Mayor’s political party affiliation and local outcomes: evidence from SEE

Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb and Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung
Project duration: February 1, 2023 - April 30, 2024
Project manager: Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović
Collaborators: Vassilis Monastiriotis, Marjan Nikolov, Marijana Galić

Summary: 
Based on the analysis of relevant literature, case studies, and data from selected SEE countries, the scientific objective of this project was to investigate the relevance of political affiliation of mayors in determining and implementing public policies related to city governance and urban development. The main expected aim of this project was to determine whether there were significant differences in strategic objectives established in city development strategies, achieved economic, financial, social, and environmental outputs of implemented measures and projects in the short-term, realized outcomes of developmental programs in the medium-term, and impacts of local public policies in the long-term in Croatian cities, and in selected cities of South-East European (SEE) countries, regarding the political affiliation of mayors to left-oriented political parties, right-oriented political parties, political parties of the center, and those who were politically independent.