Explaining Local Policy Agendas

Building on hundreds of thousands of systematically collected and content-coded local policy agenda observations, this book examines – theoretically and empirically - the policy agenda effects of four central aspects of any political system: the  institutions  that structure politics; the  problems  confronting the political system; the occurrence of regular and free  elections ; and the  actors  navigating the political system. Developing an explanatory model based on these four factors not only improves our understanding of the determinants of the local policy agenda but also contributes to a further integration of local government research, policy agendas research, and the broader discipline of political science. The book may be of particular interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, agenda setting, public policy, and local government.