Municipal Performance Index

LFMI’s Municipal Performance Index Implemented in Kenya, Underway in Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute’s (LFMI) Templeton Freedom Award-winning Municipal Performance Index has been successfully replicated and launched by the Institute of Economic Affairs–Kenya in Kenya and is currently underway in Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Under the title of Kenya Urban Areas Performance Index Report, the index covers six largest urban areas in Kenya – Nairobi, Eldoret, Nakuru, Kisumu, Machakos and Mumbasa – and rank them in three overarching categories, including service delivery, conditions for investment and governance.

The performance of urban areas is measured against 67 indicators and highest points are given for those that “ensure individuals’ free choice, create favourable business conditions, use public resources efficiently and ensure transparency of their activities”.

Reportedly, for IEA-Kenya, the report provides a rich source of data and information that can be employed to reach different audiences including policy makers, civil society, researchers, students, the media and the public to inform debate and dialogue on urban governance and planning.

The urban ranking provides policy makers with impetus to initiate policy reforms needed while also equipping other groups such as civic players and the media with key messages to effectively advocate for policy changes at local governance.

“In Lithuania, the Municipal Performance Index has successfully driven policy reforms in favour of private ownership, free enterprise, and lower taxation and bureaucracy since its very launch in 2011. It has been successfully replicated in Georgia and Hungary and will certainly benefit civil society, local advocacy groups and urban administrations in Kenya” – says Žilvinas Šilėnas, President of LFMI.

LFMI is currently working with the Forum for Latvia’s Future and the Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise on establishing the measurement of the performance of local governments in Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and plans further expansion of the Municipal Performance Index to Ukraine.

“We are pleased to offer think tanks from across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond a methodological framework and expert assistance in replicating and establishing an index in their countries” – concludes Aneta Vainė, Vice-President at LFMI.


Read the Kenya Urban Areas Performance Index Report; Explore data on an interactive dashboard

Find out more about the original Lithuanian Free Market Institute’s Municipal Performance Index

Vilnius Tops 2017 Lithuanian Municipality Rankings

Vilnius claims the top position in the Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index for a third year in a row, surpassing Klaipėda and Kaunas city municipalities. Though Vilnius has maintained the top ranking, the port city of Klaipėda is catching up fast. Sound financial management, cost-effectiveness and the lowest debt among city municipalities make Klaipėda a particularly strong competitor. As regards the top three district municipalities, Klaipėda has once again forged ahead of Kaunas, and Palanga took the third place, thus improving its standing by 3 positions since last year. In general, the 2017 Municipal Performance Index shows that the gap between economically strong and poor regions is widening.

Compiled since 2011, the Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index ranks the performance of municipal governments in three overarching categories: municipalities for citizens, municipalities for investors, and municipal governance and administration. The Index measures the extent to which local governments create favorable living conditions, promote freedom of thought, encourage investments, and foster good governance and provides separate rankings of six city municipalities and 54 district municipalities of Lithuania.

This year’s best-performing municipalities are distinguished by economic activity, the creation of more well-paid jobs, a lower number of welfare dependants, and lower emigration levels. The capital city of Vilnius which attracts two thirds of foreign investment has a relatively low unemployment rate and is the only city with a growing working population. The index also shows that district municipalities neighboring the biggest cities are better-off as more and more people chose to work and live there. Overall, key indicators show positive trends in both city and district municipalities: the average monthly wage has increased by 9 percent, the unemployment rate has decreased by 8 percent, and the number of welfare dependants has declined by 20 percent. On the other hand, municipal indebtedness, emigration, and shrinking investment remain among the key problems of some less well-off municipalities. One third has lost over 2 percent of their population and some have merely attracted one euro in investment per capita.

2017 rankings:

Top city municipalities: Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaunas, Šiauliai and Panevėžys.

Top 5 of 54 district municipalities: Klaipėda, Kaunas, Palanga, Druskininkai, Mažeikiai.

The 2017 Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index (in Lithuanian) is available for download here.

In the index, municipalities score if they:

  • do not live beyond their means and ensure efficient management and transparency of public finances;
  • ensure freedom of choice and promote competition between service providers;
  • decrease the tax burden and create favourable business conditions;
  • manage assets effectively and sell assets unrelated to the performance of their core functions;
  • engages with the private sector in the performance of their functions;
  • reduce the administrative and bureaucratic burden.

