Municipal Expenditures in Norway: Autonomy and Constraints in Local Government Activity

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Abstract
The purpose of this article is to test some propositions about the effect of local ‘needs’, resources and political variables on municipal expenditures in 460 Norwegian communes. We have made use of a ‘means-end’-model of local autonomy to differentiate between municipal policies. We assume that the range of local discretion will vary along at least two dimensions: (1) the degree of local independence in framing the goals of the municipal activities, and (2) the latitude left to the municipal authorities concerning the means for fulfilling the defined goals. Four policy areas are chosen, each illustrating different categories of the model. The results of regression analyses between per capita expenditures in the four policy areas and the independent variables indicate that while resources account for a substantial part of the variation in expenditures in all policy areas, ‘needs’ seem to be important determinants in those areas where goals are prescribed by central government. Political variables exert an independent impact on the level of expenditures in those areas of policy where the municipalities enjoy some degree of autonomy on one of the two dimensions in the model. In the most autonomous area, however, only resources seem to be of importance in determining the expenditure levels.

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