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Bureaucratic Behavior in the Local Public Sector: A Revealed Preference Approach

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  • Chang, Chinkun
  • Turnbull, Geoffrey K

Abstract

Public sector bureaucratic utility is typically assumed to be a function of budget size or government employment. Although intuitively appealing, there are no definitive direct tests of the assumption. To fill this gap, this paper exploits data that isolate resource allocation decisions made by local public sector bureaucrats. We use revealed preference theory to find that the bureaucracy behaves "as if" bureaucratic utility is an increasing function of employment across government functions and public spending, providing direct evidence justifying the popular assumption in theoretical models of government behavior. Copyright 2002 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

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  • Chang, Chinkun & Turnbull, Geoffrey K, 2002. "Bureaucratic Behavior in the Local Public Sector: A Revealed Preference Approach," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 113(1-2), pages 191-210, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:113:y:2002:i:1-2:p:191-210
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    Cited by:

    1. Marta Curto-Grau, 2017. "Voters’ responsiveness to public employment policies," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 143-169, January.
    2. Turnbull Geoffrey K & Salvino Robert F., 2009. "Do Broader Eminent Domain Powers Increase Government Size?," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 785-806, December.
    3. Nuria Boch Roca & Javier Suárez Pandiello, 2015. "Politics and Finance in Spanish Municipalities," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 212(1), pages 51-66, March.
    4. Andrea Kollmann & Friedrich Schneider, 2010. "Why Does Environmental Policy in Representative Democracies Tend to Be Inadequate? A Preliminary Public Choice Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(12), pages 1-25, November.
    5. Ivo Bischoff & Frédéric Blaeschke, 2013. "Incentives and Influence Activities in the Public Sector: the Trade-off in Performance Budgeting and Conditional Grants," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201320, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    6. Geoffrey K. Turnbull & Minrong Zheng, 2021. "A Meta‐Analysis of School Quality Capitalization in U.S. House Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1120-1171, December.
    7. Ivo Bischoff & Frédéric Blaeschke, 2012. "Window-Dressing and Lobbying in Performance-Budgeting: a Model for the Public Sector," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201212, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    8. Geoffrey K. Turnbull, 2007. "Government Form and Performance: Fiscal Illusion and Administrative Ability in U.S. Counties," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(3), pages 754-769, January.
    9. Bischoff, Ivo, 2008. "Conditional Grants, Grant-Seeking and Welfare when there is Government Failure on the Subordinate Level," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-031, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Geoffrey K. Turnbull & Michael T. Tasto, 2008. "Independent Cities and Counties in Virginia: Substitute Jurisdictions?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(1), pages 53-66, January.
    11. Brady P. Horn & Michael Cantor & Rodney Fort, 2015. "Proximity And Voting For Professional Sporting Stadiums: The Pattern Of Support For The Seahawk Stadium Referendum," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(4), pages 678-688, October.
    12. Geoffrey Turnbull & Gyusuck Geon, 2006. "Local government internal structure, external constraints and the median voter," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 487-506, December.
    13. Geoffrey K. Turnbull & Robert F. Salvino & Michael T. Tasto, 2014. "Does the power to use eminent domain for economic development actually enhance economic development?," Chapters, in: Robert F. Salvino Jr. & Michael T. Tasto & Gregory M. Randolph (ed.), Entrepreneurial Action, Public Policy, and Economic Outcomes, chapter 7, pages 119-133, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Rebecca J. Campbell & Geoffrey K. Turnbull, 2003. "On Government Structure and Spending: The Effects of Management Form and Separation of Powers," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(1), pages 23-34, January.

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