Evaluating EU Policies on Public Services: A Citizens´ Perspective

33 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2010 Last revised: 18 May 2010

See all articles by Judith Clifton

Judith Clifton

University of Cantabria

Daniel Díaz-Fuentes

Universidad de Cantabria; Universidad de Cantabria, Department of Economics

Date Written: July 1, 2008

Abstract

This article evaluates EU policies on public services - particularly public network services - from the citizens' point of view. It is first argued that citizens´ perceptions about these services are important because they are essential for quality of life, but also because they exhibit economic characteristics such as asymmetrical information, adverse selection and positive externalities. Changing EU policy on public services is synthesised and classified into two main phases in section two. Citizen satisfaction with public services as revealed through surveys from 1997 to 2007 is explored in the third section. In the discussion, the prospects for EU policy on public services are considered and, it is argued that, from the perspectives of subsidiarity and proportionality, policy towards strengthening the common market is being increasingly uploaded to the supranational level in the form of directives, whilst cohesion and redistribution policies are being downloaded to the national level or dealt with at the supranational level by 'soft' instruments.

Keywords: Public Services, Consumers, Citizens, Evaulation, European Union

JEL Classification: H4, H41, L9

Suggested Citation

Clifton, Judith and Diaz-Fuentes, Daniel and Diaz-Fuentes, Daniel, Evaluating EU Policies on Public Services: A Citizens´ Perspective (July 1, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1598366 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1598366

Judith Clifton (Contact Author)

University of Cantabria ( email )

Avda. Los Castros, s/n
Santander 39005
Spain

Daniel Diaz-Fuentes

Universidad de Cantabria, Department of Economics ( email )

Av. Los Castros s/n
Santander 39005, Cantabria 39005
Spain
+34 942201624 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://personales.unican.es/diazd/

Universidad de Cantabria ( email )

Av. Los Castros s/n
Santander 39005, Cantabria 39005
Spain
+34 942201624 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://personales.unican.es/diazd/

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