Comparative Performance of Municipal General Governments and Collaborative Municipal Governance Structures: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Crime Control and Prevention

Abstract

This study examines whether general-purpose governments or their collaborative partnerships with subgovernment units deliver crime control more effectively. In some jurisdictions, voters can establish subgovernment units to enhance local service delivery, but systematic comparisons between municipalities with and without these units remain limited. Collaborative subunit governance structures can be designed to expand and safeguard resources for salient services, which, over time, results in better performance than general-purpose governments without subunits. Using a difference-in-differences design with matching, we find that municipalities with Crime Control and Prevention Districts (CCPDs) experience greater reductions in violent crime than comparable municipalities without CCPDs, although the effects diminish over time. The impact on property crime is limited, and no significant effect is found for homicide. These findings highlight the importance of ongoing performance evaluation and structural adjustments in evolving local governance arrangements to ensure more effective local service delivery.