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

Author(s)
Drew, Joseph
Dollery, Brian E
Kortt, Michael A
Publication Date
2016
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.
Citation
Australian Journal of Public Administration, 75(1), p. 65-77
ISSN
1467-8500
0313-6647
Link
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Title
Can't Get No Satisfaction? The Association Between Community Satisfaction and Population Size for Victoria
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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