Inter-local Collaborative Service Mechanism and Regional Governance in Asia: An Institutional Collective Action Framework

The rapid development and urbanization of countries across Asia has produced scale, spillover and other dilemmas of fragmented authority that challenge efforts to address problems at a metropolitan or regional level. Even though they constitute viable alternatives to consolidation, voluntary solutions to ICA dilemmas have often been neglected by Asian scholars. ICA classifies collaboration mechanisms based on the type of integration mechanism (political authority, contracts or social embeddedness) and the degree of institutional scope (narrow, intermediate or comprehensive). In this paper, we review the literature on the use of collaboration mechanisms in Asia and place them in the appropriate cells of this two dimensional matrix. We use theoretical propositions rooted in historical, cultural, and institutional differences among the countries in Asia to explain the variation in the adoption of collaborative mechanisms across these countries. We conclude with suggestions for enhancing the utility of the ICA framework for studying Asian countries.