An enterprising municipality? Municipalisation, corporatisation and the political economy of Birmingham City Council in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. Issue 6 (2nd November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Skelcher, Chris
• Is Part Of: Local government studies. Volume 43:Issue 6(2017)
• Page Start: 927
• Page End: 945
• Publication Date: 2017-11-02
• Subjects: Birmingham -- companies -- local government -- municipalisation -- corporatisation; Local government -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Local government -- Periodicals; 352.042
• DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2017.1359163
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0300-3930

Abstract

ABSTRACT: English local authorities not only have a high level of path dependency but also are capable of significant path-breaking innovations. Conventional 'great man' and punctuated equilibrium explanations of path-switching undervalue material factors. Theoretical sampling is used to develop and illuminate the way in which material conditions impact two significant changes in the institutional path of Birmingham City Council – the late nineteenth-century municipalisation of private providers (gas and water) and the early twenty-first century corporatisation of public services (back-office functions, building control, educational support, and museums and art galleries). Data are drawn from secondary sources including Council documents and contemporary accounts. Centrifugal pressure in the early twenty-first century result in arm's length companies offering greater financial resilience. This contrasts with late nineteenth-century centripetal pressure to minimise the patchwork of private providers and trade for a wider public benefit.