Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity
This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-l...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor and Francis
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49176/ |
| _version_ | 1848797939223232512 |
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| author | Gardner, Alison |
| author_facet | Gardner, Alison |
| author_sort | Gardner, Alison |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-layer processes, whereby radical ‘punctuated’ shifts in national funding can be mitigated to incremental adjustments in service delivery at a local level. However, the paper also suggests that the incremental appearance of change may be temporary, and that diminishing institutional resilience and emergent discursive shifts potentially prefigure a paradigm change in local governance. Hall’s (1993) framework of policy change is used to assess the extent of change to date. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49176 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:50Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-491762020-05-04T18:32:02Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49176/ Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity Gardner, Alison This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-layer processes, whereby radical ‘punctuated’ shifts in national funding can be mitigated to incremental adjustments in service delivery at a local level. However, the paper also suggests that the incremental appearance of change may be temporary, and that diminishing institutional resilience and emergent discursive shifts potentially prefigure a paradigm change in local governance. Hall’s (1993) framework of policy change is used to assess the extent of change to date. Taylor and Francis 2017-01-02 Article PeerReviewed Gardner, Alison (2017) Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity. Local Government Studies, 43 (2). pp. 150-169. ISSN 1743-9388 Local government; Austerity; New institutionalism; Change; Public administration https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2016.1276451 doi:080/03003930.2016.1276451 doi:080/03003930.2016.1276451 |
| spellingShingle | Local government; Austerity; New institutionalism; Change; Public administration Gardner, Alison Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title | Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title_full | Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title_fullStr | Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title_short | Big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity |
| title_sort | big change, little change?: punctuation increments and multi-layer institutional change for english local authorities under austerity |
| topic | Local government; Austerity; New institutionalism; Change; Public administration |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49176/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49176/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49176/ |