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Proposition 13 and Its Offspring: For Good or for Evil?

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  • McGuire, Therese J.

Abstract

The answer to the question posed in the title depends on which model of local government behavior is operative. If it is the median-voter/benevolent-dictator model, then property tax limits can only be for evil. If it is the Leviathan/budget-maximizing-bureaucratic model, then property tax limits have the potential to improve the welfare of local resident voters. From this perspective, I reassess the empirical literature on state-imposed limits on local property taxes and conclude that the evidence can be interpreted as supportive of the notion that the Leviathan model may be operative and thus that property tax limits have the potential to improve welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • McGuire, Therese J., 1999. "Proposition 13 and Its Offspring: For Good or for Evil?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 52(1), pages 129-138, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:52:y:1999:i:1:p:129-38
    DOI: 10.1086/NTJ41789381
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Downes, Thomas A., 1992. "Evaluating the Impact of School Finance Reform on the Provision of Public Education: The California Case," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 45(4), pages 405-419, December.
    2. Downes, Thomas A. & Dye, Richard F. & McGuire, Therese J., 1998. "Do Limits Matter? Evidence on the Effects of Tax Limitations on Student Performance," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 401-417, May.
    3. Downes, Thomas A, 1996. "An Examination of the Structure of Governance in California School Districts before and after Proposition 13," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 86(3-4), pages 279-307, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Parry, Ian W. H., 2003. "How large are the welfare costs of tax competition?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 39-60, July.
    2. Thomas A. Downes, 2002. "Do state governments matter?: a review of the evidence on the impact on educational outcomes of the changing role of the states in the financing of public education," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 47(Jun), pages 143-180.
    3. Tom Downes & Kieran M. Killeen, 2014. "So Slow to Change: The Limited Growth of Nontax Revenues in Public Education Finance, 1991–2010," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 567-599, October.
    4. Lars-Erik Borge, 2006. "Centralized or decentralized financing of local governments? Consequences for efficiency and inequality of service provision," Working Paper Series 7806, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    5. Feld, Lars P. & Matsusaka, John G., 2003. "Budget referendums and government spending: evidence from Swiss cantons," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 2703-2724, December.

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