Author
Antonio M. López-Hernández
Bio: Antonio M. López-Hernández is an academic researcher from University of Granada. The author has contributed to research in topics: Transparency (behavior) & Accountability. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 45 publications receiving 947 citations.
Papers
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a methodology to measure the financial condition of a local authority, including a variable to measure quality of the services received by the population, and presented a new treatment for the variables of the socioeconomic environment so that the financial and socioeconomic factors can be integrated.
Abstract: Various studies have sought to obtain a measure of the financial health of local authorities, via the concept of financial condition. However, in measuring this latter concept, two serious problems need to be addressed: The first concerns the inclusion or otherwise of socioeconomic variables in the proposed evaluation models, and the second, the difficulty of measuring the solvency in the level of services provided. Therefore, the authors have created a methodology to measure the financial condition of a local authority, including a variable to measure the quality of the services received by the population, and present a new treatment for the variables of the socioeconomic environment so that the financial and socioeconomic factors can be integrated. The application of this method to a sample of Spanish local authorities reveals its capability of minimizing the effects of the socioeconomic environment and maximizing the value of benchmarking, making comparisons between local authorities simpler and more effective.
119 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed an evaluation of municipal waste collection and disposal services to determine whether single/joint or public/private municipal service provision, together with other factors including quality, political aspects, and the socioeconomic environment, most contribute to reducing costs.
Abstract: The current economic crisis is increasingly affecting the public sector, requiring stricter control of deficits, and local administrations are not exempt from these requirements. Therefore, it is essential to consider management forms that may produce cost savings in the provision of public services. In this article we propose an evaluation of municipal waste collection and disposal services to determine whether single/joint or public/private municipal service provision, together with other factors including quality, political aspects, and the socio-economic environment, most contribute to reducing costs. The results obtained for the period 2002–08 show that joint management (inter-municipal cooperation) and public management (in relation to single and private management systems, respectively) have a greater effect on reducing the costs of this service. Thus, small and medium-sized local authorities can identify formulas for reducing costs and thus be in a better position to overcome the economic crisis.
115 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the main problems in evaluating financial performance arises in carrying out comparisons between municipalities, as no account is taken of the impact of certain factors of the social and eco-system.
Abstract: One of the main problems in evaluating financial performance arises in carrying out comparisons between municipalities, as no account is taken of the impact of certain factors of the social and eco...
103 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a new model which will show whether a local authority is heading for financial trouble and provide an early warning of financial tensions allowing corrective action to be taken before there is a crisis.
Abstract: This article presents a new model which will show whether a local authority is heading for financial trouble. The model is simple for national audit bodies to use and provides an early warning of financial tensions allowing corrective action to be taken before there is a crisis.
91 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative study of public and private US universities showed that neither is strongly committed to the online disclosure of social responsibility information, including in relation to sustainability-related activities, suggesting that the challenges are not being faced, and SR is not being used as a differentiating factor in the pursuit of pos...
Abstract: Public and private universities tasked with incorporating principles of social responsibility (SR) into their activities face the multiple challenges of addressing expectations of diverse stakeholders, establishing mechanisms for dialogue, and achieving greater information transparency. This article has two goals: first, to analyze whether SR has become an essential element in activities associated with university accountability, information transparency, and the use of the Internet; second, to analyze whether SR is used by universities as a differentiating factor in relation to their status. A comparative study of public and private US universities shows that neither is strongly committed to the online disclosure of SR information, including in relation to sustainability-related activities. Moreover, there is a uniformity in the accountability activities of both university types, suggesting that the challenges are not being faced, and SR is not being used as a differentiating factor in the pursuit of pos...
89 citations
Cited by
More filters
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them, and describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative.
Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.
2,134 citations
1,987 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize the cross-disciplinary literature on government transparency and present an agenda for future research on transparency and its effects that calls for more systematically investigating the ways in which contextual conditions shape transparency outcomes, replicating studies with varying methodologies, and paying greater attention to understudied claims of transparency such as improved decision making and management.
Abstract: This article synthesizes the cross-disciplinary literature on government transparency. It systematically reviews research addressing the topic of government transparency published between 1990 and 2015. The review uses 187 studies to address three questions: (1) What forms of transparency has the literature identified? (2) What outcomes does the literature attribute to transparency? and (3) How successful is transparency in achieving those goals? In addressing these questions, the authors review six interrelated types of transparency and nine governance- and citizen-related outcomes of transparency. Based on the findings of the analysis, the authors outline an agenda for future research on government transparency and its effects that calls for more systematically investigating the ways in which contextual conditions shape transparency outcomes, replicating studies with varying methodologies, investigating transparency in neglected countries, and paying greater attention to understudied claims of transparency such as improved decision making and management.
246 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the literature on cost savings under cooperation and find that savings are dependent on the cost structure of public services, particularly those related to scale and density economies and externalities, and the structure of local government (size, metropolitan location, powers granted by the nation or regional state).
Abstract: Austerity and fiscal crisis make the search for cost-saving reforms in local government more critical While cost savings from privatization have frequently proven ephemeral, inter-municipal cooperation has been a relatively understudied reform We analyse the literature on cost savings under cooperation and find that savings are dependent on (1) the cost structure of public services, particularly those related to scale and density economies and externalities, (2) the structure of local government (size, metropolitan location, powers granted by the nation or regional state), and (3) the governance framework at the local/regional level where cooperation varies from informal to formal European studies give more emphasis to cost savings, while US studies focus on coordination concerns arising from the higher degree of devolution in the US local government system
210 citations