Regional Cooperation and Multilateral Agreements in the Provision of Public Safety

    Authors

    S. A. Andrew;C. V. Hawkins

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Amer. Rev. Public Adm.

    Keywords

    interlocal agreements; multilateral agreement; mutual aid agreement; public safety; emergency management; institutional collective action; LONG-TERM-CONTRACTS; INTERLOCAL COOPERATION; EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT; SERVICE PRODUCTION; TRANSACTION COSTS; PREPAREDNESS; GOVERNANCE; ALLIANCES; NETWORKS; EXCHANGE; Public Administration

    Abstract

    Although much has been written about interlocal agreements for the delivery of services, few studies have examined the factors that influence the establishment of different types of multilateral agreements (MLAs). To address this lacuna, the authors draw a distinction between an adaptive and restrictive MLA and seek to understand why local governments enter into one type of arrangement over the other. The authors build our theoretical argument on the basis of previous research that suggests agreements are designed to minimize the uncertainties associated with transaction risk. On the basis of this premise, the author's general proposition is that the decision to establish an adaptive MLA is shaped by the asset specificity and measurability of the goods and services of the transaction. The authors utilize data on public safety agreements among municipal and county governments in the state of Florida. Findings suggest that local governments are more likely to form an adaptive MLA when goods and services are relatively high in service measurability difficulty and when both high and low asset specificity exit.

    Journal Title

    American Review of Public Administration

    Volume

    43

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2013

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    460

    Last Page

    475

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000331227000006

    ISSN

    0275-0740

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