New development: Public managers between a rock and a hard place—social-financial sustainability in local government

Abstract

Sustainability is often studied as an environmental or economic issue with a strong focus on metrics. The social dimension has received little attention in public administration research, and even less is known about the social and financial sustainability nexus. This article provides empirical insights, illustrating that socially and financially sustainable local government requires deep understanding of the decision-making processes in financial management and budgeting with respect to how much to spend and on what.