Statistical models of productivity in local government in England and Wales with special reference to waste collection

Nada, Mohamed Sabri Ibrahim (1986) Statistical models of productivity in local government in England and Wales with special reference to waste collection. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Productivity is measured either in physical terms or financial terras. Each of which has its advantages and disadvantages which are discussed in this thesis. Productivity in local government activities in England and Wales should be measured by using many measurements, to give enough information to different groups who are interested in this area, such as central government, taxpayer, consumers, voters, councillors, workers and their unions. Waste collection is one of the local government activities whose productivity was measured physically in this research, by dividing the total waste collected (in tonnes) by the total manual workers. Furthermore, we used some additional measurements which give more indications for productivity and its growth for different people who are interested in this area. These measurements are: (1) costs per tonne, (2) costs per person served, (3) wages and salaries, and (4) the number of unemployed people. Time series study was done in waste collection in England and Wales in 1978-79 till 1983-84 to find out the relationships between the different methods which were used in measuring productivity. From this study it was found that : (1) there was always a growth of productivity in waste collection in England and Wales during that period, (2) the growth of productivity was nearly always accompanied by the reduction in costs per tonne and in costs per person served, and (3) the growth of productivity was nearly always accompanied by an increase in wages and salaries and in the number of unemployed. Cross section analysis was done for the four areas in England and Wales in 1983-84, to build up a satistical model for the productivity of waste collection in each of these areas which are London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts, Non-Metropolitan Districts - England, and Non- Metropolitan Districts - Wales. Two criteria were used to find out how satisfactory our variables are to explain the productivity in waste collection, which were measured in this analysis by costs per person served, these criteria are the value of R or R and the significance of each equation. By using these two criteria it was found that our variables were satisfactory in London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts, and Non-Metropolitan Districts - England, while they were not satisfactory in Non-Metropolitan Districts - Wales. So the statistical models in London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts and Non-Metropolitan Districts - England, are recommended to be used to anticipate the productivity in waste collection, while the statistical model in Non-Metropolitan Districts-Wales is not recommended to be used for the same purpose. The lack of goodness of fit of our variables in Non-Metropolitan Districts - Wales is expected to be because of the lower number of population in this area compared with the other areas, and because this area is the most rural area in England and Wales. So it is recommended for the researchers to make a new study in waste collection in Non- Metropolitan Districts - Wales, by using different variables in addition to all or some of our variables.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Management, Public administration, Statistics
• Date of Award: 1986
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1986-76626
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 14:01
• Last Modified: 19 Nov 2019 14:01
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/76626