Perceptions of central steering of local and regional governments among civil servants

This paper uses data on central administration employees to study attitudes toward central steering of subnational governments in Norway and how they are shaped by the civil servants position in the central administration, in particular their sectoral position. Pooling 30 years of survey data and an institutionalist theoretical framework, I find that there is an effect on perception of central steering in specific sectors both in individual welfare sectors and at a aggregate level. Furthermore, I find no effect on central steering perception from the type of civil servant work task, hierarchical position or seniority.