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The effects of inter-municipal cooperation and central grant allocation on the size of the French local public sector

Author

Listed:
  • Touria Jaaidane

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CRED - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Droit - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas)

  • Sophie Larribeau

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The analysis of French municipalities' public personnel expenditures allows us to study the issue of the size of the local public sector. We concentrate on two paths that French authorities have followed to limit it, i.e., the promotion of inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) and the cut in grants received by municipalities. Our objective is to evaluate their respective role in the evolution of public personnel expenditures at the municipal level, in a context where local politics comes into play. We consider a large panel dataset of municipalities embedded in IMC structures between 2011 and 2018. Our main results, obtained using an original identification strategy, are threefold. We first find evidence that a substitution effect between municipal and IMC personnel expenditures is at work. Second, we find a partisan distorsion through the grant allocation: despite its formula-based definition, aligned and unaligned municipalities are treated differently by the central government. Third, we show that cuts in grants lead to cuts in municipalities' public wage bills, while partisanship hinders such cuts.

Suggested Citation

  • Touria Jaaidane & Sophie Larribeau, 2023. "The effects of inter-municipal cooperation and central grant allocation on the size of the French local public sector," Post-Print hal-03901720, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03901720
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102271
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-rennes.hal.science/hal-03901720v1
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    Cited by:

    1. Quinckhardt, Matthias, 2023. "The value of a party: Local politics and the allocation of intergovernmental transfers," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Bischoff, Ivo & Das, Sourav & Kosfeld, Reinhold, 2025. "Does inter-municipal cooperation reduce the intensity of tax competition? Evidence on inter-local industrial parks in Germany," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Touria Jaaidane & Sophie Larribeau & Matthieu Leprince, 2024. "Inter-municipal cooperation and public employment: evidence from French municipalities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 72(3), pages 987-1014, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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