Can't Get No Satisfaction? The Association Between Community Satisfaction and Population Size for Victoria

Title
Can't Get No Satisfaction? The Association Between Community Satisfaction and Population Size for Victoria
Publication Date
2016
Author(s)
Drew, Joseph
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3579-5758
Email: jdrew2@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:jdrew2
Dollery, Brian E
Kortt, Michael A
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Place of publication
Australia
DOI
10.1111/1467-8500.12117
UNE publication id
une:18909
Abstract
Traditionally, the problem of determining the optimal size in local government has been empirically assessed by estimating the relationship between population size and the costs of services (usually measured in terms of per capita expenditure). These studies, however, have proved largely inconclusive. In comparison, an empirical analysis based on the relationship between the size of government and community satisfaction offers a potentially fruitful contribution to the debate regarding the optimal size of local government. However, to date, few studies have followed this approach. We therefore contribute to this literature by exploring the relationship between population size and community satisfaction for Victorian councils. Our findings provide evidence of an inverted 'U-shaped' relationship, which predicts low community satisfaction at very large and very small population sizes.
Link
Citation
Australian Journal of Public Administration, 75(1), p. 65-77
ISSN
1467-8500
0313-6647
Start page
65
End page
77

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