Voice, responsiveness, and alternative policy venues: An analysis of citizen complaints against the local government to the national Ombudsman

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tavares, Antonio F.; Pires, Sara Moreno; Teles, Filipe
• 署名单位: Universidade do Minho; Universidade de Aveiro
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12787
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1054-1072
• 关键词: residential environment quality; political-participation; public-services; neighborhood attachment; city; EXIT; Loyalty; determinants; satisfaction; DISSATISFACTION

摘要

The Ombudsman is one of the most relevant and institutionalized tools to give voice to citizens, so they can express their dissatisfaction with local public services. The literature has yet to produce a systematic explanation for the variation in complaints to the national Ombudsman. This article uses classic literature from public administration and public policy to consider arguments of voice, responsiveness and alternative policy venues concerning the role of the Ombudsman in citizen complaints against local governments. Data on all 2139 citizen complaints submitted to the Ombudsman in Portugal (2012-2015) are analyzed using negative binomial regression models. Policy implications drawn from the results show not only that the presence of alternative voice venues reduces the number of complaints to the national Ombudsman but also that context matters. Local politics stimulates civic engagement and difficult local conditions, such as unemployment, crime, and aging populations, activate citizens to resort to the Ombudsman.