Innovative Thinking on the Relationship between the Provision of Local Services and Inequality in Israel
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Abstract
What innovative policy tools can be introduced so that the provision of local services will mitigate inequality among residents of different localities? Based on the ‘new localism’ approach, this article examines one such tool—a mandatory national standard for services provided by local authorities (a ‘service basket’)—and suggests that the implementation process should consider local variation and autonomy. The novelty of our approach lies in including both objective and normative considerations in the methodological instrument that we developed to capture these two dimensions. This innovative methodology also enabled us to estimate existing service gaps among local authorities and the burdens some will face upon instituting a mandatory service basket.
Contributor Notes
YORAM IDA is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Sapir Academic College, and a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University. His research interests include the economic and social aspects of government regulation of public transportation services, government regulation of employment of migrant workers in Israel, and inequality in provision of local government services. E-mail: idayoram@sapir.ac.il
AMIR HEFETZ earned his PhD in Public Administration from the University of Haifa. His background includes economics, marketing, and planning. He is currently a statistical consultant at Data-Graph Statistical Consulting, where he develops modeling strategies for academic and professional researchers in fields such as education, management, psychology, and marketing. E-mail: ahefet01.campus@gmail.com
ASSAF MEYDANI is a Professor and Dean of the School of Government and Society at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo. He serves as the President of the Israel Political Science Association (ISPSA) and is a member of the Public Committee for Funding Political Parties, Knesset, Israel. His research interests include public policy, politics and law, and political economy. He is the author of several books, among them The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel: Constitutional Rhetoric and State Practice (2014), which won the 2015 ISPSA Best Book Award. E-mail: assafmei@mta.ac.il
GILA MENAHEM is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Public Policy, Tel Aviv University. She has written on the process of policy formulation, policy paradigms, and policy networks in the domains of water, higher education, and urban policy. Her recent research deals with collaborative governance in local municipalities and their impact on local sustainability and local services. Among her co-edited books are Public Policy in Israel (2002, with David Nachmias) and Policy Analysis in Israel (2016, with Amos Zehavi). E-mail: gilam@post.tau.ac.il
ELAD COHEN, a lawyer and co-owner of a law firm, has been a member of the Israeli Bar Association since 1995 and has served in a number of senior political positions in local government in Israel. His research interests are law and politics, politicization in the labor arena, public policy, and local government. Among other studies, he recently completed comprehensive research on various dimensions and aspects of political dismissal. E-mail: elad@avitalcohen-law.com