Do the networks of inter-municipal cooperation enhance local government performance?

Taishi Muraoka and Claudia N. Avellaneda

Local Government Studies, 2021, vol. 47, issue 4, 616-636

Abstract: Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) has increasingly become an important tool for local governments. This study aims to understand the role of IMC from the perspective of network management. We argue that IMCs create networks of horizontal interactions among local governments, facilitating collaboration and information exchange among them. By so doing, IMCs can promote local government performance even outside their main service domains. To evaluate the performance enhancing role of IMC networks, we analyze the case of municipal associations in El Salvador. Based on original surveys of Salvadorian mayors, we find that networks built on municipal associations positively correlate with electricity provision. By contrast, no effect exists on running water provision, perhaps because it requires no collaboration among municipalities. Our findings suggest that managerial networks built on IMCs can play an important role in local government performance in developing settings, but their effect seems contingent on the type of performance outcome.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2020.1869545

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