Over the last two decades, there has been renewed emphasis on the economic roles of regions and territorial space in the international market place. In the United States, new regionalists posit that structural approaches, in particular, city-county consolidation, will enable regions to be more competitive in the global economy, ameliorate certain development problems, and generate economic benefits.

However, despite an extensive body of literature on the fiscal impacts of consolidation reform, the economic development literature remains sparse. The few studies on the impact of consolidation reform on economic development usually do not engage systematic empirical tests. In most studies, comparison counties are selected without any statistical justifications and consolidation is treated as the establishment of “one unified government” despite the continued existence of overlapping structures of government. Given some of the consequences of successful consolidation referenda, such as the redistribution of political influence, the economic development impacts of consolidated counties require empirical tests in other to inform the decision of municipal jurisdictions considering governmental consolidation as a policy for countywide economic growth.

This dissertation address aspects of this deficiency by employing paired evaluations on a systematic basis to identify the economic development impacts of city-county consolidation in different industrial sectors. The study uses statistical methods—cluster and time series analysis—to assess how territorial and institutional restructuring affects the economic performance of three consolidated counties.

Overall, the argument by political actors and reform advocates that the spatial realignment of territorial boundaries with political authority in order to establish an appropriate context for enhancing regional economic development is not substantiated by the results of the study.