The paper reports empirical research which it uses to derive insights for municipalities considering outsourcing. Those insights can help improve both policy and professional practice by outlining key issues for consideration when trying to ‘do more with less’ money

Julkisen ja yksityisen kumppanuus (PPP) tarkasteltuna maankäyttöprosessin näkökulmasta

No abstract available