In 2014 the LFMI’s Municipal Performance Index won the prestigious $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award which recognizes the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation and human fulfilment via free competition.

About the Lithuanian Free Market Institute:

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 1990 to promote the ideas of individual freedom and responsibility, free market, and limited government. In the pursuit of its mission, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute conducts research on key economic and policy issues, develops conceptual reform packages, drafts and evaluates legislative proposals, conducts sociological surveys, issues economic literature, and organizes conferences, workshops, and lectures.

Media contact: Asta Narmontė, Head of Communication, phone: +370 620 22200, email: asta@llri.lt

Vilnius Tops 2016 Lithuanian Municipality Ranking

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute has released the sixth edition of the Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index (MPI). This year the capital city of Vilnius has firmly maintained the top ranking, followed by Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Kaunas city municipalities. The Kaunas District Municipality has outperformed other 53 regional administrations.

“Vilnius has claimed the top position for a second year in a row. The capital city has attracted most investment and reduced the numbers of the unemployed and social benefit recipients. Yet, Vilnius is still plagued by a huge debt and may be overtaken by the city of Klaipėda if the latter improves the business environment and attracts more investment,” – says Aistė Čepukaitė, Head of the Municipal Performance Index.

The top three district municipalities have remained relatively stable, with Kaunas forging ahead of Klaipėda, and Druskininkai remaining in the third position.

“Although Kaunas District Municipality has come in first, both Kaunas and Klaipėda district municipalities have kept the same pace and successfully exploited the neighbourhood of major cities. A good economic situation fosters prosperity, and these two districts should be proud of being among the few that have a growing population,” – adds Aistė Čepukaitė.

The good news is that most of municipalities have shown positive developments. The number of businesses and sole proprietors has increased. The ranks of jobless people have shrunk, and the number of recipients of entitlement benefits has dropped by over a quarter. Importantly, three in four municipalities have reduced their debt.

However, the MPI suggests that some municipalities are struggling to attract investments. Never before has the socio-economic gap between the municipalities that attract investments and those that do not been so wide. While many municipalities have made huge strides forward in this regard, quite a few are still stagnating. Unemployment rates are up to three times higher in the worst performing municipalities, and the percentage of population dependent on social benefits differs as many as eleven times.

“We should not distinguish between Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania. Our focus should be on economically active and economically stagnant regions. Take the Tauragė district. Located in a corner of Lithuania, it has successfully attracted foreign investment and has outstripped all others in terms of investment per capita. At the same time Ignalina, a municipality located in another corner of the country, fares worst by unemployment. Clearly, investment and economic activity are the drivers of well-being, and municipalities can do a lot to encourage them, from offering a user-friendly website to improving business conditions and reducing red tape,” – President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute Žilvinas Šilėnas says.

Top city municipalities: Vilnius (68 points out of 100), Klaipėda (62 points), Šiauliai (55 points), Kaunas (48 points), Alytus (32 points) and Panevėžys (23 points).

Top 5 of 54 district municipalities: Kaunas (86 points out of 100), Klaipėda (84 points), Marijampolė (69 points) and Šilutė (69 points).

The 2016 Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index is available (in Lithuanian) at  http://files.lrinka.lt/Savivaldybiu_indeksas_2016/Lietuvos.savivaldybiu.indeksas.2016.pdf

In the index, municipalities score if they:

  • do not live beyond their means and ensure efficient management and transparency of public finances;
  • ensure freedom of choice and promote competition between service providers;
  • decrease the tax burden and create favourable business conditions;
  • manage assets effectively and sell assets unrelated to the performance of their core functions;
  • engages with the private sector in the performance of their functions;
  • reduce the administrative and bureaucratic burden.

In 2014 the LFMI’s Municipal Performance Index won the prestigious $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award which recognizes the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation and human fulfilment via free competition.

About the Lithuanian Free Market Institute:

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 1990 to promote the ideas of individual freedom and responsibility, free market, and limited government. In the pursuit of its mission, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute conducts research on key economic and policy issues, develops conceptual reform packages, drafts and evaluates legislative proposals, conducts sociological surveys, issues economic literature, and organizes conferences, workshops, and lectures.

