Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Intermunicipal Cooperation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Local Public, Fiscal and Financial Governance

Abstract

Intermunicipal cooperation represents a crucial alternative to municipal mergers in the structural reorganization of local government service provision. This chapter begins by considering the multifarious nature of intermunicipal cooperation and the great variety of different institutional forms which it has taken in different national contexts. The major theoretical foundations of intermunicipal cooperation, comprising Oakerson’s (1999) distinction between local service production and local service provision, elements of Oates’ (Fiscal Federalism. New York: Harcourt, Brace Janonovich, 1972) theory of fiscal federalism and the theory of competitive federalism pioneered by Tiebout (A Pure Theory of Local Government Expenditure. Journal of Political Economy 64 (5): 416–424, 1956), are considered. The chapter then examines the limited empirical literature on intermunicipal cooperation, including the new methodological approach developed by Drew et al. (Good to Share? The Pecuniary Implications of Moving to Shared Service Production for Local Government Services. Public Administration 97 (1): 132–146, 2019). It has concentrated on the pecuniary impact of cooperation, neglecting many other reasons why municipalities engage in cooperation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agranoff, R., and M. McGuire. 2003. Collaborative Public Management: New Strategies for Local Governments. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allan, P. 2001. Secession: A Manifesto for an Independent Balmain. Balmain: Balmain Secession Movement.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2003. Why Smaller Councils Make Sense. Australian Journal of Public Administration 62 (3): 74–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2006. “What Drives Councils” Efficiency: Population Size or Density. In Independent Inquiry into Local Government. Sydney: NSW Local Government and Shires Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allers, M.A., and J.A. de Greef. 2018. Intermunicipal Cooperation, Public Spending and Service Levels. Local Government Studies 44 (1): 127–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allers, M.A., and B. van Ommeren. 2016. Intermunicipal Cooperation, Municipal Amalgamation and the Price of Credit. Local Government Studies 42 (5): 717–738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, S.J. 1999. Local Government Economics. Basingstoke: Macmillian.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A., D. Hudson, and R. Woodward. 2005. Governing Financial Globalization: International Political Economy and Multi-Level Governance. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bel, G., and X. Fageda. 2007. Why Do Local Governments Privatise Local Services? A Survey of Empirical Studies. Local Government Studies 33 (4): 517–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bel, G., and M. Mur. 2009. Intermunicipal Cooperation, Privatization and Waste Management Costs: Evidence from Rural Municipalities. Waste Management 29 (10): 2772–2778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bel, G., and M.E. Warner. 2015. Inter-Municipal Cooperation and Costs: Expectations and Evidence. Public Administration 93 (1): 52–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2016. Factors Explaining Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Service Delivery: AMeta-Regression Analysis. Journal of Economic Policy Reform 19 (2): 91–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bel, G., X. Fageda, and M. Mur. 2013. Why Do Municipalities Cooperate to Provide Local Public Services? An Empirical Analysis. Local Government Studies 39 (3): 435–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyne, G.A. 1998. Public Choice Theory and Local Government. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Breton, A. 1995. Competitive Governments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T.L., and M. Potoski. 2005. Transaction Costs and Contracting: The Practitioner Perspective. Public Performance & Management Review 28: 326–351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr, J., and C. Hawkins. 2013. The Costs of Cooperation: What the Research Tells Us About Managing the Risks of 2013 Service Collaborations in the U.S. State and Local Government Review 45 (4): 224–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J.S. 1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., and A. Akimov. 2009. Are Shared Services a Panacea for Australian Local Government: A Critical Note on Australian and International Empirical Evidence. International Review of Public Administration 12 (2): 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., G. Hallam, and J.L. Wallis. 2008. Shared Services in Australian Local Government: A Case Study of the Queensland Local Government Association Model. Economic Papers 27 (4): 343–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., B. Grant, and A. Akimov. 2010. A Typology of Shared Service Provision in Australian Local Government. Australian Geographer 41 (2): 217–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., B. Grant, and L. Crase. 