Managing Cities in Austerity : Urban Fiscal Stress in Ten Western Countries

Why are some of our cities going broke while others prosper?

What factors contribute to effective city management?

Are these challenges the same in cities worldwide? This study of the failures and successes of city management offers new insights into how to manage cities effectively in today's economic climate.

The contributors to this important volume have found several important lessons from cities around the Western world: innovative strategies can work; fiscal management strategies, such as privatization can be made politically feasible; and, the national government's urban policy forms a vital component in success or failure at the city level.

A product of one of the largest comparative social science research projects ever undertaken, the Fiscal Austerity and Urban Innovation Project, this comparative volume includes data from over 2,500 local governments in ten Western countries.

Managing Cities in Austerity fills a major gap in the literature on urban policy-making and comparative public policy and will prove to be essential reading for academics, graduate students, and practitioners in urban politics and comparative urban policy. "It is an ideal source of information for anyone who would like to learn some basic facts about local government finance in European countries and gain another perspective on recent-year trends in the U.S." --Government Finance Review