Social Responsiveness and Service Performance of Local Government: The Case of Macedonia

Abstract

Bringing services closer to the citizens is one of the primary goals of local government. Various social groups seek different social treatment and action. This paper examines whether local authorities are responsive and equally open to all those groups, or if they simply spend budget resources in order to carry out their responsibilities as required by the law. The paper brings into light the new concept of social responsiveness of local governments. Being socially responsive requires being more than just open; it implies addressing needs in order to keep citizens satisfied regarding a wide spectrum of public services. The main result of the paper is an assessment of the nexus between local government social responsiveness and local service performance in basic areas (communal services, education, culture, and other competences; economic development; and fiscal assignments) in the case of Macedonia.