Inter-municipal cooperation

Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) is a generic term for all joint provision of public services between municipalities, who are normally but not necessarily neighbours.

Municipalities are elements of administration and have a history of several hundred years in Europe.^[1] One speaks of IMC when two or more municipalities work together to provide a public service, where cooperation ranges from coordinated behaviour to joint ventures. As territorial consolidation often fails because of political resistance, inter-municipal cooperation is a way to keep public services efficient and effective without territorial consolidation.^[2]^[3] However, IMC can have high failure rates when coordination problems between municipalities in steering and monitoring cannot be resolved.^[4]^[5]^[6] Unfortunately, coordination can be hard to achieve due to the multiple principal problem that exists in inter-municipal cooperation.^[5] In addition, its cost-efficiency can be limited.^[7]

^ Hulst, Rudie (2007). Inter-Municipal Cooperation. Amsterdam: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-5378-8.
^ Local Government and Public Reform Initiative. "When is IMC relevant?". Retrieved 2011-07-05.
^ Bel, Germa, and Mildred E. Warner (2015). "Inter-municipal Cooperation and Costs: Expectation and Evidence" (PDF). Public Administration.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Voorn, Bart, Marieke L. Van Genugten, and Sandra Van Thiel (2017) (2017). "The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: a systematic review" (PDF). Local Government Studies. 43 (5): 820–841. doi:10.1080/03003930.2017.1319360. hdl:2066/176125.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b Voorn, B., Van Genugten, M., & Van Thiel, S. (2019). "Multiple principals, multiple problems: Implications for effective governance and a research agenda for joint service delivery". Public Administration. 97 (3): 671–685. doi:10.1111/padm.12587. hdl:2066/207394.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Sorensen, Rune J. (2007). "Does dispersed public ownership impair efficiency? The case of refuse collection in Norway". Public Administration. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.551.5414. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Bel, Germà; Sebő, Marianna (3 April 2019). "Does Inter-Municipal Cooperation Really Reduce Delivery Costs? An Empirical Evaluation of the Role of Scale Economies, Transaction Costs, and Governance Arrangements". Urban Affairs Review. 57: 153–188. doi:10.1177/1078087419839492. hdl:2445/173331. S2CID 53600596.

[Hulst-1] Hulst, Rudie (2007). Inter-Municipal Cooperation. Amsterdam: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-5378-8.

[2] Local Government and Public Reform Initiative. "When is IMC relevant?". Retrieved 2011-07-05.

[BelWarner-3] Bel, Germa, and Mildred E. Warner (2015). "Inter-municipal Cooperation and Costs: Expectation and Evidence" (PDF). Public Administration.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[Voornetal-4] Voorn, Bart, Marieke L. Van Genugten, and Sandra Van Thiel (2017) (2017). "The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: a systematic review" (PDF). Local Government Studies. 43 (5): 820–841. doi:10.1080/03003930.2017.1319360. hdl:2066/176125.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[Voorn-5] Voorn, B., Van Genugten, M., & Van Thiel, S. (2019). "Multiple principals, multiple problems: Implications for effective governance and a research agenda for joint service delivery". Public Administration. 97 (3): 671–685. doi:10.1111/padm.12587. hdl:2066/207394.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Sorensen-6] Sorensen, Rune J. (2007). "Does dispersed public ownership impair efficiency? The case of refuse collection in Norway". Public Administration. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.551.5414. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[7] Bel, Germà; Sebő, Marianna (3 April 2019). "Does Inter-Municipal Cooperation Really Reduce Delivery Costs? An Empirical Evaluation of the Role of Scale Economies, Transaction Costs, and Governance Arrangements". Urban Affairs Review. 57: 153–188. doi:10.1177/1078087419839492. hdl:2445/173331. S2CID 53600596.

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