Inter-municipal cooperation in administrative tasks – the role of population dynamics and elections.

We use a hazard model to identify the factors that drive the emergence of inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) in tasks of internal administration in West-Germany between 2003 and 2014. Our first focus rests on the role of population decline. The results show that municipalities situated in clusters of shrinking municipalities are more likely to start IMC. Second, we test for the role of political cycles in the timing of IMC-arrangements. There is no direct effect of the proximity to elections yet IMC in election years is more (less) likely among municipalities characterised by high (low) fiscal capacity and administrative expenditures. In addition, state subsidies for IMC are found to have a strong positive impact on the emergence of IMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]