Media contact: Asta Narmontė, Head of Communication, phone: +370 620 22200, email: asta@llri.lt

Vilnius Tops 2015 Lithuanian Municipality Rankings

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute has released the 2015 edition of the Templeton Freedom Award Winning Lithuanian Municipal Performance Index, generating 100 media hits on the day of the launch and another 100 over the next three days. For a fifth year in a row LFMI has ranked Lithuanian local administrations to show which municipalities are best and which are worst in serving their citizens, fostering good governance and providing conditions to attract investment and create prosperity. This year the capital city of Vilnius has topped the ranking, and the city port of Klaipėda has come out second. The Kaunas and Klaipėda regional municipalities have outperformed the remaining  54 regional local administrations.

For the first time Vilnius has claimed the first position from the city of Klaipeda, albeit by a very narrow margin. According to President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute Žilvinas Šilėnas, the main reason why Vilnius has ranked first is because of its attractiveness to investors and business. Vilnius has attracted more foreign investments, while the statistics for Klaipėda have slightly dropped. A low unemployment rate is another significant factor, as it the fact that Vilnius appears to be the only city whose population has increased. Despite all this, Vilnius is plagued by a sizeable debt if compared with other Lithuanian cities, and this must be a primary concern for the city’s administration if the aim is to maintain favorable conditions for further development.

This year’s index has revealed some positive aspects in the work of local administrations. For one thing, the amount of people who have received entitlement benefits has lowered by a quarter. The 2015 index has also recorded an 8 percent increase in the number of economic entities per 1,000 people and a 1.3 percent increase in the number of construction permits per 1,000 citizens. Importantly,  municipalities have also reported a 13 percent growth in the number of people who have obtained business licenses.

The results could have even be better but the majority of local administrations have struggled to draw investments. Surprisingly, while the population has declined country-wide, local administrations have boosted the numbers of employees. In 2014 there were 7.15 municipal administration employees per 1,000 citizens, and this year’s index has recorded an increase to 7.34. Another concern is that local administrations still prefer to provide such services as garbage collection,  administration of apartment buildings, public transportation and others through municipally-owned companies. And this has led to a loss of 5.4 mln euros for local administrations.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) has published its 2014 Templeton Freedom Award winning Lithuanian Municipality Index since 2011. The Index measures the level of economic freedom, service provision and local administration efficiency in Lithuanian municipalities based on a total of 65 indicators. The Index has become an important research- and evidence-based tool to drive pro-market policy reforms at the local government level in Lithuania.

Full report in Lithuanian http://www.llri.lt/lietuvos-savivaldybiu-indeksas-2015

 

LFMI’s award-winning Municipal Performance Index implemented in Hungary and Georgia

LFMI is delighted to announce that the Templeton Freedom Award-winning Municipal Performance Index has been successfully implemented and launched in Hungary and Georgia.

LFMI designed and launched the Municipal Performance Index in 2011 in order to build the case for policy change at a local government level. The Index measures and ranks the performance of municipal governments in three overarching categories: municipalities for citizens, municipalities for investors, and municipal governance and administration. This publication is beneficial for citizens, investors and the municipalities themselves, as it shows the areas where lower performing governments should improve.

Lithuanian Municipality Performance Index 2014: municipalities sinking further into debt

press conference of Municipality indexOf the seven city municipalities in this year’s Lithuanian Municipality Performance Index, Klaipėda was the highest scoring, whereas the lowest ranked was Šiauliai. Out of the 53 country municipalities, Kaunas finished in first place for the second consecutive year, while the Alytus municipality was at the bottom of the index. We can also observe a dangerous trend emerging in Lithuania, with municipal governments across the board sinking further and further into debt.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) publishes their Lithuanian Municipality Index annually. The Index assesses the level of economic freedom in each municipality. Municipalities are assessed using indicators based on areas important to residents and investors, such as the effectiveness of social services and the levels of taxation respectively.

