has harbored for almost a decade. The timing of this book's publication is also propitious. While we were working on this report, we became aware of the breadth of interest in the issue. In the wake of the recession, virtually every state and local government in the United States has faced significant budgetary constraints. In hundreds of places, the revenue decline of the past two years is threatening the survival of key public services. Cost-saving measures—including many forms of consolidation—are part of this debate and will likely be so for many years to come. Local governments all over the United States are considering some type of consolidation, as are local governments in many advanced industrialized countries. There is far less research to guide these efforts than local leaders might expect. That is why we undertook the writing of this book.
This is the scholarly work of two economists, so the opinions expressed in this book are the authors’ and should not be attributed to Ball State University. We are also responsible for any errors and omissions.