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Special Districts and Local Public Services

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  • Thomas J. D

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

This article examines the role of special districts in the efficient provision of local public services. Many public administrators, political scientists, and urban planners have long held that the proliferatian of special districts in urban areas leads to an increase in the cost ofproviding local public services and a decline in the degree to which service provision is responsive to the demands of consumer-taxpayers. In contrast, this article evaluates special districts on the basis of economic theory and deduces that they can be conducive to both production and consumption efficiency. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that restrictions on the growth of special districts diminish competition in the provision of local public services and lead to rising costs. This hypothesis is tested using data from California and Oregon, two states which have severely restricted the growth of special districts. It is found that, ceteris paribus, such restrictions are likely to have increased the cost of providing local public services.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas J. D, 1981. "Special Districts and Local Public Services," Public Finance Review, , vol. 9(3), pages 353-367, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:9:y:1981:i:3:p:353-367
    DOI: 10.1177/109114218100900307
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Niskanen, William A, 1975. "Bureaucrats and Politicians," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 617-643, December.
    2. Yoram Barzel, 1969. "Two propositions on the optimum level of producing collective goods," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 31-37, March.
    3. Primeaux, Walter J, Jr, 1977. "An Assessment of X-Efficiency Gained through Competition," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 59(1), pages 105-108, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, "undated". "The Role of Direct Democracy and Federalism in Local Power," IEW - Working Papers 209, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.

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