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Intermunicipal cooperation, municipal amalgamation and the price of credit

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  • Maarten A. Allers
  • Bernard van Ommeren

Abstract

In many countries, local government size is increasingly thought to be insufficient to operate efficiently. Two possible solutions to this problem are amalgamation and intermunicipal cooperation. This paper applies a novel methodology to shed light on the efficiency implications of this choice. Using a unique and rich micro-level dataset, we find that intermunicipal organisations (IOs) in the Netherlands consistently pay higher interest rates than municipalities, while there is no economic reason to do so. We interpret this as a form of inefficiency. Municipal amalgamation, on the other hand, does not result in higher interest rates. Our analysis eliminates one possible explanation, dispersed ownership of IOs, as the number of partners cooperating in an IO does not affect interest rates (no ‘law of 1/n’). This leaves the introduction of extra hierarchical layers as a result of cooperation, and the ensuing reduction in monitoring, as the most probable explanation.

Suggested Citation

  • Maarten A. Allers & Bernard van Ommeren, 2016. "Intermunicipal cooperation, municipal amalgamation and the price of credit," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(5), pages 717-738, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:flgsxx:v:42:y:2016:i:5:p:717-738
    DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2016.1171754
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    Cited by:

    1. Blesse, Sebastian & Roesel, Felix, 2019. "Merging county administrations – cross-national evidence of fiscal and political effects," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 45(5), pages 611-631.
    2. Blesse Sebastian & Rösel Felix, 2017. "Was bringen kommunale Gebietsreformen?: Kausale Evidenz zu Hoffnungen, Risiken und alternativen Instrumenten," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 18(4), pages 307-324, November.
    3. Tavares Antonio F., 2018. "Municipal amalgamations and their effects: a literature review," Miscellanea Geographica. Regional Studies on Development, Sciendo, vol. 22(1), pages 5-15, March.
    4. Jacob Veenstra & Bernard Ommeren, 2017. "Bailout Clauses and the Price of Credit: The Dutch Experience for Housing Corporations," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 295-320, September.
    5. van Ommeren, Bernard J.F. & Allers, Maarten A. & Vellekoop, Michel H., 2017. "Choosing the optimal moment to arrange a loan," Research Report 17007-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    6. Notsu, Naruki, 2024. "Inter-municipal cooperation cloud and tax administrative costs," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    7. Davide Luca & Felix Modrego, 2021. "Stronger together? Assessing the causal effect of inter‐municipal cooperation on the efficiency of small Italian municipalities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 261-293, January.

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