“Klaipėda, the winner, is attractive for businesses, as the municipality does not restrict competition, and also creates a good atmosphere for their residents, as the citizens have more choice in health or utilities providers. However, this does not mean there is no room for improvement. Klaipėda, like the majority of Lithuanian municipalities, should be concerned about its debt,” says LFMI President Žilvinas Šilėnas.

According to 2013 data, 42 Lithuanian municipality governments are deep in debt. During 2013, existing municipality government debt grew another 118 million Litas. Urban municipal debt averaged 55 percent, with regional debt averaging a slightly lower 46 percent of revenue. Around one third of the country’s municipalities were able to control their debt, with 18 of the municipalities decreasing their debt level during the year of 2013.

“The index shows that Šiauliai is also deep in debt, however it is a positive sign that the city has now started to improve on the 2013 results and reduce their debt. In the end, increasing debt levels and rising interest rates will, inevitably, be paid for by the residents through their taxes. If municipality governments continue to borrow money, we may see the day where municipalities will only be able to think about their debt repayments and simply cannot devote any money towards transporting children to school or funding street lights”, says LFMI expert Laurynas Rekašius, manager of the Lithuanian Municipality Index.

The Index‘s 2014 data, however, showed some positive trends. For instance, the municipality relinquished ownership of some abandoned buildings and unnecessary businesses, such as the municipal funeral homes. During 2013, the number of municipal funeral homes was reduced from eight to four, and the number of bookstores was reduced from 16 to 13.

“This is a very positive trend that shows that municipalities are increasingly aware that hair-dressing or bathing services are not a necessary function of municipalities. By reducing the burden of extra municipality functions, the municipalities can direct all their attention and effort to their direct work – effective governance and attracting investment,” says Rekašius.

Of the 53 regional municipal districts, Kaunas municipality led the Index for the second year, with strong scores in both the investment and social freedoms spheres. During the year of 2013, local investments in the Kaunas municipality increased by 29 percent, and welfare recipients declined by 11 percent. This year’s worst ranking municipal district is Alytus.

The Lithuanian Municipality Performance Index measures the economic freedom of people in each municipality. The index measures data from ten broad areas: utilities, transportation, education, health, social services, investments, taxes, asset management, administration and the budget. Each area consists of a series of indicators that are directly influenced by decisions of the municipality. The indicator values are scores ranging from 0 to 100, ranking the municipalities from worst to best. The 2014 Index is based on data collected from 2013.

See more in Lithuanian: http://www.llri.lt/lietuvos-savivaldybiu-indeksas-2014

LITHUANIAN FREE MARKET INSTITUTE’S MUNICIPAL PERFORMANCE INDEX WINS $100,000 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Vilnius, Lithuania-based Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) was awarded Atlas Network’s prestigious Templeton Freedom Award for its Municipal Performance Index for Freedom and Free Enterprise.

To build the case for policy change at the local government level, in 2011 LFMI designed and launched its Municipal Performance Index to measure and rank the performance of municipal governments in three overarching categories: municipalities for citizens, municipalities for investors, and municipal governance and administration.

LFMI President Zilvinas Silenas said, “The performance index is an easy self-evaluation tool for municipalities. As a byproduct of the index, we have been able to go to various cities and meet mayors, local entrepreneurs, and citizens to discuss issues and solutions related to their schools, taxes or debts. So we not only present our self-evaluation tool, we actually help them to be clearly heard.”

LFMI president Zilvinas Silenas meeting the mayor of Taurage municipality in Lithuania

The methodology comprised 55 indicators and anchored the evaluation criteria in the underlying values of freedom of choice, private ownership and initiative, free enterprise, efficient use of public resources, and transparent and accountable governance. LFMI carried out exhaustive research to develop and compile the municipality index and used it as a basis to frame a plan for needed policy change.

Thus, alongside the municipality rankings, the index yielded a solid, evidence-based framework and benchmark for municipal policy reform that gave a new credibility to free market approaches, including consumer choice, private service delivery, tax cuts, reduction of government regulations and bureaucracy, privatization of municipal assets, and balanced budgets.

Since the launch of the Index, LFMI met with the municipal authorities of all major Lithuanian cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai, Panevezys – and visited numerous smaller cities. During such visits, LFMI met with local authorities, citizens, students, businesses, and the media.

Silenas said, “All these meetings helped to build up relationships both with authorities and local people.”

