Taking Time and Space Seriously in the Study of Amalgamation Reforms: The Case of the Swedish Reform (1943–1952) and Its Implications for All Other Cases

This chapter uses the case of the first amalgamation reform in Sweden (1943-1952) to illustrate how a group of macrolevel variables derived from reform theory – urbanization, economic growth, and the expansion of the Welfare State – relate to the evolution of the local government system in Sweden in general and to the amalgamation reforms of its local governments in particular. Sweden is particularly useful as a case because it constitutes the archetype of a reform based on a rational design rhetoric. The teachings from this case are used to develop a set of general propositions to be tested in the last empirical chapter of this book using a larger set of countries.