Scandinavian big cities have towards the end of the 20th century decentralised their political organisation. Substantial parts of service provision, and with it also city budgets, have been devolved to Urban District Councils. This book investigates the effects on local democracy and service provision efficiency of these reforms, as well as providing an understanding of the reform processes.

Henry Bäck, Professor of Public Administration, Göteborg University; Gunnar Gjelstrup, Senior Lecturer, Roskilde University; Marit Helgesen, Researcher, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo; Folke Johansson, Associate Professor of Political Science, Göteborg University; Jan Erling Klausen, Researcher, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo