From Competition to Cooperation: A Dyadic Approach to Interlocal Developmental Agreements.

This paper explores the conditions under which local governments are likely to engage in formalized intergovernmental developmental cooperation. The author theorizes that policy competition, informational and divisional transaction costs, and resources condition the likelihood of institutional collective action. Data from a variety of sources—including a unique author-conducted survey of local officials in Colorado—are used to test hypotheses in a dyadic model of local cooperation. Results indicate that agreements are more likely in competitive policymaking environments and when jurisdictions have more informational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]