When we look at local government practice across the advanced nations we observe a very heterogeneous picture since countries have arranged their local public sector in different ways. Over the last two decades the majority of such countries have introduced intense structural reform. This is due to the increasing number of functions, responsibilities and objectives assigned to local governments as implication of new and more modern models and principles of local governance (for example, a significant challenge is represented by the fiscal federalism and new public management). To draw out 'stylized facts' to link the diversity and differences which characterizes these local government experiences is not an easy attempt but it deserves attention. Discerning regularities among alternative patterns of local government development can help to improve the understanding of how different dimensions of local government interact with existing institutional setting in order to achieve better performance (i.e, economic efficiency, accountability, democracy, etc) at the lower level of government. Finally, this exercise can be useful to policy makers seeking informed policy options when design optimal intergovernmental relations and structural reforms.