ABSTRACT
An important empirical question centres on whether intermunicipal co-operation between local governments can reduce service provision costs and increase revenue. This paper reports on an investigation into the impact of intermunicipal co-operation on waste collection and treatment in the institutional context of southeast Brazilian local government. Intermunicipal co-operation resulted in local governments improving their negotiation and monitoring skills, increasing their revenue-generating service area and enhancing their financial sustainability.
IMPACT
This paper makes a timely contribution to the ongoing political and administrative debate about municipal public service provision. In Brazilian local government, public policy-makers have argued that a relationship exists between the revenue-generating size covered by service provision and financial sustainability in local government. This paper has lessons for practice showing that intermunicipal co-operation through consortia improves financial sustainability.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).