LFMI Municipal Performance Index named finalist for 2014 Templeton Freedom Award

LFMI president Zilvinas Silenas meeting the mayor of Taurage municipalityVilnius, Lithuania-based Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) was named one of eight finalists for this year’s prestigious Templeton Freedom Award for its Municipal Performance Index for Freedom and Free Enterprise. To build the case for policy change at the local government level, in 2011 LFMI designed and launched its Municipal Performance Index to measure and rank the performance of municipal governments in three overarching categories: municipalities for citizens, municipalities for investors, and municipal governance and administration.

LFMI President Zilvinas Silenas said, “The performance index is an easy self-evaluation tool for municipalities. As a byproduct of the index, we have been able to go to various cities and meet mayors, local entrepreneurs, and citizens to discuss issues and solutions related to their schools, taxes or debts. So we not only present our self-evaluation tool, we actually help them to be clearly heard.”

The methodology of the index comprised 55 indicators and anchored the evaluation criteria in the underlying values of freedom of choice, private ownership and initiative, free enterprise, efficient use of public resources, and transparent and accountable governance. LFMI carried out exhaustive research to develop and compile the municipality index and used it as a basis to frame a plan for needed policy change.

Thus, alongside the municipality rankings, the index yielded a solid, evidence-based framework and benchmark for municipal policy reform that gave a new credibility to free market approaches, including consumer choice, private service delivery, tax cuts, reduction of government regulations and bureaucracy, privatization of municipal assets, and balanced budgets.

Since the launch of the Index, LFMI met with the municipal authorities of all major Lithuanian cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai, Panevezys – and visited numerous smaller cities. During such visits, LFMI met with local authorities, citizens, students, businesses, and the media.

LFMI President Zilvinas Silenas said, “All these meetings helped to build up relationships both with authorities and local people.”

Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation and human fulfillment via free competition. The award is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust and will be presented during Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner gala dinner ceremony Nov. 13, 2014 in New York City. The winning organization will receive a $100,000 prize and the runners-up will receive $5,000.

The 2014 Templeton Freedom Award Finalists are:

The top change agents strengthening the worldwide freedom movement are named finalists for Atlas Network’s 2014 Templeton Freedom Award. Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation and human fulfillment via free competition.

Acton Institute: Acton University
CEPOS (Center For Political Studies): Private Property Project
Civismo: Low Taxes Campaign for Spain Campaign
Foundation For Government Accountability: Initiative to Limit Medicaid Expansion
Goldwater Institute: Education Savings Accounts
Illinois Policy Institute: Stopping an Unfair Progressive Income Tax
IPEA: One Million Youth for Mexico Campaign
Lithuanian Free Market Institute: Municipal Performance Index

The 2013 Templeton Freedom Award winner and finalists can be found here.

For media inquiries about the 2014 Templeton Freedom Award, contact Daniel Anthony.

Lithuanian Municipalities Index: Klaipeda ranks first out of 7 cities by economic freedom for people, Kaunas tops the ranking of 53 district municipalities

Untitled - Copy - CopyThe Klaipeda city municipality has been announced the best municipality out of 7 city municipalities in Lithuania for the third consecutive year.  Its ranking is 67.3 points out of 100 possible. The Kaunas district municipality (68.4 points) tops the district municipality ranking of 53 municipalities, the annual Lithuanian Municipalities Index developed and published by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) shows.

The study assesses how municipalities ensure people’s economic freedom, i.e. freedom to choose services, products and suppliers and freedom to act. It also evaluates whether municipalities manage tax payers money effectively.

“The management of municipalities and municipal decisions can both improve and worsen people‘s lives and business conditions. One of the main reasons why Klaipeda has come out on top is its favourable investment climate. Investment is a key to productivity and wage growth. Statistics show that Lithuanian municipalities with more investment have lesser unemployment, and people earn more and are less dependent on social welfare,” said President of LFMI Zilvinas Šilėnas.

MORE in Lithuanian: http://www.llri.lt/?p=3906

Municipality Index 2012: Klaipeda – No 1 in Economic Freedom

Lithuanian Free Market Institute for the second time releases Municipality Index 2012. The index ranks 60 municipalities in Lithuania according to economic freedom – the index ranges from 0 to 100.

