Incented Voluntary Municipal Mergers as a Two-Stage Process: Evidence from the Swiss Canton of Fribourg

Strebel, Michael A

doi:10.1177/1078087416651935

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(83 reference statements)

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“…Moreover, municipalities with strong right-wing parties and municipalities that would lose political influence as a result of a merger are more likely to vote against a merger project. These findings are in line with existing research on local government amalgamation -potential scale economy benefits have been found to matter for decisions in Japanese (Miyazaki 2014) and Swiss (Strebel 2018) local merger referenda. In addition, concerns for political control are associated with municipal mergers in a variety of different contexts (Marando and Whitley 1972;Hyytinen, Saarimaa, and Tukiainen 2014;Jakobsen and Kjaer 2016;Strebel 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These findings are in line with existing research on local government amalgamation -potential scale economy benefits have been found to matter for decisions in Japanese (Miyazaki 2014) and Swiss (Strebel 2018) local merger referenda. In addition, concerns for political control are associated with municipal mergers in a variety of different contexts (Marando and Whitley 1972;Hyytinen, Saarimaa, and Tukiainen 2014;Jakobsen and Kjaer 2016;Strebel 2018). This in turn suggests that the findings of this study might be generalizable to other contexts in which local referenda on municipal mergers are held, such as Finland, Japan and the US.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…For the Swedish local government reform in 1952, Hanes, Wikström and Wångmar (2012) find that small municipalities complain less to the central government about forced mergers. In a study of mergers in the Swiss canton of Fribourg, Strebel (2018) shows that small municipalities have a higher probability of both initiating and successfully completing merger projects. Finally, studying merger referenda in Japan, Miyazaki (2014, 402) finds projected efficiency gains to be associated with a higher vote share in favor of a merger.…”

Section: Functional Pressuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the distinction between merger initiation, normally by local representatives, and merger decision by the affected constituencies, seeStrebel (2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exceptions are the studies byCalciolari, Cristofoli, and Macciò (2013) andStrebel (2018) for Switzerland andMiyazaki (2014) for Japan. All of them include failed merger projects in their analysis of merger determinants.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Why voluntary municipal merger projects fail: evidence from popular votes in Switzerland

Strebel

2019

Local Government Studies

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What determines the failure of local government amalgamation referenda? Existing research suggests that functional pressures act as a push factor towards local territorial reform, whereas considerations of political self-determination exert a pull effect. However, we know little about the respective importance of these countervailing forces. In this paper, I analyze popular vote decisions on mergers of 541 municipalities involved in 166 different merger projects in three Swiss cantons since the new millennium. The results show that both functional pressures and concerns for self-determination are linked to popular vote outcomes: small municipalities are less likely to reject a merger. Concerns for self-determination matter, but only when the pressures of smallness are not overwhelming: a higher vote share of right-wing parties and a preponderance of other municipalities in the merger coalition increase the probability that voters reject a merger project. This has implications for policy-makers' strategies when drafting and promoting voluntary local amalgamation reforms. AbstractWhat determines the failure of local government amalgamation referenda?Existing research suggests that functional pressures act as a push factor towards local territorial reform, whereas considerations of political self-determination exert a pull effect. However, we know little about the respective importance of these countervailing forces. In this paper, I analyze popular vote decisions on mergers of 541 municipalities involved in 166 different merger projects in three Swiss cantons since the new millennium. The results show that both functional pressures and concerns for self-determination are linked to popular vote outcomes: small municipalities are less likely to reject a merger. Concerns for self-determination matter, but only when the pressures of smallness are not overwhelming: a higher vote share of right-wing parties and a preponderance of other municipalities in the merger coalition increase the probability that voters reject a merger project. This has implications for policy-makers' strategies when drafting and promoting voluntary local amalgamation reforms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Functional Pressuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the distinction between merger initiation, normally by local representatives, and merger decision by the affected constituencies, seeStrebel (2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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