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Elections accelerate inefficiencies in local public good provision with decentralized leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Nobuo Akai

    (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University)

  • Takahiro Watanabe

    (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University)

Abstract

This paper introduces the election process to the traditional decentralized leadership model, where the central government does not have a pre-commitment ability, and interregional transfer is optimally designed ex post. In the traditional decentralized leadership model, it has been shown that local public good provision is distorted by ex post transfer. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the introduction of the election process affects inefficiencies in the decentralized leadership situation. Our results show that the direction of this distortion depends on the commitment environment, and the degree of this distortion depends on the degree of spillover.

Suggested Citation

  • Nobuo Akai & Takahiro Watanabe, 2021. "Elections accelerate inefficiencies in local public good provision with decentralized leadership," OSIPP Discussion Paper 21E004, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    • Handle: RePEc:osp:wpaper:21e004
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    File URL: http://www.osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp/archives/DP/2021/DP2021E004.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Dur & Hein Roelfsema, 2005. "Why does centralisation fail to internalise policy externalities?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 395-416, March.
    2. Akai, Nobuo & Sato, Motohiro, 2008. "Too big or too small? A synthetic view of the commitment problem of interregional transfers," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 551-559, November.
    3. Arthur Caplan & Emilson Silva, 2011. "Impure public goods, matching grant rates and income redistribution in a federation with decentralized leadership and imperfect labor mobility," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(3), pages 322-336, June.
    4. Nobuo Akai & Takahiro Watanabe, 2020. "Delegation of Taxation Authority and Multipolicy Commitment in a Decentralized Leadership Model," Public Finance Review, , vol. 48(4), pages 505-537, July.
    5. Kothenburger, Marko, 2004. "Tax competition in a fiscal union with decentralized leadership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 498-513, May.
    6. Silva, Emilson Caputo Delfino, 2014. "Selective decentralized leadership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 1-5.
    7. Koethenbuerger, Marko, 2008. "Federal tax-transfer policy and intergovernmental pre-commitment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 16-31, January.
    8. Besley, Timothy & Coate, Stephen, 2003. "Centralized versus decentralized provision of local public goods: a political economy approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 2611-2637, December.
    9. Caplan, Arthur J. & Cornes, Richard C. & Silva, Emilson C. D., 2000. "Pure public goods and income redistribution in a federation with decentralized leadership and imperfect labor mobility," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 265-284, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Election. Decentralized leadership. Interregional transfer;

    JEL classification:

    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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