Fiscal outcomes arising from amalgamation: more complex than merely economies of scale
本文利用八年面板数据和自然实验，研究地方政府合并对运营单位成本的实际影响，发现结果与合并倡导者的预期相悖，表明合并的财政效果远比简单的规模经济复杂。
Local government amalgamations are often prosecuted on the basis of expected efficiencies centred on capturing economies of scale. However, these economies are far from certain or straightforward. This paper draws on the extant literature to first develop a comprehensive picture of the complexity of the fiscal outcomes associated with amalgamation. We then take advantage of an eight-year panel of data and a serendipitous natural experiment to better understand the impact of amalgamation on operating unit costs. Our results confirm that the actual operating cost outcomes of amalgamation were indeed at odds with the expectations of the amalgamation architects.