Title

Regional Cooperation And Multilateral Agreements In The Provision Of Public Safety

Keywords

emergency management; institutional collective action; interlocal agreements; multilateral agreement; mutual aid agreement; public safety

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. © The Author(s) 2012.

Publication Date

7-1-2013

Publication Title

American Review of Public Administration

Volume

43

Issue

4

Number of Pages

460-475

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074012447676

Socpus ID

84878311613 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84878311613

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