Replication Data for: Joining Forces or Going Solo? The Political and Economic Dynamics of Intermunicipal Cooperation

The suboptimal size of municipalities is often considered a challenge to efficient service delivery due to scale limitations. Intermunicipal cooperation (IMC) emerged as an alternative to top-down amalgamations, offering a more flexible and typically voluntary approach. We explore why and when municipalities adopt IMC, using a decade of data from Catalan municipalities, and our GLMM results show that population size, fiscal constraints, and political participation shape cooperation. We introduce also a dynamic approach, and Cox PH analysis reveals that high debt, low turnout and political competition accelerate adoption. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between service-specific, organizational, and political factors that influence the existence of cooperation versus those driving the timing of its adoption. No single service delivery approach fits all scenarios. The results shed light on how public actors navigate constraints in collaboration, contributing to broader understanding of policy implementation and inter-organizational governance.