Written by experts from all over Europe, this book provides an overview of issues and developments in European local government and in-depth analysis of its changing status, functions, management and control in each of the main countries.

List of Tables.- Notes on the Contributors.- Foreword.- Acknowledgements.- Introduction: Trends in Western European Local Government; G.Stoker.- Western European Local Government in Comparative Perspective; A.Norton Trends in Local Autonomy and Democracy: Reflections from a European Perspective; P.Blair.- The Restructuring of Local Government in England and Wales; P.John.- Customer-Orientated Service Delivery in German Local Administration; D.Grunow.- Public Goods and Private Operators in France; D.Lorrain.- Italian Local Services: The Difficult Road Towards Privatisation; B.Dente.- Experiences and Experiments in Dutch Local Government; H.A.G.M.Bekke.- The System of Local Government in Portugal; A.Pereira.- Improving Access to Administration in Spain; J.F.Mateo.- Local Government in Ireland; T.J.Barrington.- The Changing Local Government and Politics of Sweden; A.Gustafsson.- Key Issues in the Local Government Debate in Denmark; O.Nissen.- The 'Free Local Government' Experiment in Norway; P.Lodden.- Comparisons and Lessons; R.Batley.