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How Do Local Governments Decide on Public Policy in Fiscal Federalism? Tax vs. Expenditure Optimization

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  • Marko Köthenbürger

Abstract

Previous literature widely assumes that taxes are optimized in local public finance while expenditures adjust residually. This paper endogenizes the choice of the optimization variable. In particular, it analyzes how federal policy toward local governments influences the way local governments decide on public policy. Unlike the presumption, the paper shows that local governments may choose to optimize over expenditures. The result most notably prevails when federal policy subsidizes local fiscal effort. The results offer a new perspective of the efficiency implications of federal policy toward local governments and, thereby, enable a more precise characterization of local government behaviour in fiscal federalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Marko Köthenbürger, 2008. "How Do Local Governments Decide on Public Policy in Fiscal Federalism? Tax vs. Expenditure Optimization," CESifo Working Paper Series 2385, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2385
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Christofzik, Désirée I. & Schneider, Benny, 2019. "Fiscal policy adjustments to budget shocks: Evidence from German municipalities," Working Papers 10/2019, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung.
    2. Brülhart, Marius & Parchet, Raphaël, 2014. "Alleged tax competition: The mysterious death of bequest taxes in Switzerland," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 63-78.
    3. Koethenbuerger, Marko, 2011. "How do local governments decide on public policy in fiscal federalism? Tax vs. expenditure optimization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1516-1522.
    4. Yutao Han, 2013. "Who benefits from partial tax coordination?," DEM Discussion Paper Series 13-24, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    5. Koethenbuerger, Marko, 2014. "Competition for migrants in a federation: Tax or transfer competition?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 110-118.
    6. Raphaël Parchet, 2019. "Are Local Tax Rates Strategic Complements or Strategic Substitutes?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 189-224, May.
    7. Hansjörg Blöchliger & José Maria Pinero Campos, 2011. "Tax Competition Between Sub-Central Governments," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 872, OECD Publishing.
    8. Mariana Lopes da Fonseca, 2017. "Tax Mimicking in Local Business Taxation: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Portugal," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2017-08, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    9. Neelanjan Sen & Rajit Biswas, 2017. "Indirect Taxes in Oligopoly in Presence of Licensing Opportunities," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 61-82, March.
    10. David R. Agrawal & David E. Wildasin, 2019. "Sales Taxation, Spatial Agglomeration, and the Internet," CESifo Working Paper Series 7742, CESifo.
    11. Katarzyna Kopczewska, 2016. "Efficiency of Regional Public Investment: An NPV-Based Spatial Econometric Approach," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(4), pages 413-431, October.
    12. Raphael Parchet, 2012. "Are Local Tax Rates Strategic Complements or Substitutes?," ERSA conference papers ersa12p313, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Andreas Wagener, 2016. "Evolutionary Stability in Fiscal Competition," CESifo Working Paper Series 5791, CESifo.
    14. Nithin K, 2015. "The Case of Revenue versus Expenditure Optimization in India," Working Papers 1528, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    15. Sebastian G. Kessing & Benny Schneider, 2014. "Regional Investment and Individual Redistribution in a Federation," Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 168-14, Universität Siegen, Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsinformatik und Wirtschaftsrecht.
    16. Carmen Marín-González & Diego Martínez-López, 2024. "Fiscal stabilisation, debt sustainability and public spending in subnational governments. The case of the Spanish regions," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2024-02, FEDEA.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax vs. expenditure optimization; federalism; endogenous commitment; fiscal incentives; policy interaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General

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