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A Procedure for the Ex-Ante Assessment of Compulsory Municipal Amalgamation Programs

Author

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  • Dino Rizzi

    (Department of Economics, University Of Venice C� Foscari)

  • Michele Zanette

    (Department of Economics, University Of Venice C� Foscari)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to develop a procedure that allows policy makers to make an ex-ante assessment of a general compulsory amalgamation policy, providing quantitative indications about the possible financial effects. The amalgamation of small municipalities is a widespread practice all over the world. This policy is based on the assumption that local public service provision is characterized by economies of scale and economies of scope. However, population size is not the only determinant of economies of scale, which depend on many other factors. For these reasons, the expected effects of any amalgamation program are uncertain, and ex-post empirical analyses are unable to offer unambiguous indications to policy makers since all programs differ. After a brief discussion of the relevant issues concerning amalgamation, we present the procedure used to simulate the economics and administrative effects of a general compulsory amalgamation policy. The procedure is tested with reference to the municipalities of Veneto, a region of Italy and we provide the results of a number of simulations under alternative amalgamation policies. The main result is that amalgamation policies based only on the a priori rule that small municipalities should merge may be very inefficient because the expenditure reduction following an amalgamation policy may depend to a considerable extent on other territorial and socio-economic characteristics of the municipalities involved.

Suggested Citation

  • Dino Rizzi & Michele Zanette, 2015. "A Procedure for the Ex-Ante Assessment of Compulsory Municipal Amalgamation Programs," Working Papers 2015:22, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    • Handle: RePEc:ven:wpaper:2015:22
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Cinzia Di Novi & Dino Rizzi & Michele Zanette, 2018. "Scale Effects and Expected Savings from Consolidation Policies of Italian Local Healthcare Authorities," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 107-122, February.
    3. Cinzia Di Novi & Dino Rizzi & Michele Zanette, 2016. "Larger is Better: the Scale Effects of the Italian Local Healthcare Authorities Amalgamation Program," Working Papers 2016:04, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax municipality; amalgamation; local government expenditure; economies of scale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • R51 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Finance in Urban and Rural Economies

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