We study the role of mayoral gender in attracting public funding in Italian municipalities. We exploit a novel administrative dataset containing detailed information on all projects aimed at the digitalisation of local public administrations and funded under Italy's National Recovery and...

We study the role of mayoral gender in attracting public funding in Italian municipalities. We exploit a novel administrative dataset containing detailed information on all projects aimed at the digitalisation of local public administrations and funded under Italy's National Recovery and...

Every year, the State of Regions and Cities report invites us to pause, zoom in, and take stock of where we stand. Europe is often spoken of in broad strokes - the Union, the market, the continent. But the real pulse of Europe is felt locally: in our cities, towns, and regions, where daily life...

We study the reaction of low vs. high-skilled politicians to a reform, approved in Italy in 2011, that introduces stringent individual financial and career sanctions to local administrators who are judged responsible for their municipality’s bankruptcy. To this aim, we leverage exogenous...

January 2025, for the first time in the postwar history of Germany's national parliament, a mainstream political party (the Christian Democratic Union) relied on the support of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass a motion. This prompted intense public debate as many Germans worried that...

Nachdem im Deutschen Bundestag Ende Januar 2025 erstmals eine politische Mehrheit mit den Stimmen der AfD zustande kam, sind viele Deutsche besorgt, dass es bald weitergehende Kooperation mit der AfD geben könnte. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht unsere Studie den Stand der Brandmauer in...

In recent years, technological advancements have significantly transformed the public sector, with many institutions embracing digital solutions to enhance service delivery. Romanian city halls are actively incorporating digitalization into their sustainable development strategies, aiming to...

The literature on regional agglomeration suggests that local economic revitalisation is likely to involve a rise in local wages. In the context of urban regeneration, community-oriented policy envisages to improve prosperity among the residential population of deprived neighbourhoods. Yet, due...

Bei Kommunalwahlen in Nordrhein-Westfalen soll künftig ein neues Sitzzuteilungsverfahren zum Einsatz kommen. Dieses wird nach seinem Urheber, dem Grünen-Landtagsabgeordneten Simon Rock, als „Rock-Verfahren“ bezeichnet. Das Rock-Verfahren wurde mit der Intention geschaffen, den...

This study investigates the effects of smart technologies in urban management on the economic and social dimensions of Brazilian Smart Cities, with a focus on fiscal governance, health, and work. Smart Cities are defined as those that integrate systems, processes, and services through enabling...

Every year, the State of Regions and Cities report invites us to pause, zoom in, and take stock of where we stand. Europe is often spoken of in broad strokes - the Union, the market, the continent. But the real pulse of Europe is felt locally: in our cities, towns, and regions, where daily life...

In neuen Kooperationen von Kommunen mit Wissenschaft, zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen und Bürger*innen erforschten und erprobten in den beiden BMBF-Fördermaßnahmen "Kommunen innovativ" und "REGION.innovativ - Kreislaufwirtschaft" bundesweit 47 Verbundvorhaben innovative Lösungen, mit...

Der Abbau, die Verarbeitung und die Nutzung knapper natürlicher Rohstoffe sind mit negativen Umwelteffekten verbunden. Diese zu reduzieren, erfordert eine konsequente Kreislaufwirtschaft sowie die Reduktion von Stoffströmen. Obwohl Abfallvermeidung rechtlich seit Langem oberste Priorität...

According to various growth theories, technology is the main factor driving long-run growth and economic convergence. Yet this process is constrained by the features of a country's institutional background. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between economic convergence and...

To fully understand why the European Union is defined by its motto United in diversity, one must look at its regions and cities. This complex network of communities, old and new, full of collective and personal stories, is the beating heart of Europe. As a new political cycle starts for the...

To fully understand why the European Union is defined by its motto United in diversity, one must look at its regions and cities. This complex network of communities, old and new, full of collective and personal stories, is the beating heart of Europe. As a new political cycle starts for the...

Intermediate cities have started competing for capital, thus becoming privileged sites for economic growth and policy formulation in agricultural, industrial, and service production areas. However, this process, driven by speculative urban development, exacerbates problems such as socio-spatial...