2011. Love Thy Neighbour: A Social Capital Approach to Local Government Partnerships. Australian Journal of Public Administration 70 (2): 156–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., B. Grant, and M. Kortt. 2012. Councils in Cooperation: Shared Services and Australian Local Government. Sydney: Federation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dollery, B.E., M.A. Kortt, and J. Drew. 2016. Fostering Shared Services in Local Government: A Common Service Model. Australasian Journal of Regional Science 22: 225–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Domberger, S., and P. Jensen. 1997. Contracting Out by the Public Sector: Theory, Evidence, Prospects. Oxford Review of Economic Policy 13 (4): 67–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domberger, S., and S. Rimmer. 1994. Competitive Tendering and Contracting in the Public Sector: A Survey. International Journal of the Economics of Business 1 (3): 439–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drew, J., D. McQuestin, and B.E. Dollery. 2019. Good to Share? The Pecuniary Implications of Moving to Shared Service Production for Local Government Services. Public Administration 97 (1), 132–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiock, R.C., A. Steinacker, and H.J. Park. 2009. Institutional Collective Action and Economic Development Joint Ventures. Public Administration Review 69: 256–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B.S., and R. Eichenberger. 1999. The New Democratic Federalism for Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. 1995. Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, C.V. 2009. Prospects for and Barriers to Local Government Joint Ventures. State and Local Government Review 41 (2): 108–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hefetz, A., and M. Warner. 2007. Beyond the Market Versus Planning Dichotomy: Understanding Privatisation and its Reverse in US Cities. Local Government Studies 33 (4): 555–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hefetz, A., and M.E. Warner. 2012. Contracting or Public Delivery? The Importance of Service, Market, and Management Characteristics. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 22: 289–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, A.C., ed. 2015. Municipal Shared Services and Consolidation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschman, A.O. 1970. Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzer, M., and J. Fry. 2011. Shared Services and Municipal Consolidation: A Critical Analysis. Alexandria: Public Technology Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homsy, G.C., and M.E. Warner. 2014. Intermunicipal Cooperation: The Growing Reform. In Municipal Yearbook, 55. Washington, DC: International CityCounty Management Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, L., and G. Marks. 2001. Multi-Level Governance and European Integration. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2003. Unravelling the Central State, But How? Types of Multi-Level Governance. American Political Science Review 97 (2): 233–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2009. Efficiency and the Territorial Structure of Government. Annual Review of Political Science 12: 225–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoon, Y., and D. Hyun. 2014. Comparative Study on the Collaborative Governance Type for the Metropolitan Economic Regions in Case of Korea and Japan. GRI 16 (1): 141–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulst, R., and A. van Montfort, eds. 2007. Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Europe. Vol. 238. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulst, J.R., and A. van Montfort. 2012. Institutional Features of Inter-Municipal Cooperation: Cooperative Arrangements and their National Contexts. Public Policy and Administration 27 (2): 121–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KPMG. 2015. Shared Service Analysis: Final Report 27 May 2015. Sydney: KPMG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, S., and R. Feiock. 2010. Overcoming Barriers to Cooperation: Intergovernmental Service Agreements. Public Administration Review 70: 876–884.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latsis, S. 1972. Situational Determinism in Economics. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 23 (1): 207–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lidstrom, A. 2017. Public Authorities and Intermunicipal Cooperation in a European Context. Urban Affairs Review 53 (2): 403–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinnis, M.D. 1999. Polycentric Governance and Development: Readings from the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nahapiet, J., and G. Ghoshal. 1998. Social Capital, Intellectual Capital and the Organizational Advantage. Academy of Management Review 23 (2): 242–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oakerson, R. J. 1999. Governing Local Public Economies. Oakland: ICS Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oates, W.E. 1972. Fiscal Federalism. New York: Harcourt, Brace Janonovich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oates, W.E. 1999. An Essay on Fiscal Federalism. Journal of Economic Literature 37 (3): 1120–1149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, V., and E. Ostrom. 1999. Public Goods and Public Choices. In Polycentricity and Local Public Economies. In Readings From the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, 75–105. