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Federalism, Taxation, and Economic Growth

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  • Hatfield, John

    (Stanford U)

Abstract

We show that federalism will lead to higher economic growth. We present a model of endogenous growth where government services, funded by income and capital taxes, are a component of production. In this model a decentralized government will choose tax policy to maximize economic growth, while a centralized government will not do so. Furthermore, these conclusions hold regardless of whether the government is beholden to a median voter or is a rent-maximizing Leviathan. However, a decentralized government will under- provide a consumptive public good. Finally, we show our results are robust to imperfect capital mobility between districts and in such a model that districts with a lower total factor productivity will choose a more growth-enhancing tax policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Hatfield, John, 2006. "Federalism, Taxation, and Economic Growth," Research Papers 1929, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1929
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Yiannis Psycharis, 2011. "Without purpose and strategy? A spatio-functional analysis of the regional allocation of public investment in Greece," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 49, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    3. Kayode Olaide & Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne & Josine Uwilingiye, 2022. "Sustainable Development–Fiscal Federalism Nexus: A “Beyond GDP” Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-37, May.
    4. Boris I. Alekhin, 2020. "Vertical Fiscal Imbalance and Regional Economic Growth," Finansovyj žhurnal — Financial Journal, Financial Research Institute, Moscow 125375, Russia, issue 6, pages 39-53, December.
    5. Floriana Cerniglia & Riccarda Longaretti, 2013. "Federalism, education-related public good and growth when agents are heterogeneous," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 271-301, July.
    6. Pierre Salmon, 2013. "Decentralization and growth: what if the cross-jurisdiction approach had met a dead end?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 87-107, June.
    7. Daniel Becker & Michael Rauscher, 2013. "Fiscal Competition and Growth When Capital Is Imperfectly Mobile," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 115(1), pages 211-233, January.
    8. Daniel Becker & Michael Rauscher, 2007. "Fiscal Competition in Space and Time: An Endogenous-Growth Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 2048, CESifo.
    9. Koethenbuerger, Marko & Lockwood, Ben, 2010. "Does tax competition really promote growth?," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 191-206, February.
    10. Samuel Adams & Kingsley Agomor, 2020. "Decentralization, Partisan Politics, and National Development in Ghana," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 351-366, June.
    11. Konrad, Kai A. & Kovenock, Dan, 2009. "Competition for FDI with vintage investment and agglomeration advantages," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 230-237, November.
    12. John William Hatfield & Gerard Padró i Miquel, 2008. "A Political Economy Theory of Partial Decentralization," NBER Working Papers 14628, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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