Jurisdictional Consolidation and Inequality in Service Access

Jurisdictional consolidation is often presented as a way to reduce costs and to increase the efficiency of public service provision. While existing evidence for these reform rationales is mixed, only few studies have assessed how service provision changes within different parts of a consolidated jurisdiction. Specifically, does service access become more unequal after a consolidation reform? To answer this question, we combine a database on all Swiss municipal mergers that have been implemented since the new millennium (N=372) with grid-level information (100 x 100 meter) on i.) distance to 27 different services, ii.) economic activity, and iii.) population statistics. We assess how a.) service access and economic activity evolve as a result of a municipal merger and b.) what downstream consequences this has for demographic development. Using staggered difference-in-differences analysis comparing treated to almost-treated grid-cells, we do not find any global effects on service access or economic activity. Yet, we find clear evidence for a concentration effect of access to the public administration as well as an overall decline in public administration jobs. This effect is particularly pronounced in relatively small pre-reform municipalities. In addition, we find some evidence for a concentration effect of compulsory schools as well as tentative evidence for a potential crowding-out of families with children as a result of this. These findings are important for discussions on local government reform as well as for research on service deprivation.