THE JOY OF GEOGRAPHY*

I may be the first past president of the cag to come to the podium with two addresses ready for delivery. One is rather lengthy and formal, representative of some of my work during the last decade or so. The second is shorter and lighter in tone, rather personal, but hopefully it will be taken in the spirit in which it is offered.
I have, of course, been thinking about this address for months. A number of people have suggested that I should discuss topics of common interest, including resources management, historical geography, national parks and public land, conservation, cultural ecology, and the Canadian Arctic. In urging me to address these topics colleagues provided various reasons, ranging from neglect of the subject in Canadian geography to its relevance to public policy. I am grateful for this advice, which has not, however, prevented me from procrastinating in finally deciding upon a topic.     

MUNICIPAL AMALGAMATION AND THE GROWTH OF THE LOCAL PUBLIC SECTOR IN SWEDEN*

ABSTRACT. The proposition that a decentralized structure of local governments can effectively constrain public sector growth is empirically investigated. Data on Swedish municipal sector size for the 1942–87 period are analyzed within the context of a median voter model. The results indicate that decentralization, measured by the number of units of local government serving a given population, constrains the influence of institutional factors (e.g., rent seeking, bureaucracy) on local budgets as long as these units exceed some minimal threshold size. The findings support the view that communities should be given the flexibility to determine their own ideal pattern of local governments.