Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation
Abstract Most literature finds a detrimental effect of amalgamation on voter turnout in municipal elections. Some other studies reveal instead null or even positive effects. We argue that this inconsistency derives from the fact that previous research has only analysed the amalgamation/turnout relat...
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2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s175577392300005x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S175577392300005X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s175577392300005x 2024-05-19T07:42:56+00:00 Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation Bolgherini, Silvia Paparo, Aldo 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s175577392300005x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S175577392300005X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms European Political Science Review volume 15, issue 3, page 313-331 ISSN 1755-7739 1755-7747 journal-article 2023 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s175577392300005x 2024-04-25T06:51:38Z Abstract Most literature finds a detrimental effect of amalgamation on voter turnout in municipal elections. Some other studies reveal instead null or even positive effects. We argue that this inconsistency derives from the fact that previous research has only analysed the amalgamation/turnout relation in single case studies. The contribution of this article is therefore twofold. First, it proposes a unified framework to investigate the amalgamation/turnout relation in comparative perspective, which clarifies the shortcut between size and amalgamation, disentangles the multifaced nature of municipal amalgamation, and outlines clear testable hypotheses related to its implementation – both at the national and at the local level. Secondly, it provides an original 10-European-country dataset of municipal amalgamations in the last decades (comprising Albania, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway) to empirically verify such hypotheses concerning the effects of the amalgamation features on voter turnout. Our study crucially reveals the relevance of the characteristics of the amalgamation process. When the amalgamation is imposed by the national government, turnout is particularly low, similarly to when the amalgamation occurs independently from a wide reform scheme. On the other hand, municipal turnout after amalgamation is higher when a larger number of municipalities are merged and when the amalgamated municipalities had a similar population before being merged. Moreover, our empirical evidence confirms the importance of traditional second-order predictors of turnout in municipal elections, even with specific reference to the post-amalgamation elections. Conversely, in such elections, the overall size of the (final) municipality is not a significant predictor of voter turnout. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Cambridge University Press European Political Science Review 1 19 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract Most literature finds a detrimental effect of amalgamation on voter turnout in municipal elections. Some other studies reveal instead null or even positive effects. We argue that this inconsistency derives from the fact that previous research has only analysed the amalgamation/turnout relation in single case studies. The contribution of this article is therefore twofold. First, it proposes a unified framework to investigate the amalgamation/turnout relation in comparative perspective, which clarifies the shortcut between size and amalgamation, disentangles the multifaced nature of municipal amalgamation, and outlines clear testable hypotheses related to its implementation – both at the national and at the local level. Secondly, it provides an original 10-European-country dataset of municipal amalgamations in the last decades (comprising Albania, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway) to empirically verify such hypotheses concerning the effects of the amalgamation features on voter turnout. Our study crucially reveals the relevance of the characteristics of the amalgamation process. When the amalgamation is imposed by the national government, turnout is particularly low, similarly to when the amalgamation occurs independently from a wide reform scheme. On the other hand, municipal turnout after amalgamation is higher when a larger number of municipalities are merged and when the amalgamated municipalities had a similar population before being merged. Moreover, our empirical evidence confirms the importance of traditional second-order predictors of turnout in municipal elections, even with specific reference to the post-amalgamation elections. Conversely, in such elections, the overall size of the (final) municipality is not a significant predictor of voter turnout. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bolgherini, Silvia Paparo, Aldo |
spellingShingle |
Bolgherini, Silvia Paparo, Aldo Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
author_facet |
Bolgherini, Silvia Paparo, Aldo |
author_sort |
Bolgherini, Silvia |
title |
Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
title_short |
Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
title_full |
Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
title_fullStr |
Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
title_sort |
process matters: the variegated effects of municipal amalgamation features on voter turnout revealed in a 10-country comparative investigation |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s175577392300005x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S175577392300005X |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
European Political Science Review volume 15, issue 3, page 313-331 ISSN 1755-7739 1755-7747 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s175577392300005x |
container_title |
European Political Science Review |
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19 |
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