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Power Inequality in Inter-communal Structures: The Simulated Impact of a Reform in the Case of the Municipalities in Western France

Author

Listed:
  • Zineb Abidi

    (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 - Université Gustave Eiffel, EDC - EDC Paris Business School)

  • Matthieu Leprince

    (AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Vincent Merlin

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper deals with an important issue concerning democratic government: how delegates are to be allocated among jurisdictions in a federal system. More precisely, we analyze the effect of the 2010 inter-municipal reform in France, which changed the allocation of delegates between municipalities within their inter-communal structures. Using the theory of power indices and a unique set of data gathering 377 inter-municipal structures for three French regions, we compare the fairness of the distribution of municipal delegates prior to the 2010 reform to that of the new distribution, by simulating the impact of the 2010 reform. We show that this inter-communal reform may have increased power inequalities among municipalities belonging to the same inter-communal structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Zineb Abidi & Matthieu Leprince & Vincent Merlin, 2020. "Power Inequality in Inter-communal Structures: The Simulated Impact of a Reform in the Case of the Municipalities in Western France," Post-Print halshs-02996998, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02996998
    DOI: 10.3917/ecop1.217.0065
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02996998v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Clémence Tricaud, 2019. "Better alone? Evidence on the costs of intermunicipal cooperation," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2019-12-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.

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