Title: Response to local financial emergencies in Michigan: a new public management perspective

Authors: Julius A. Nukpezah; Tamara Dimitrijevska-Markoski; Ismail Soujaa

Addresses: Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Mississippi State University, 104 Bowen Hall, 456 Hardy Road, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA ' Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Mississippi State University, 105 Bowen Hall, 456 Hardy Road, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA ' Department of Public Administration, University of North Texas, 410 Avenue C, Chilton Hall Suite 242, Denton, TX 76203, USA

Abstract: The study draws on the new public management (NPM) scholarship to investigate the financial emergencies in Michigan cities. The study examines the circumstances under which the state government of Michigan declares financial emergencies in its local governments and studies NPM strategies that appointed emergency managers use in responding to the crises. Through detailed examination of the experiences of seven Michigan cities that had appointed emergency managers, the findings of the study provide practical lessons for governments on how to use NPM strategies to reduce cost, increase revenues, reorganise city halls, foster interlocal cooperation, contract-out services, and promote diverse economic development initiatives that make cities more stable financially.

Keywords: financial emergencies; financial crises; financial emergency laws; municipal bankruptcy; emergency response and recovery; exogenous shocks; local vulnerability; new public management; NPM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2021.118690

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2021 Vol.8 No.4, pp.361 - 380

Received: 05 Jul 2019
Accepted: 16 Jul 2019
Published online: 03 Nov 2021 *

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