Do Institutions Matter? What are the Effects of an Imposed Merger of Municipalites in Comparison to a Locally Initiated Merger of Municipalities?

Abstract

The character of procedures influences the adopted decisions and the ultimate effects of their implementation. Some procedures of decisionmaking are horizontal and stress consensus. Other procedures are vertical, stress advocacy and the open voicing of criticism. The central issue both in politics and in academia is: Are adversarial procedures of decision making more attractive in terms of both proces and ultimate outcomes than consensual procedures? Following Janis (Groupthink, 1982) adversarial procedures stimulating open debate are referable. Available informatie is better attended to. However Lijphart (Patterns of Democracy, 1999) stresses the importance of consensual procedures seeking broad consensus in areas of deep social conflict. Since 2002 in the province South-Holland both types of procedures ware used in deciding on mergers of municipalities. In the mergers of Westland (2004) and Leidschendam-Voorburg (2002) decentral and consensual procedures were followed by the municipalities themselves. In the case of Teylingen (2006) and Zwijndrecht (2003) vertical and unilateral procedures were used by the province. So a natural field experiment was arranged. Early 2008 the province of South-Holland commissioned an evaluation study. In the first round of our evaluation 123 informants participating in the four mergerprocedures were asked to look back and express their judgements on process quality. In the next round we asked 196 officials working in the four new merged muncipalities to assess the quality of the municipalities on seven dimensions of local government in comparison to the situation before the merger. This experimental design made it possible to draw conclusions on the effects of procedures. The proposals resulting from the two adversarial procedures are relatively moderate, and now that these propasals are implemented the newly merged municipalities are functioning relatively well. The proposals following the consensual procedure are quite ambitious, and now that the ambitious mergers are carried through most expectations are not yet met.