Citizen Satisfaction with Local Governance: A Test of Individual, Jurisdictional, and City-Specific Explanations

What are the sources of citizen satisfaction with local government? Our answers to this question remain fragmentary due to limits in our tools of investigation which have not been well suited for disentangling individual- and jurisdictional-level determinants of citizens' evaluations and distinguishing these from city-specific effects. We employ a comparison group design to jointly assess three theoretical accounts of the source of satisfaction. The results point to a very understandable account of satisfaction with local government. On the individual's side of the relationship, we find an important role for local government efficacy and attachment to the local community. And on the government's, our model points to what officials actually do for citizens: provision of some level and quality of services.

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