Does multilevel government increase legitimacy? Citizens’ preferences for subnational authority and acceptance of governmental decisions

Abstract Despite a trend of increasing multilevel government across the globe, there are surprisingly few studies on public support for decisions taken by different government levels. Decentralization is likely to boost government support because it increases congruence between citizens and their representatives. We argue that citizens’ preferences for subnational authority are key for their willingness to accept governmental decisions. Citizens who prefer decentralization are more supportive of subnational decisions, and their support for national decisions increases when subnational governments are involved in the decision-making process. We fielded a survey that asked 1,855 Norwegian respondents their willingness to accept decisions taken by their municipality, county, and national government to close an educational institution in their municipality. We find substantial empirical evidence for our hypotheses. Norway is a least-likely-case because government tiers enjoy high levels of trust. Therefore, the results have also important implications for the legitimacy of multilevel government in other countries.