Essays on Local Government Organization in the United States, 1940-2000

This dissertation investigates the formation and change of city boundaries in the United States since World War II (WWII). By drawing on previous literatures, it extend a political economy perspective that emphasizes trade-offs in the configuration of municipal boundaries. The dissertation investigates the role of ethnic heterogeneity in the formation of municipal jurisdictions since WWII. This research thus aims to advance, theoretically and empirically, our understanding of local government organization in recent history. The dissertation also builds on institutional foundations of local government organization. In a separate section, the dissertation analyzes the role of homeowner associations as alternative institutions of governance. The dissertation generally frames boundary change as bottom-up initiatives constrained by institutions of American federalism. This dissertation offers an empirical study of boundary change through a historical template: 1940 through 2000. It thus puts together local government datasets on population, socioeconomic, and institutional factors influencing boundary formation events over the postwar. The datasets have been particularly constructed to facilitate future replication and dissemination efforts.