The effect of federalism on the development of public policy is a widely debated topic. In terms of environmental policy, this issue assumes greater importance because of the lack of clarity in the constitutional division of powers. It is the purpose of this research to examine environmental impact assessment (EIA) — one of the higher-profile aspects of environmental policy — in order to establish how intergovernmental relations in Canada have affected policy and process development in this area. It is hypothesized that unilateral federal action in this policy area contributes to a corresponding increase in the stringency of provincial EIA processes. To test this, a two-step analysis is adopted: first analyzing developments at both the federal and provincial levels from 1985-1995 — a period which witnessed exceptionally high levels of public concern for the environment and increased federal involvement in EIA — and second discussing key events and agreements which affected intergovernmental relations and determining whether these related to those developments identified. This research finds that greater federal involvement in EIA was a catalyst for some positive reform at the provincial level, although this result varied significantly between the provinces examined. Based on the evidence gathered, it is concluded that some form of intergovernmental collaboration and competition both have a place in the development of EIA policy and that neither should be pursued as an end in itself.

Since 1980s, government reformation has become a trend all around the world. The role that government plays faced harsh challenges so that changes are of a must. The relationship between central and local governments engaged in adjustment as a consequence. Many countries have realized the importance of decentralization of government powers. Since the declaration of the ending of martial law, Taiwan has proceeded a series of social and political liberation. Economic society and citizen society are becoming more and more vigorous as well. The whole society has been accumulating energy and ready to take off. After the legalization of local autonomy and the awakening of the people on their civil rights, democracy has already been a magic word. People enthusiastically participate in the public affairs they are interested in. Intergovernmental relationship (IGR), on the other hand, is an issue getting more complicated and problematic. The development of local autonomy is shifting from old, conventional, conservative, parochial, authoritarian localism to a new localism, which is open, interdependent, negotiating and regional cooperative. In order to respond to the request of people for more personal services, many local administrations usually deal with businesses that involve more than one region such as refuse disposal, river management, reservoir management, environment protection, mass transportation and health care. All these issues are highly interdependent and need cross-regional cooperation. Local governments should seek solution through the aspect of regional cooperation. Therefore, the key to the increase of government efficiency lies on the implementation of cross-regional cooperation mechanism among local governments. As a matter of fact, many solution strategies aiming cross-regional cooperation were given by many a local government in the world already. This essay studied the parallel interactive cooperation between local governments and provided a cross-regional cooperation solution. The case study included two examples, Taipei-Keelung and Kaohsiung City-County-Pingtong, to compare and analyze their refuse disposal models. I hope this study could help to develop horizontal integration and cross-regional cooperation among local governments and to construct ideal interaction models among vicinity regions so as to build a mechanism for wholesome metropolitan development. As part of the foundation, this study may be referred to as a suggestion for effective solution on cross-regional issues.

Project (M.P.P.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (Master of Public Policy Program) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Philosophy, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 268 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Adviser: Donald Haurin, Dept. of Economics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 256-268).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Public Administration." Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-296).

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Jeffrey W. Knopf, Peter R. Lavoy. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-89). Also available online.

No description available.

This thesis concentrates on the interplay of structural and societal factors in the development of regional governance though a comparative study of two Canadian (Toronto and Waterloo) and two German (Frankfurt and the Rhein-Neckar) city regions. It was inspired by the tendency, in both scholarship and practice, to turn to formal institutional reform to solve problems of regional coordination. Debates of new regionalism advocate a role for governance solutions, which encourage a broader spectrum of actors to engage in the policy process. However, the emphasis in most jurisdictions has remained on formal, institutionalized structures, imposed by senior levels of government. As a result, the construction and potential for bottom-up and collectively negotiated regional solutions are typically under-explored. This thesis builds a case for intermunicipal cooperation as an alternative approach to regional coordination, uniting the participatory concept of regional governance with functional flexibility of cooperative networks. It analyses what factors affect the emergence of these networks for governance in three areas of regional economic development: regional marketing, cultural policy and regional transportation. It argues that while regional structural, institutional and contextual variables are useful in understanding the emergence of development partnerships, they tend to have different effects in different cases. The thesis formulates and applies an innovative concept – civic capital – to capture the dynamics of building and sustaining regional governance networks. It is both a critique and extension of social capital approaches to regional development. Using the four cases the thesis argues that, where civic capital is high intermunicipal cooperation is more likely regardless of institutional and structural contexts. Consequently, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution to both literature on intermunicipal cooperation and broader debates on the dynamics of regional governance, development and social networks.

This thesis concentrates on the interplay of structural and societal factors in the development of regional governance though a comparative study of two Canadian (Toronto and Waterloo) and two German (Frankfurt and the Rhein-Neckar) city regions. It was inspired by the tendency, in both scholarship and practice, to turn to formal institutional reform to solve problems of regional coordination. Debates of new regionalism advocate a role for governance solutions, which encourage a broader spectrum of actors to engage in the policy process. However, the emphasis in most jurisdictions has remained on formal, institutionalized structures, imposed by senior levels of government. As a result, the construction and potential for bottom-up and collectively negotiated regional solutions are typically under-explored. This thesis builds a case for intermunicipal cooperation as an alternative approach to regional coordination, uniting the participatory concept of regional governance with functional flexibility of cooperative networks. It analyses what factors affect the emergence of these networks for governance in three areas of regional economic development: regional marketing, cultural policy and regional transportation. It argues that while regional structural, institutional and contextual variables are useful in understanding the emergence of development partnerships, they tend to have different effects in different cases. The thesis formulates and applies an innovative concept – civic capital – to capture the dynamics of building and sustaining regional governance networks. It is both a critique and extension of social capital approaches to regional development. Using the four cases the thesis argues that, where civic capital is high intermunicipal cooperation is more likely regardless of institutional and structural contexts. Consequently, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution to both literature on intermunicipal cooperation and broader debates on the dynamics of regional governance, development and social networks.