Reforming the System of Local Government: Estimates and Problems
E.E. GORYACHENKO, K.V. MALOV
Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ac. Lavrentiev av., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Keywords: система местного самоуправления, муниципальное образование, модели организации, реформирование, мониторинг, экспертный опрос, system of local government, municipality, organization models, reformation, monitoring, expert survey
Abstract
The article analyzes modern problems of local government, their dynamics, and guidelines for their solution. Based on annual surveys conducted among heads of municipalities in Russia, we reveal trends implying a changing role of local government in the economic crisis. The existing regulatory framework is shown as imperfect as it is limiting the opportunities of local government. We also discuss the results of the latest stage of municipal reform. By analyzing the change trends for organizational forms of local government, we discover a reorientation from direct elections of heads of municipalities to competitive job substitution procedures. We study the benefits and drawbacks to various models of local government organization envisioned by the newest stage of municipal construction. The article demonstrates divergences between legislatively established and the most expedient (from the standpoint of heads of municipalities) models. The conclusion is that there is a need to monitor the effectiveness of the changes to the legislation and consider the opinions of heads of municipalities when designing a research-based development concept for the system of local government.
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