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Piling On: Multilevel Government and the Fiscal Common‐Pool

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  • Christopher Berry

Abstract

This article discusses the common‐pool problems that arise when multiple territorially overlapping governments share the authority to provide services and levy taxes in a common geographic area. Contrary to the traditional Tiebout model in which increasing the number of competing governments improves efficiency, I argue that increasing the number of overlapping governments results in “overfishing” from the shared tax base. I test the model empirically using data from U.S. counties and find a strong positive relationship between the number of overlapping jurisdictions and the size of the local public sector. Substantively, the “overlap effect” amounts to roughly 10% of local revenue.

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  • Christopher Berry, 2008. "Piling On: Multilevel Government and the Fiscal Common‐Pool," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 802-820, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:52:y:2008:i:4:p:802-820
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00344.x
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    6. Alessio Mitra & Athanasios Chymis, 2022. "Federalism, but how? The impact of vertical fiscal imbalance on economic growth. Evidence from Belgium," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 322-350, July.
    7. Goodman, Christopher B, 2019. "Political Fragmentation & Economic Growth in U.S. Metropolitan Areas," SocArXiv dx75m, Center for Open Science.
    8. Lucy Martin & Pia J. Raffler, 2021. "Fault Lines: The Effects of Bureaucratic Power on Electoral Accountability," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(1), pages 210-224, January.
    9. Ali, Amin Masud & Savoia, Antonio, 2023. "Decentralisation or patronage: What determines government's allocation of development spending in a unitary country? Evidence from Bangladesh," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Robert A. Greer, 2015. "Overlapping Local Government Debt and the Fiscal Common," Public Finance Review, , vol. 43(6), pages 762-785, November.
    11. Yonsu Kim & Jae Hong Kim, 2022. "What drives variations in public health and social services expenditures? the association between political fragmentation and local expenditure patterns," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(5), pages 781-789, July.
    12. Christopher B Goodman, 2018. "Usage of Specialized Service Delivery: Evidence from Contiguous Counties," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 48(4), pages 686-708.
    13. Jaewoo Cho & Jae Hong Kim & Yonsu Kim, 2019. "Metropolitan governance structure and growth–inequality dynamics in the United States," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(3), pages 598-616, May.
    14. Yoon-Jung Choi, 2022. "Property tax interaction among overlapping local jurisdictions: quasi-experimental evidence from school bond referenda," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 537-580, June.
    15. Nakatani, Ryota & Zhang, Qianqian & Garcia Valdes, Isaura, 2023. "Health Expenditure Decentralization and Health Outcomes: The Importance of Governance," MPRA Paper 118062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Spencer T. Brien & Wenli Yan, 2020. "Are Overlapping Local Governments Competing With Each Other When Issuing Debt?," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 75-92, June.
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