The spatial range of local governments: does geographical distance affect governance and public service?

Does space matter for local governments in the implementation of development policies? Geographical distance is believed to weaken the transmission of the socioeconomic development policy. Peripherally located local governments may be weaker than those centrally located local governments. Polish local governments from 1995–2007 were assessed based on performance indicators. The results show that the effective range of regional centres is limited to adjacent municipalities within a distance of 25 km and other local governments should be considered as having peripheral significance. Copyright The Author(s) 2013