In the latest ranking of economic freedom, Klaipeda’s scores are the best in the country, Lithuanian Tribune writes. For the second consecutive year, Lithuania’s 3rd largest city ranks best amongst Lithuania’s municipalities with a score of 69.4 points (out of 100). This represented an increase from last year’s score of 59.1 points. The Municipalities’ Index 2012 report released today by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LLRI) also reveals that Vilnius has moved down to the second position whilst Panevezys is in third place with 62.9 points.

Read more in Lithuanian Tribune:
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2012/11/28/klaipeda-is-number-1-in-economic-freedom/

Index of Municipalities in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute has introduced its first Index of Municipalities in Lithuania which was compiled using a unique methodology. Using overall 55 indicators, the Index measures the performance of municipalities. This project was aimed at creating a useful and convenient tool for gauging the performance of municipalities’ economic and social policy, at measuring and increasing the efficiency, the accountability and the competitiveness of Lithuanian municipalities. The Index will enable municipalities to improve their performance via comparing themselves with other municipalities and to develop competitiveness and the best practice sharing tradition in the Lithuanian municipal system. In addition, it will serve as a tool to advance cooperation between private and public bodies, civil participation in policy debates and trust in liberal policies.

Those municipalities that ensure the individual’s free choice, promote private property, create favourable business conditions, use public resources efficiently and ensure the transparency of their activities are higher in the index. The 55 indicators used in the Index are split into 3 groups. The first group is titled “Municipality for Residents.” It measures the performance of municipalities in 4 fields: public utilities and public transportation, education, health care and social care. The second group is labelled “Municipality for Investors,” consisting of 2 fields: investment and development and taxes. The third group of indicators is called “Management of Municipality” and includes 2 fields: asset management and administration and personnel management. Overall, the Index embraces 8 fields. The score from 0 to 100 is attributed to each municipality in each field, the group of indicators and the entire index. 7 city municipalities and 53 non-city municipalities are rated separately. The field of municipal budgets and finances is analysed separately and is not included in the rankings of the Index since Lithuanian municipalities do not have enough autonomy in planning their budgets and debt levels. The main decisions are adopted at central government level.

According to the Index, the best performing municipality among 7 city municipalities is Klaipėda city municipality. It received 59 points out of 100 and was ranked 1st. Panevėžys city municipality was ranked 2nd and Alytus city municipality was ranked 3rd. Palanga city municipality was ranked the lowest among city municipalities. Kaunas district municipality was ranked 1st among non-city municipalities. This municipality received 61 points out of 100. Birštonas and Šilalė district municipalities were ranked 2nd and 3rd accordingly. Šalčininkai district municipality was ranked the lowest among non-city municipalities.

Detailed information about the Index of Municipalities of Lithuania is presented in this publication. It consists of 6 chapters. Chapter 1 presents the general scores and rankings of municipalities. Chapter 2 gives a list of the best performing municipalities in each of the 8 fields. Chapter 3 offers analysis of the 8 fields dealt with in the Index with municipalities’ rankings and the data about indicators in each field. Chapter 4, the largest section of the Index, devotes a page per each municipality, presenting detailed information about municipalities’ scorings, the worst and the best fields, 5 best-evaluated indicators in each municipality and 5 policy proposals for each municipality with a view to increasing their ranking. Chapter 5 consists of detailed tables of the rankings and scores of all municipalities in all the fields and groups of indicators. Chapter 6 presents the methodology of the Index.

We hope that the Index of Municipalities in Lithuania will be a useful instrument in evaluating and comparing the activities of municipalities as well as a handy tool for proposing policy solutions towards a freer life for residents, better business conditions and more efficient activities of municipalities. The Lithuanian Free Market Institute plans to continue the Index of Municipalities of Lithuania on an annual basis.

Lithuania consists of 60 municipalities. Even though municipalities do not have complete autonomy from the central government, they are autonomous in the fields of their delegated functions such as health care, education, public utilities and public transportation, social care, and municipality’s asset management. Business conditions to some extent also depend on the decisions adopted at municipal level and on the rates of the land tax and real estate tax set by municipalities.

The project was funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.