Government Consolidation and Economic Development in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh (Technical Report (RAND))

Pittsburgh–Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has more governmental units per capita than any region in the nation. Fragmented governance correlates with poor regional performance on population and employment measures. The Citizens Advisory Committee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of City-County Government asked RAND to examine whether consolidating the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County would enhance economic development. This report concludes that, although evidence is mixed and effects difficult to measure, several features of consolidation—unity of leadership, improved policy direction, and sharpened economic-development initiatives—could do so. However, the report also notes that increased cooperation and collaboration with the private sector is important and that combining only two of the many local governments still leaves substantial government fragmentation in the region.
This report concludes that, although evidence is mixed and effects difficult to measure, consolidating the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County could enhance economic development by unifying leadership, improving policy direction and coordination, and sharpening economic-development initiatives. Increased collaboration with the private sector also is important, and combining only two governments still leaves the region highly fragmented.