IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecorec/v75y1999i1p37-48.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fiscal Illusion at the Local Level: An Empirical Test Using Australian Municipal Data

Author

Listed:
  • BRIAN DOLLERY
  • ANDREW WORTHINGTON

Abstract

This paper seeks to extend the literature on the empirical analysis of fiscal illusion in two ways. First, it provides a simultaneous test of four specific hypotheses subsumed under fiscal illusion, namely the revenue‐complexity, renter illusion, debt illusion and flypaper models. and second, it adds evidence drawn from the Australian institutional milieu to existing empirical work which has an overwhelming North American focus. Using 1991 data from 46 local government authorities in Tasmania, the results suggest significant support for revenue‐complexity, debt illusion, and the degree of indirectness of the revenue system.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Dollery & Andrew Worthington, 1999. "Fiscal Illusion at the Local Level: An Empirical Test Using Australian Municipal Data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 75(1), pages 37-48, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:75:y:1999:i:1:p:37-48
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.1999.tb02432.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.1999.tb02432.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1475-4932.1999.tb02432.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Goodman, Robert P, 1973. "Private Demands for Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 280-296, June.
    2. Hamilton, Bruce W., 1983. "The flypaper effect and other anomalies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 347-361, December.
    3. Vincent Munley & Kenneth Greene, 1978. "Fiscal illusion, the nature of public goods and equation specification," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 95-100, March.
    4. Romer, Thomas & Rosenthal, Howard, 1979. "The elusive median voter," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 143-170, October.
    5. Thomas DiLorenzo, 1982. "Utility profits, fiscal illusion, and local public expenditures," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 243-252, January.
    6. Brennan, G. & Pincus, J. J., 1996. "A minimalist model of federal grants and flypaper effects," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 229-246, August.
    7. Philip J. Grossman, 1990. "The Impact of Federal and State Grants on Local Government Spending: a Test of the Fiscal Illusion Hypothesis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 18(3), pages 313-327, July.
    8. Dollery, Brian E & Worthington, Andrew C, 1996. "The Empirical Analysis of Fiscal Illusion," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(3), pages 261-297, September.
    9. B. Dalamagas, 1993. "Fiscal Illusion and the Level of Indebtedness: An International Comparison," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 61(1), pages 29-37, March.
    10. Richard Wagner, 1976. "Revenue structure, fiscal illusion, and budgetary choice," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 45-61, March.
    11. Dollery, Brian E. & Worthington, Andrew C., 1995. "State Expenditure and Fiscal Illusion in Australia: A Test of the Revenue Complexity, Revenue Elasticity and Flypaper Hypotheses," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 125-140, September.
    12. Feenberg, Daniel R. & Rosen, Harvey S., 1987. "Tax structure and public sector growth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 185-201, March.
    13. Clotfelter, Charles T, 1976. "Public Spending for Higher Education: An Empirical Test of Two Hypotheses," Public Finance = Finances publiques, , vol. 31(2), pages 177-195.
    14. Wildasin, David E., 1989. "Demand estimation for public goods : Distortionary taxation and other sources of bias," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 353-379, August.
    15. Marshall, Louise, 1991. "New Evidence on Fiscal Illusion: The 1986 Tax "Windfalls."," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(5), pages 1336-1344, December.
    16. Heyndels, Bruno & Smolders, Carine, 1994. "Fiscal Illusion at the Local Level: Empirical Evidence for the Flemish Municipalities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 80(3-4), pages 325-338, September.
    17. Werner W. Pommerehne & Friedrich Schneider*, 1978. "Fiscal Illusion, Political Institutions, And Local Public Spending," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 381-408, August.
    18. Borcherding, Thomas E., 1985. "The causes of government expenditure growth: A survey of the U.S. evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 359-382, December.
    19. Holcombe, Randall G, 1980. "An Empirical Test of the Median Voter Model," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 18(2), pages 260-274, April.
    20. Walter Misiolek & Harold Elder, 1988. "Tax structure and the size of government: An empirical analysis of the fiscal illusion and fiscal stress arguments," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 233-245, June.
    21. Logan, Robert R, 1986. "Fiscal Illusion and the Grantor Government," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(6), pages 1304-1318, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jens Blom-Hansen, 2005. "Renter Illusion: Fact or Fiction?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(1), pages 127-140, January.
    2. Bev Dahlby & Ergete Ferede, 2016. "The stimulative effects of intergovernmental grants and the marginal cost of public funds," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(1), pages 114-139, February.
    3. Riana Meilya & Akram Akram & Titiek Herwanti, 2018. "Fiscal Illusion and Defining Factors of Capital Expenditure (Study on Undeveloped Areas in West Nusa Tenggara)," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 8(1), pages 98-106.
    4. Yongzheng Liu & Haibo Feng, 2015. "Tax structure and corruption: cross-country evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 57-78, January.
    5. Hammed Amusa & Robert Mabunda & Ramos Mabugu, 2008. "Fiscal Illusion At The Local Sphere: An Empirical Test Of The Flypaper Effect Using South African Municipal Data1," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 76(3), pages 443-465, September.
