Concentrating or Centralising Public Services? The Changing Roles of the Hungarian Inter-municipal Associations in the last Decades

Abstract

The article reviews the transformation of the roles of municipalities, inter-municipal associations and the central government in the light of local public services. Firstly, theoretical and international backgrounds of the topic are shown. Secondly, the article presents the changing roles of Hungarian municipalities and inter-municipal associations in the field of local public services and administration. Here, a tendency of concentration can be observed from the disintegration in the early 1990s up until now. Thirdly, the outcome of the transition from a decentralised to a centralised system is analysed, i.e. the nationalisation and centralised administration of the former municipal local services.