ABSTRACT
The consolidation of city and county governments is an “evergreen” issue in many states where counties and metropolitan areas repeatedly raise the issue over time. Despite continuing interest in this type of structural change, local government consolidation efforts are rarely successful. Since 1945, 158 proposals have been submitted to voters for approval, with only 32 successes. When consolidation proponents and opponents seek guidance from researchers on the impacts of consolidation, they find two main schools of thought: public administrationists who believe governmental consolidation is a useful mechanism to overcome the pathologies of fragmentation and political economists who believe fragmentation creates positive benefits for metropolitan areas. Research testing these policies has provided no definitive results.
