Effects of amalgamations: evidence from Swiss municipalities

Steiner, Reto; Kaiser, Claire

doi:10.1080/14719037.2016.1153704

Cited by 68 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…However, research on the following several key points is limited. First, many studies have focused on the effect of mergers among public bureaus performing the same set of services and functions, with the most common subject being amalgamation of multiple municipalities (e.g., Blom-Hansen et al, 2016;Feiock & Carr, 2000;Hanes, 2015;Holzer et al, 2009;Kjaer, Hjelmar, & Leth Olsen, 2010;Leland & Thurmaier, 2005;Steiner & Kaiser, 2017;Suzuki & Sakuwa, 2016). Insights from these studies, however, may have limited value in understanding mergers among public organizations performing different sets of services or functions (Hult, 1987).…”

Section: Administrative Reorganization and Saliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Administrative reorganization as a signal: Bounded rationality, agency merger, and salience of policy issues

Hong

Park

2019

Governance

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Although administrative reorganization has been a major political instrument in many democracies, there has been limited research on its effects. Aiming to address this gap, this study examines the reorganization of Korean government ministries, specifically, the impact of reorganization in the form of a merger of ministries performing interrelated but dissimilar functions. Examining the salience of policy issues expressed in official government press releases during the 12‐year period from 2001 to 2012, we found that administrative reorganization in the form of a merger has a significant impact on the relative salience of government policy agendas. Specifically, the interrupted time series estimates indicate that the salience of science and technology policy issues (in relation to education policy issues) decreased by approximately 12% to 17% following the dissolution of the Ministry of Science and Technology. We explain this finding based on the bounded rationality view of bureaucratic information processing.

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Section: Administrative Reorganization and Saliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Administrative reorganization as a signal: Bounded rationality, agency merger, and salience of policy issues

Hong

Park

2019

Governance

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“…For certain public goods, unit costs can be lowered with production at a larger scale (Bikker and Van der Linde 2016). A merger would thus allow municipalities to save costs (Steiner and Kaiser 2017 voters ultimately base their decision on. In the Swiss discourse on municipal mergers, the argument is very prominent among merger advocates and might thus have a profound influence on local constituencies' decisions: Local representatives of a municipality involved in a merger will likely use these arguments in favor of a merger that they coinitiated -in case the argument fits the situation of their municipality.…”

Section: Functional Pressuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“… Steiner and Kaiser () also provide insights on the effects of local amalgamations in Switzerland. However, the data quality of their study is not high enough to be reliable for assessing changes in turnout rates over time. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Local Government Consolidation on Turnout: Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in Switzerland

Koch

Rochat

2017

Swiss Political Sci Review

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In the last decades, municipal mergers have been one major element of local government reforms in Switzerland and beyond. In this article, we describe and analyze the political effects of this development. We use a quasi‐experimental setting to test the impact of municipal mergers on electoral participation. We find that in merged municipalities, the decrease in turnout is significantly stronger than in non‐merged municipalities. Further, the effect is more pronounced in relatively small localities. There is a temporal dimension to this effect—that is, turnout drops mainly in the first election after the first merger, but not so much after the second or third merger. Hence, the study provides a skeptical yet differentiated perspective on the democratic consequences of municipal mergers and points to further research avenues to develop a more comprehensive understanding of local government consolidation.

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Effects of amalgamations: evidence from Swiss municipalities

Cited by 68 publications

References 51 publications

Administrative reorganization as a signal: Bounded rationality, agency merger, and salience of policy issues

Administrative reorganization as a signal: Bounded rationality, agency merger, and salience of policy issues

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

The Effects of Local Government Consolidation on Turnout: Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in Switzerland

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