Abstract
The autonomy of local governments in the Nordic countries is ranked high in comparative indexes. However, the Nordic welfare state, based on unity, and standardised services, seems to represent the contrary. Are Nordic local governments so autonomous after all? Although having a constitutional guarantee of autonomy, local governments in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have to constantly redefine the limits of autonomy. The chapter examines the constraints to local autonomy, including heavily regulated services to upscaling and, a pressure on small municipalities to provide the services. It makes recommendations for local autonomy in the Nordic countries to define itself within the welfare state framework.
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Notes
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Institutional depth: The extent to which local government is formally autonomous and can choose the tasks they want to perform; Policy scope: Range of functions (tasks) where local government is effectively involved in the delivery of the services; Effective policy discretion: The extent to which local government has real influence (can decide on service aspects) over these functions; Financial autonomy: Fiscal autonomy and self-reliance, financial transfer system and borrowing autonomy; Organisational autonomy: The extent to which local government is free to decide about its own organisation and electoral system; Legal protection: Existence of constitutional or legal means to assert local autonomy; Administrative supervision: Unobtrusive administrative supervision of local government; Central or regional access: To what extent local authorities are consulted to influence higher level governments’ policy-making.
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Kettunen, P. (2021). Local Autonomy in the Nordic Countries: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. In: Bergström, T., Franzke, J., Kuhlmann, S., Wayenberg, E. (eds) The Future of Local Self-Government. Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56059-1_5
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