    6. David J. Schwegman & John Yinger, 2020. "The Shifting of the Property Tax on Urban Renters: Evidence from New York State’s Homestead Tax Option," Working Papers 20-43, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Duc Hong Vo, 2010. "The Economics Of Fiscal Decentralization," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 657-679, September.
    8. Manuel E. Lago & Santiago Lago-Peñas & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2022. "On the effects of intergovernmental grants: a survey," Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization 2204, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    9. Ankie Scott-Joseph, 2022. "Debt financing and fiscal illusion: evidence from Caribbean states," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Taeseop Yoon & Junseop Shim, 2016. "An empirical analysis of the fiscal impacts of changes in tax revenue multiplicity: Focusing on Florida county case," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 21-36, January.
    11. Haug, Peter, 2009. "Shadow Budgets, Fiscal Illusion and Municipal Spending: The Case of Germany," IWH Discussion Papers 9/2009, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Brunner, Eric J. & Ross, Stephen L. & Simonsen, Becky K., 2015. "Homeowners, renters and the political economy of property taxation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 38-49.
    13. Roberto Dell’Anno & Paulo Mourao, 2012. "Fiscal Illusion around the World," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(2), pages 270-299, March.
    14. Eckel, Catherine C. & Grossman, Philip J. & Johnston, Rachel M., 2005. "An experimental test of the crowding out hypothesis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(8), pages 1543-1560, August.
    15. Manuel E. Lago & Santiago Lago-Peñas & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2022. "On the effects of intergovernmental grants: a survey," Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization 2204, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hammed Amusa & Robert Mabunda & Ramos Mabugu, 2008. "Fiscal Illusion At The Local Sphere: An Empirical Test Of The Flypaper Effect Using South African Municipal Data1," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 76(3), pages 443-465, September.
    2. Haug, Peter, 2009. "Shadow Budgets, Fiscal Illusion and Municipal Spending: The Case of Germany," IWH Discussion Papers 9/2009, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    3. F. Forte, 1997. "The measurement of 'fiscal burden' on GDP instead than on national net value added produced: a chapter in fiscal illusion," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 50(202), pages 337-375.
    4. Roberto Dell’Anno & Paulo Mourao, 2012. "Fiscal Illusion around the World," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(2), pages 270-299, March.
    5. Roberto Dell'Anno & Morena De Stefano, 2014. "Un indicatore sintetico dell?Illusione Finanziaria. Un tentativo di stima per l?Italia," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 65-92.
    6. Roberto Dell'Anno & Vincenzo Maria De Rosa, 2013. "The Relevance of the Theory of Fiscal Illusion. The Case of the Italian Tax System," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(2), pages 63-92.
    7. Walter Misiolek & Harold Elder, 1988. "Tax structure and the size of government: An empirical analysis of the fiscal illusion and fiscal stress arguments," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 233-245, June.
    8. Facchini, Francois, 2014. "The determinants of public spending: a survey in a methodological perspective," MPRA Paper 53006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ankie Scott-Joseph, 2022. "Debt financing and fiscal illusion: evidence from Caribbean states," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Sebastian Langer & Artem Korzhenevych, 2019. "Equalization Transfers and the Pattern of Municipal Spending: An Investigation of the Flypaper Effect in Germany," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 20(2), pages 737-765, November.
    11. Korzhenevych, Artem & Langer, Sebastian, 2016. "The Flypaper Effect in Germany: An East-West Comparison," CEPIE Working Papers 10/16, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    12. David L. Sjoquist & Mary Beth Walker & Sally Wallace, 2005. "Estimating Differential Responses to Local Fiscal Conditions: A Mixture Model Analysis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 36-61, January.
    13. George Boyne, 1987. "Median voters, political systems and public policies: An empirical test," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 201-219, January.
    14. Hammed Amusa & Ramos Mabugu & Robert Mabunda, 2008. "Fiscal Illusion at the Local Sphere: An Empirical Test of the Flypaper Effect using South African Municipal Data," Working Papers 072, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    15. Andrew Abbott & Philip Jones, 2016. "Fiscal Illusion and Cyclical Government Expenditure: State Government Expenditure in the United States," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(2), pages 177-193, May.
    16. Gemmell, Norman & Morrissey, Oliver & Pinar, Abuzer, 1999. "Fiscal illusion and the demand for government expenditures in the UK," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 687-704, November.
    17. Hotak, Nematullah & Kaneko, Shinji, 2022. "Fiscal illusion of the stated preferences of government officials regarding interministerial policy packages: A case study on child labor in Afghanistan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 285-298.
    18. Michael A. Nelson, 1986. "Voter Perceptions of the Cost of Government: the Case of Local School Expenditures in Louisiana," Public Finance Review, , vol. 14(1), pages 48-68, January.
    19. Yongzheng Liu & Haibo Feng, 2015. "Tax structure and corruption: cross-country evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 57-78, January.
    20. Manuel Jaén García & Luis Palma Martos, "undated". "Public Expenditure Dynamics In Spain: A Simplified Model Of Its Determinants," Working Papers 9-04 Classification-JEL :, Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:75:y:1999:i:1:p:37-48. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/esausea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.