Introduction - Symposium on Amalgamation and Financial Sustainability in Local Government: Part 2

Despite the longstanding nature of local government as a topic of academic inquiry, the question of financial sustainability and in particular council amalgamation as a means of improving the operation of municipalities continues to be a salient feature of local government studies writ large. Grounded in the claim that municipal population size bears a strong relationship to financial sustainability, programs of structural reform and in particular council amalgamation continue to be pursued, despite the absence of empirical support for this claim. This Symposium focuses on the effects of amalgamation on the financial sustainability of local government.