Kurt Houlberg

Professor, Cand.scient.pol., PhD

Economy and Governance

Key Expertise:

Democracy,
Administration,
Organization,
Municipalities and regions,
Styring,
Improving efficiency,
Governance,
Key figures,
Local Government Reforms,
Public private partnerships,
Intermunicipal Equalization

Selected publications

Scientific article
30. NOV 2016

Blom-Hansen, J., Houlberg, K., Serritzlew, S., & Treisman, D. (2016). Jurisdiction Size and Local Government Policy Expenditure: Assessing the Effect of Municipal Amalgamation. American Political Science Review, 110(4), 812-831.

Scientific article
18. FEB 2015

Petersen, O. H., Houlberg, K., & Christensen, L. R. (2015). Contracting out local services: A tale of technical and social services. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 560-570.

Scientific article
15. JAN 2015

Houlberg, K., & Pedersen, L. H. (2015). Political Consensus and Fiscal Outcomes. Local Government Studies, 41(1), 78-99.

Scientific article
17. OCT 2014

Blom-Hansen, J., Houlberg, K., & Serritzlew, S. (2014). Size, Democracy and the Economic Costs of Running the Political System. American Journal of Political Science, 58(4), 790-803.

Scientific article
FEB 2018

Houlberg, K., Hansen, S. W., & Pedersen, L. H. (2018). How is Political Influence Redistributed in Times of Fiscal Austerity? Scandinavian Political Studies, 41(1), 98-119. https://doi.org/0.1111/1467-9477.12110

Scientific article
3. FEB 2025

Askim, J., Houlberg, K., & Klausen, J. E. (2025). Local government amalgamations and pre-merger overspending: Central naivety meets local opportunism. Journal of Urban Affairs, 47(2), 451-467. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2023.2187302

Book contribution
24. FEB 2023

Labour Market

Pedersen, N. J. M., & Houlberg, K. (2023). Effects of strengthened economic incentives in a decentralized active labour market policy (ALMP) context – the 2016 reform in Denmark. In N. J. M. Pedersen, & H.-A. Kim (Eds.), Changing labour market and the role of subnational governments : The Copenhagen Workshop 2018 (pp. 46-81). The Korea Institute of Public Finance . https://www.vive.dk/da/udgivelser/changing-labour-market-and-the-role-of-subnational-governments-4z61m3xq/

Scientific article
2023

Management and implementation

Vabo, S., Fimreite, A. L., & Houlberg, K. (2023). Why such a different choice of tools? Analysing recent local government reforms in Denmark and Norway. Local Government Studies, 49(2), 355-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2021.2013210

Scientific article
5. MAR 2024

Petersen, O. H., Hansen, J. R., & Houlberg, K. (2024). The administrative burden of doing business with the government: Learning and compliance costs in Business‐Government interactions. Public Administration, 102(1), 188-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12904

Scientific article
5. DEC 2022

Management and implementation
Economy and Governance

Askim, J., Houlberg, K., & Klausen, J. E. (2022). Fiscal easing in local governments facing potential merger: Visible in budgets or hidden in overruns? Public Administration, 100(4), 999-1018. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12781

Scientific article
1. NOV 2024

Callanan, M., Houlberg, K., Raudla, R., & Teles, F. (2024). “Top-down” local government mergers: Political and institutional factors facilitating radical amalgamation reforms. Journal of Urban Affairs, 46(10), 2040–2063. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2022.2144335

Areas

Economy and Governance