Assessing the intensity of cooperation: a study of joint delegation of municipal functions to inter-municipal associations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Talking is cheap, at least in the short term; elected officials may profess their preferences for IMC and yet deny IMA organisations the necessary resources to fulfil their missions. Driven by a focus on revealed preferences for inter-municipal cooperation, the article aims to answer two questions: Why do some IMA exhibit a high level of commitment on the part of their local government members whereas others remain underutilised, reflecting a choice by local governments to retain these responsibilities themselves? How does this commitment to IMAs vary over time? We use data from 25 IMAs over a 10-year period (2008–2018) in Portugal to assess the intensity of cooperation among Portuguese local governments through stand-alone organisations. The panel analysis regression supports the hypotheses that a larger number of local governments involved in IMAs and higher levels of heterogeneity among them make cooperation more difficult. In contrast, longer interaction in IMAs reinforces the intensity of cooperation.