Territorial amalgamation decisions in local government: Models and a case study from Italy

In the context of general welfare reforms in western economies, a recent trend has concerned the rationalization of administrative structures of local authorities, including a reduction in the number of administrative levels and units (through mergers and amalgamation processes) and the subsequent rearrangement of their boundaries. In this paper, we develop mathematical models to analyze amalgamation and redistricting policy decisions implemented in Italy. Results provided by such models can provide valuable support to stakeholders and policy makers.