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SNS Research Brief | 3/13/2015

SNS Research Brief 26. Strategies to meet the challenges for small municipalities

3/13/2015 - Currently, one out of four municipalities has less than 10 000 inhabitants. Falling population figures in many of the small municipalities in Sweden makes it more difficult to fulfil the welfare obligations. This publication provides a historical background to the current situation.

Currently, one out of four municipalities has less than 10 000 inhabitants. Falling population figures in many of the small municipalities in Sweden makes it more difficult to fulfil the welfare obligations. This publication provides a historical background to the current situation. Then, the most common proposals for how these challenges are to be met are invented and evaluated: 1) mergers of municipalities, 2) the introduction of asymmetric governance, and 3) investments in increased intermunicipal cooperation. The authors also present a fourth possible strategy; encouraging small and shrinking municipalities to actively formulate a conscious adjustment policy.

MERGERS OF MUNICIPALITIES LEAD TO DEMOCRACY PROBLEMS. The problem with small municipalities is no news in the Swedish policy debate. Historically, the solution has been to merge municipalities. This solution is also increasingly emphasized in the current debate. Mergers of municipalities constitute no universal solution, however. Moreover, it is a solution that entails democracy problems.

ASYMMETRIC GOVERNANCE MIGHT LEAD TO A- AND B-TEAMS. Other solutions might also have undesired side effects. The introduction of asymmetric governance might lead to the municipalities being divided into an A- and a B-team. Intermunicipal solutions to cooperation have been subject to insufficient evaluation and have disadvantages for democracy.

ACTIVE AND CONSCIOUS ADJUSTMENT POLICY A POSSIBLE WAY FORWARD. Before more extensive reforms are launched with the aim of solving the problem with small municipalities, one should try to find more pragmatically oriented solutions, for example by encouraging small and shrinking municipalities to design an active and conscious adjustment policy.

AUTHORS Gissur Erlingsson is Associate Professor (Docent) of Political Science and Lecturer at Centre for Municipality Studies, Linköping University. E-mail: gissur.erlingsson@liu.se.
Josefina Syssner is Associate Professor (Docent) of Human Geography and Director of Centre for Municipality Studies, Linköping University. E-mail: josefina.syssner@liu.se.
Jörgen Ödalen has a PhD in Political Science and is Lecturer at the Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University. E-mail: jorgen.odalen@liu.se.
Uppdaterad 11 augusti 2016

Released 13 mars 2015

Subject

Public Finance

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