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Fiscal Equalization, Government Expenditures and Endogenous Growth

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  • Philippe Cyrenne
  • Manish Pandey

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect of a fiscal equalization system on the composition of government expenditures of subnational governments. We incorporate vertical equalization transfers with optimal choice of the composition of government expenditures in an endogenous growth model and show that such transfers reduce the incentives of recipient subnational governments to undertake productive expenditures. Using data for Canadian provinces, we find evidence that, after controlling for a number of determinants of government expenditures, the ratio of productive expenditures to total government expenditures was lower in equalization-receiving than non-receiving provinces.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Cyrenne & Manish Pandey, 2013. "Fiscal Equalization, Government Expenditures and Endogenous Growth," Departmental Working Papers 2013-03, The University of Winnipeg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:win:winwop:2013-03
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rosas Martínez, Víctor Hugo, 2022. "A theoretical Assessment: The Limit of Governmental Expenditures or Investments on Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 114698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Till Gross, 2021. "Dynamic Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Transfer Union," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 42, pages 194-238, October.
    4. Bev Dahlby & Kevin Milligan, 2017. "From theory to practice: Canadian economists contributions to public finance," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1324-1347, December.
    5. Tuan T. Chu & Jens Hölscher & Dermot McCarthy, 2020. "The impact of productive and non-productive government expenditure on economic growth: an empirical analysis in high-income versus low- to middle-income economies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(5), pages 2403-2430, May.
    6. Que, Wei & Zhang, Yabin & Schulze, Günther, 2019. "Is public spending behavior important for Chinese official promotion? Evidence from city-level," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 403-417.
    7. Chan, Felix & Petchey, Jeff, 2017. "A note on the relation between fiscal equalization and economic growth," MPRA Paper 79156, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Saeid Mahdavi & Joakim Westerlund, 2017. "Are state–local government expenditures converging? New evidence based on sequential unit root tests," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 373-403, September.
    9. Ferede, Ergete & Dahlby, Bev, 2019. "The Effect of Corporate Income Tax on the Economic Growth Rates of the Canadian Provinces," SPP Technical Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 12(29), September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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