(update) Lecture by Professor Germà Bel of the University of Barcelona during a mentoring visit

17 02 2022

We are pleased to announce the upcoming open lecture “Privatization, its reverse, and other alternative options for local government reform”, prepared within the framework of the mentoring visit of Action I.1.1/IV.1.1 “Mentoring Programme”.

At the invitation of the team of the Department of Local Development and Policy of the WGiSR UW, the lecture will be given by Germà Bel – Professor of Economics and Public Policy at UB, and Director of the Observatory of Public Policies Analysis and Evaluation at UB. Editor of Local Government Studies. Between 1990 and 1993 served as advisor to the Spanish Ministers of Public Affairs, and of Public Works and Transportation. Was Member of the Spanish Parliament (2000-2004) and member of the Catalan Parliament (2015-2017).

During the lecture, the Professor will present the state of the art of studies on government reforms in the provision of local public services. Privatization of the delivery of public services was a tool intensively used for local governments reform in the last decades of the past century. Because its outcomes fell short from a priori expectations, other alternative reforms have expanded in the recent decades, such as intermunicipal cooperation. At the same time, strong movements to promote reverse privatization of local services, by means of remunicipalization, have emerged; particularly in heavily monopolistic sectors such as water and energy. Is there a clear and specific path ahead for local government reform?

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, 1.03.2022, ~~from 11:15 to 13:00~~ from 15:00 to 16:30 at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw, 30 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, room ~~111~~ 102.

We invite academics and students of the University of Warsaw as well as everyone interested in the topic!