the status of municipalities in the implementation of local social policy based on existing legislations (the case of tehran municipality)

this paper seeks to explore the status of municipalities in the implementation of local social policy based on the existing legal framework though analyzing all legislations and regulations pertaining to municipalities (specially tehran municipality). the paper uses both quantitative and qualitative content analysis and applies thematic analysis. research findings indicate that most of tasks and missions envisaged in the internal regulations of tehran municipality are not reflected in national legislations, resulting in ambiguity and overlap with the jurisdiction of governmental bodies. moreover, some policy domains such as public health, leisure and transportation have received more attention than other domains such as income maintenance, housing and social care. this is also the case for some target groups such as the elderly and immigrants and as well as children and young people to receive less attention or to be absent in the existing regulations. another finding is that citizen participation in local social policy is mainly restricted to the execution phase not to formulation or evaluation. these findings can provide a better understanding of the status of municipalities with regard to local social policy and could be used in revising existing legislations and removing legal barriers.