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Disadvantages Of Municipal Fragmentation

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Across the globe, governments struggle to sufficiently represent their citizens. The breaking down of government responsibilities varies between countries, but one aspect that no country can agree on is what constitutes a municipality and how much responsibility a municipality should have. Should a city region be split into competing small municipalities, or should there be one municipal government for the entire region? Across Europe following World War II fragmentation due to land reform was favoured (Jurgenson, 2016, p. 34) whereas now in present day, consolidation seems to be more desirable by governments seeking to be more cost efficient (Carmichael & Midwinter, 1999, p. 163). As a means to compromise, city regions should be governed by a system that incorporates both aspects of fragmentation and consolidation. Through the analysis of economic effects, government issues, and cultural factors I will explore the benefits of municipal fragmentation and consolidation. A central occupation of a municipality is the distribution of funds to various services. Municipalities can face several difficulties in regard to their economy because of their lack of power and responsibilities. Fragmentation could aid municipalities according to Grassmueck and Shields (2009) in their study “Does government fragmentation enhance or hinder metropolitan economic growth?” that suggests “that regions with relatively fragmented governments had stronger relative economic performance over the

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