Publications

Highlights of Centre publications are provided below. Recent books and monographs published by members of the Centre include:

Books

Australian Local Government Economics Brian Dollery, Lin Crase and Andrew Johnson, UNSW PRESS, Sydney, February 2006, 336pp The increasing complexities of Australian local government place onerous demands on municipal managers and oblige them to continually upgrade their skills. This book examines the economic environment of contemporary local governance.
The Political Economy of the Voluntary Sector: A Reappraisal of the Comparative Institutional Advantage of Voluntary Organizations Brian Dollery and Joe Wallis, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, December 2003, 208pp This book provides a superb review of the literature on nonprofit organizations and extends the boundaries of our knowledge in a substantial and novel way. In particular, Dollery and Wallis provide a seminal analysis of public policy alternatives on the voluntary sector. The book represents a "must read" for all scholars, practitioners, students and policymakers interested in nonprofit organizations.
Reshaping Australian Local Government: Finance, Governance and Reform Brian Dollery, Neil Marshall and Andrew Worthington (eds), UNSW PRESS, Sydney, July 2003, 288pp Examines many of the epic changes that have taken place in Australian local government during the past decade, including the debate on amalgamations, the nature of intergovernmental transfers, democratic processes, developments in management and leadership, financial reform, local government failure, and virtual local governance in Australia.
The Political Economy of Local Government: Market Failure, Reform and Leadership Brian Dollery and Joe Wallis, Studies in Fiscal Federalism and State – Local Finance series edited by Wallace E. Oates, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, July 2001, 264pp A study of local government policy formulation, drawing on developments in economics - such as new institutional economics - and advances in the theories of social capital and leadership. The authors also examine rival minimalist and activist approaches to local government reform.
Market Failure, Government Failure, Leadership and Public Policy Joe Wallis and Brian Dollery, Macmillan Press Ltd, London, July 1999, 232pp A global wave of reform is fundamentally reshaping the role of the state in national economies. This book provides a fresh and accessible perspective on the political economy of this megatrend. It traces the theoretical roots of the reforms to developments in public economics which emphasize problems of government rather than market failure. It then breaks new ground in developing an economic theory of leadership to explain how policy leadership networks can strive to influence the direction of reform processes.
Australian Local Government: Reform and Renewal Brian Dollery and Neil Marshall (eds), Macmillan, Melbourne, May 1997, 343pp This book discusses most critical and topical issues affecting local government. The book as a whole, and each chapter within it, takes a national perspective. Though the major focus of different chapters may be on one or two States, developments across Australia are also examined. Authors provide a brief historical context of their topic, a description of the scope and substance of the reforms, and an evaluation of the impact that the changes have had. The collection is comprehensive in scope and covers the related areas of management, politics and policy. The book is designed to appeal to practitioners as well as academics and students.

Current books in progress

Dollery, B. E. and Robotti, L. (eds), Alternative Models of Local Government: Theoretical Foundations and International Evidence (forthcoming 2007).

Dollery, B. E., Garcea, J. and LeSage, E. (eds), Local Government Reform at the Turn of the Millennium: Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, the United States and Canada, Edward Elgar (forthcoming 2007).

Wallis, J., Dollery, B. and McLoughlin, L. The Political Economy of Reform and Leadership in the Public Sector, Edward Elgar (forthcoming 2007).

Monographs

Dollery, B. E., Marshall, N. A., Johnson, A. and Witherby, A. Regional Capacity Building: How Effective is REROC? Wagga Wagga, Riverina Eastern Regional Organization of Councils, 2004, v + 63.

Kimber, M., Dollery, B. E., Marshall, N. A. and Witherby, A. Australian Local Government: An Annotated Bibliography, 1988-1998, Sydney, NSW Department of Local Government and University of Western Sydney, 1999, 104.

Witherby, A., Dollery, B. E., Marshall, N. A. and Auster, M. Local Government: One Industry, Many Perspectives, Sydney, Australian Institute of Urban Studies (NSW), 1999, 103.

Witherby, A., Dollery, B. E., Marshall, N. A. and Auster, M. Is Bigger Better? Towards a Model Process for Local Government Structural Reform, Sydney, Australian Institute of Urban Studies, 1999, 65.