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-López, G., D. Prior, and J.L. Zafra-Gómez. 2015. Rethinking New Public Management Delivery Forms and Efficiency: Long-Term Effects in Spanish Local Government. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 25 (4): 1157–1183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R.D. 1995. Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy 6 (1): 65–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues, M., A.F. Tavares, and J.F. Araújo. 2012. Municipal Service Delivery: The Role of Transaction Costs in the Choice between Alternative Governance Mechanisms. Local Government Studies 38: 615–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenau, J.N. 2003. Distant Proximities: Dynamics Beyond Globalization. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savitch, H.V., and S. Adhikari. 2017. Fragmented Regionalism: Why Metropolitan America Continues to Splinter. Urban Affairs Review 53 (2): 381–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvestre, H.C., R.C. Marques, and R.C. Gomes. 2018. Joined-Up Government of Utilities: A Meta-Review on a Public–Public Partnership and Inter-Municipal Cooperation in the Water and Wastewater Industries. Public Management Review 20 (4): 607–631.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silvestre, H., Correira, A. M., Marques, R. and Dollery, B. E. (2019). Shared Services in Brazilian Local Government: Urban Development in Small Counties. Public Administration 19 (3): 686–702.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinacker, A. 2004. Game Theoretic Models of Metropolitan Cooperation. In Metropolitan Governance: Conflict, Competition, and Cooperation, ed. R. Feiock, 46–66. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2010. The Institutional Collective Action Perspective on Self-Organizing Mechanisms: Market Failures and Transaction Cost Problems. In Self-Organizing Federalism: Collaborative Mechanisms to Mitigate Institutional Collective Action, ed. R. Feiock and J. Scholz, 51–72. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. 2003. The Causes, Spread and Effects of Intermunicipal Cooperation and Municipal Mergers in Switzerland. Public Management Review 5 (4): 551–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavares, A.F., and P.J. Camões. 2010. New Forms of Local Governance: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Municipal Corporations in Portugal. Public Management Review 12 (5): 587–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavares, A.F., and R.C. Feiock. 2014. Intermunicipal Cooperation and Regional Governance in Europe: An Institutional Collective Action Framework. Glasgow: European Consortium for Political Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teles, F. 2016. Local Governance and Intermunicipal Cooperation. Amsterdam: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiebout, C.M. 1956. A Pure Theory of Local Government Expenditure. Journal of Political Economy 64 (5): 416–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomkinson, R. 2007. Shared Services in Local Government. Aldershot: Gower Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voorn, B., M.L. van Genugten, and S. Van Thiel. 2017. The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Municipally Owned Corporations: A Systematic Review. Local Government Studies 43 (5): 820–841.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, M.E. 2006. Inter-Municipal Cooperation in the US: ARegional Governance Solution? Urban Public Economics Review 6: 221–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2011. Competition or Cooperation in Urban Service Delivery. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 82 (4): 421–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, C., and B. Weber. 2010. Social Capital and Knowledge Relatedness as Promoters of Organizational Performance: An Explorative Study of Corporate Venture Capital Activity. International Studies of Management and Organization 40 (3): 23–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wollmann, H. 2011. Reorganising Local Governments: Between Territorial Consolidation and Intermunicipal Cooperation. The Croatian Public administration 11: 681.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Brian Dollery

  2. Department of Economics, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada

    Harry Kitchen

  3. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Melville McMillan

  4. Governance Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, USA

    Anwar Shah

Authors
  1. Brian Dollery
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Harry Kitchen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melville McMillan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anwar Shah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian Dollery .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Dollery, B., Kitchen, H., McMillan, M., Shah, A. (2020). Intermunicipal Cooperation. In: Local Public, Fiscal and Financial Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36725-1_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36725-1_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36724-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36725-1

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation