Local Government Fragmentation: What Do We Know?

• Date: 01 June 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X19856933
• Published date: 01 June 2019
• Author: Christopher B. Goodman
• Subject Matter: Reviews & Essays

Reviews & Essays

Local Government

Fragmentation:

What Do We Know?

Christopher B. Goodman

1

Abstract

The United States is a nation of local governments. The growth in the number of local governments

over the last sixty years has led many to ask whether the current fragmented arrangement is ideal or

whether fewer local governments are preferred. This article explains the theoretical arguments on

both sides, paying close attention to horizontal and vertical fragmentation. The empirical evidence

on the effects of local government fragmentation is examined in three policy areas: public expen-

ditures/revenues, public employment, and economic growth.

Keywords

local government, fragmentation, decentralization

Introduction

The United States is a country of local govern-

ments. Of the 91,126 governments of any type

in the United States in 2017, 99 percent of them

are local governments. The U.S. system of local

government is not static over time; there are

immense changes in the structure and makeup

of local governments over the long term. In

1952, the Census Bureau reported a total of

116,755 local governments. By 2017, 90,075

remained through a complex system of dissolu-

tions, mergers, and new additions. Nearly

50,000 independent school districts were dis-

solved or merged over sixty years while almost

25,000 net special districts were created.

General-purpose local governments (counties,

cities, towns/townships) remain relatively

unchanged over time by comparison. The local

government landscape is dynamic with some

areas seeing very little change and others see-

ing complete transformations.

This complex system of local government is

often referred to as “fragmented.” But not all

local areas are as fragmented as others. There

is significant variance in governing arrange-

ments in the United States, and it is well recog-

nized theoretically and empirically that these

differences ultimately lead to differing out-

comes. This analysis examines the literature

on the impact of these differences in the

makeup local governance systems on a variety

of outcomes. Particular attention is paid to the

growth of overlapping governments such as

1

Department of Public Administration, Northern Illinois

University, DeKalb, IL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Christopher B. Goodman, Department of Public Adminis-

tration, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115,

USA.

Email: cgoodman@niu.edu

State and Local GovernmentReview

2019, Vol. 51(2) 134-144

ªThe Author(s) 2019

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0160323X19856933

journals.sagepub.com/home/slg