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Public Debt, Migration, and Shortsighted Politicians

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  • Christian Schultz
  • Tomas Sjöström

Abstract

We analyze a model where local public debt levels are set by politicians who are chosen in local elections. Migration causes an externality across districts, and leads to overaccumulation of local public debt. Since debt is a strategic substitute, the median voters in each district prefer shortsighted political leaders who “borrow and spend,” thereby exacerbating the problem of overaccumulation of local public debt.

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  • Christian Schultz & Tomas Sjöström, 2004. "Public Debt, Migration, and Shortsighted Politicians," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 6(5), pages 655-674, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:6:y:2004:i:5:p:655-674
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9779.2004.00185.x
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    2. Huber, Bernd & Runkel, Marco, 2008. "Interregional redistribution and budget institutions under asymmetric information," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(12), pages 2350-2361, December.
    3. Darong Dai & Dennis W. Jansen & Liqun Liu, 2021. "Inter-jurisdiction migration and the fiscal policies of local governments," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 133-164, March.
    4. Cuesta, Lizeth, 2020. "Efecto del crecimiento demográfico en la deuda externa. Estudio para países sudamericanos usando un análisis de cointegración [Effect of population growth on external debt. Study for South American," MPRA Paper 111041, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Apr 2021.
    5. María Deseada López Subires & Laura Alcaide Muñoz & Andrés Navarro Galera & Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar, 2019. "The Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on Financial Sustainability of Public Services: A Comparative Analysis in Regional Governments and Local Governments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Pérez López, Gemma & Plata Díaz, Ana María & Zafra Gómez, José L. & López Hernández, Antonio M., 2013. "Deuda viva municipal en un contexto de crisis económica: análisis de los factores determinantes y de las formas de gestión," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 83-93.
    7. Darong Dai & Liqun Liu & Guoqiang Tian, 2019. "Interregional redistribution and budget institutions with private information on intergenerational externality," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 23(3), pages 127-154, December.
    8. Darong Dai & Guoqiang Tian, 2023. "Optimal interregional redistribution and local budget rules with multidimensional heterogeneity," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 27(1), pages 79-124, February.
    9. Junichi Nagami & Hikaru Ogawa, 2011. "Partial coordination in local debt policies," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(18), pages 1785-1787, December.
    10. Serena Santis, 2020. "The Demographic and Economic Determinants of Financial Sustainability: An Analysis of Italian Local Governments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar & Andrés Navarro Galera & Laura Alcaide Muñoz & María Deseada López Subires, 2016. "Analyzing Forces to the Financial Contribution of Local Governments to Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-18, September.

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