Do Municipal Mergers Undermine Democratic Participation ?

This paper contributes to the existing literature on municipal mergers by highlighting heterogeneous political consequences associated with territorial reforms. The study evidences that municipal mergers reduce by 8 percentage points voter turnout, aligning with broader empirical trends. Employing a Difference-in-Differences approach and data from French municipalities from 2008, 2014 and 2020, the analysis reveals that mergers have a stronger negative effect on voter turnout in rural, less populated areas and in large-scale consolidations. The decline is also more pronounced in municipalities with limited electoral competition. The effect is mitigated by an increase in the number of polling stations and changes in the political color of the majority of the chief town municipality after the elections.