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Fiscal Equalization and Yardstick Competition

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Author Info
Christos Kotsogiannis ()
Robert Schwager ()

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Abstract

A multi-jurisdictional system is thought to improve, through yardstick competition, accountability. At the same time equalization programs, a common feature of multi-jurisdictional systems, are thought to be a prerequisite for both efficiency of the internal market and the equity objective of the equal treatment of equals. This paper shows that such programs, by reducing the information context of comparisons across jurisdictions, introduce perverse fiscal incentives and thus reduce accountability. The consequence of this is that equilibrium rent-taking increases with the intensity of equalization transfers.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CESifo Group Munich in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number CESifo Working Paper No. 1865.

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Date of creation: 2006
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Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1865

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Related research
Keywords: equalization transfer programs; fiscal capacity; rent-seeking; fiscal federalism;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
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  18. Thiess Buettner & Michael Overesch & Ulrich Schreiber & Georg Wamser, 2006. "The Impact of Thin-Capitalization Rules on Multinationals' Financing and Investment Decisions," Working Papers 2006-06, University of Kentucky, Institute for Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations. [Downloadable!]
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  26. Kristian Behrens & Pierre M. Picard, 2006. "Tax competition, location, and horizontal foreign direct investment," Working Papers 2006-08, University of Kentucky, Institute for Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations. [Downloadable!]
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  29. Clifford J. Carrubba & Matthew Gabel & Lacey Murrah & Ryan Clough & Elizabeth Montgomery & Rebecca Schambach, 2005. "National Party Politics and Supranational Politics in the European Union: New Evidence from the European Parliament," Working Papers 2005-04, University of Kentucky, Institute for Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations. [Downloadable!]
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  33. Jens Brøchner & Jesper Jensen & Patrik Svensson & Peter Birch Sørensen, 2006. "The Dilemmas of Tax Coordination in the Enlarged European Union," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Hikaru Ogawa & David Wildasin, 2007. "Think Locally, Act Locally: Spillovers, Spillbacks, and Efficient Decentralized Policymaking," Working Papers 2007-06, University of Kentucky, Institute for Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. David Wildasin, 2007. "Pre-Emption: Federal Statutory Intervention in State Taxation," Working Papers 2007-05, University of Kentucky, Institute for Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations. [Downloadable!]
  3. Kalb, Alexander, 2008. "The Impact of Intergovernmental Grants on Cost Efficiency: Theory and Evidence from German Municipalities," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-051, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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