Reviews & Essays Beyond Institutional Collective Action, Why and When Do Metropolitan Governments Collaborate? Manlio F. Castillo 1 Abstract The essay explores why and when metropolitan governments collaborate beyond the assumptions of the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework. It claims that metropolitan governments not only create collaborative arrangements after comparing their costs and benefits, or when sponta- neously their agendas get aligned. This article argues that the success of metropolitan interlocal collaboration also rests on the proclivity to collaboration of independent local governments’ institutional structures, which, in turn, depends on how local governments and their management capabilities have been shaped and evolved, both individually and comparatively with neighboring governments. Additionally, the article classifies and explains four basic models of metropolitan collaborative arrangements. Keywords institutional collective action, decision-making institutions, metropolitan areas, interlocal collabora- tion, collaborative arrangements The best way to govern metropolitan areas composed of many smaller jurisdictions is col- laborative governance. Many scholars agree that while an administratively fragmented city can choose to govern and manage its parts indi- vidually, collaborative connections lead to bet- ter outcomes. Research has documented these advantages of cooperation and coordination (e.g., Feiock, Tao, and Johnson 2004; Morgan and Mareschal 1999; Sharp 2004). The Institutional Collective Action (ICA) theoretical framework (Feiock 2007, 2009) has become a useful approach for explaining the reasons why local metropolitan governments establish collaborative arrangements. Through the assumptions of rational choice, ICA views urban areas as places for negotiating and pursuing agreements between agents involved in urban governance. It identifies factors that reduce transaction costs and incentivizes the creation of interlocal arrangements. 1 Department of Public Administration, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (Centro de Investigaci ´ on y Docencia Econ ´ omicas [CIDE]), Mexico City, Mexico Corresponding Author: Manlio F. Castillo, Department of Public Administration, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (Centro de Investigaci ´ on y Docencia Econ ´ omicas [CIDE]), Carre- tera M´ exico-Toluca 3655, Lomas de Santa Fe, 01210, A ´ lvaro Obreg ´ on, Mexico City, Mexico. Email: manlio.castillo@cide.edu State and Local Government Review 1-13 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0160323X19884618 journals.sagepub.com/home/slg