The political economy of municipal consortia and municipal mergers

This paper analyses both the policy and welfare consequences of municipal mergers vs municipal consortia in the presence of spillovers and inequalities in the districts size. Citizens of different municipalities have a common interest in internalising spillovers, but conflicting interests on how to reach that goal. We address the question of when, from a welfare point of view, the central government should legislate in favour of municipal mergers and when, instead, it should prefer municipal consortia. Results provide some useful insights for the design of local governments reforms.