Scottish citizens enjoy 25% more spending per head on public services than English citizens, but almost nothing is known about the countries’ relative needs and hence about how far this gap is defensible. We explore their spending needs for local authority services, which cover over half the...

The paper examines the relationship between some key measures of macroeconomic performance and fiscal decentralization in OECD countries, and the impact on this relationship of increased policy co-ordination among countries since 1985. It is shown that prior to 1985 there was a significant...

The European Water Framework Directive provides a new impetus to manage river catchments in more integrated, joined-up ways. This article looks at the role of stakeholders in integrated catchment management. Taking the work of the Environment Agency as a case study, the article begins by looking...

In the event of a disaster, communities become the targets of specialist organisations and a concentration of activities. The complex unstructured activities and routines of daily life are disrupted and even totally overwhelmed by a single catastrophic event that requires a redirection of...

The concept of a natural hazard is a human construct. It is the interaction with human communities and settlements that defines a natural phenomenon as a natural hazard. Thus the end point of hazard mitigation and hazard vulnerability assessment must involve an attempt to reduce, or mitigate,...

This paper advocates the use of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory as a framework to analyse resilience at diverse scales. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory can be employed to (a) benchmark social resilience, (b) target the priority interventions required and (c) measure progress...

Advances in computer technology have made very large databases easily accessible to users and managers. The census and land databases are of enormous use to hazard managers and planners. An extensive literature has identified groups of social, economic and demographic indicators that may be...

Transportation analysts frequently assert that congestion pricing’s political obstacles can be overcome through astute use of the toll revenue pricing generates. Such “revenue recycling,” however, implies that the collectors of the toll revenue will not be its final recipients, meaning...

Recent large-scale field experiments of get out the vote (GOTV) drives have been non-partisan and may not accurately capture the effectiveness of partisan campaign outreach. In the 2002 Michigan gubernatorial election, a large field experiment across 14 state house districts evaluated the cost...