Urban autonomy and its impact on policy making, the delivery of public services, and the economic performance of cities

Abstract

Ever since the establishment of the first city, urban regions have been increasingly driving economic growth and helping improve the well-being of individuals across the world. After investigating the implications of globalisation on urban regions, this study contributes to current debates regarding devolution by attempting to achieve a better understanding of how urban autonomy influences economic growth. Moreover, the study observes, through the lens of the UK City Deals, how devolution impacts sub-national governance and decision making before assessing whether or not the City Deals have succeeded at enhancing the delivery of public services.
Following the examination of data from several publications and journals, a clear relationship between autonomy and the economic performance of urban regions was not identified. Regardless, the data suggests that granting additional autonomy to urban regions in over-centralised countries has the potential to yield great benefits, particularly when devolution is the outcome of a bottom-up process. Additionally, the evidence hints that the capabilities and capacity of urban-region authorities are major factors in determining whether urban regions benefit from increased autonomy. Furthermore, a thorough investigation of different reports indicates that devolution does boost sub-national governance. However, for devolution to promote good, sub-national governance and inclusive decision-making processes, sub-national authorities should introduce mechanisms that increase democratic accountability and public participation in decision making as additional power is devolved to them. Moreover, although the City Deals appear to be a good first step at devolving power and enhancing the delivery of services, the deals should, as inter-governmental trust and local-authority capabilities grow, be built on to develop more radical devolutionary approaches.