Party control, party competition and public service performance
James, O; Boyne, G; John, P; et al.Petrovsky, N
Date: 21 February 2012
Journal
British Journal of Political Science
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher DOI
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Abstract
This article assesses party effects on the performance of public services. A policy-seeking model,
hypothesizing that left and right party control affects performance, and an instrumental model, where
all parties strive to raise performance, are presented. The framework also suggests a mixed model in
which party effects are contingent ...
This article assesses party effects on the performance of public services. A policy-seeking model,
hypothesizing that left and right party control affects performance, and an instrumental model, where
all parties strive to raise performance, are presented. The framework also suggests a mixed model in
which party effects are contingent on party competition, with parties raising performance as increasing
party competition places their control of government at increasing risk. These models are tested against
panel data on English local governments’ party control and public service performance. The results
question the traditional account of left and right parties, showing a positive relationship between rightwing
party control and performance that is contingent on a sufficiently high level of party competition.
The findings suggest left–right models should be reframed for the contemporary context.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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