Applying an Institutional Collective Action Framework to Investigate Intermunicipal Cooperation in Europe

Tavares, António and Feiock, Richard, (2017). Applying an Institutional Collective Action Framework to Investigate Intermunicipal Cooperation in Europe. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 1(4), 299-316

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Tavares, António
    Feiock, Richard
    Title Applying an Institutional Collective Action Framework to Investigate Intermunicipal Cooperation in Europe
    Appearing in Perspectives on Public Management and Governance
    Volume 1
    Issue No. 4
    Publication Date 2017-11
    Place of Publication Oxford
    Publisher Oxford University Press
    Start page 299
    End page 316
    Language eng
    Abstract Over the last few decades, European countries have dealt with problems of regional governance in very different ways. A common theme is the debate between supporters of local government mergers to expand the capacity and efficiency in service provision and those favoring local government autonomy and self-determination to protect democracy and government responsiveness. The significant number of scholarly contributions to this debate between mergers and fragmentation contrasts with the scarcity of theoretical attention to decentralized self-organizing mechanisms. This article fills this lacuna by developing an extension of the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework for the European context. The framework defines two dimensions to understand intermunicipal cooperation: the type of urban integration mechanism (imposed authority, delegated authority, contracts, or social embeddedness) and the degree of institutional scope (narrow, intermediate or complex). The resulting typology composed by 12 cells is illustrated with examples of intermunicipal cooperation for solving governance dilemmas in the European setting. We advance theoretical propositions rooted in historical, cultural, and institutional differences to explain the variation in the adoption of intermunicipal cooperation by Northern versus Southern as well as Eastern versus Western European countries. A research agenda using the ICA framework is advanced for framing the studies of regional governance in Europe.
    Copyright Holder The Authors
    Copyright Year 2017
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISSN 23984910
    DOI 10.1093/ppmgov/gvx014
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    Created: Mon, 09 Sep 2019, 21:44:55 JST by Mario Peixoto on behalf of UNU EGOV