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How to make the metropolitan areas work: neither big government nor laissez-faire

Author

Listed:
  • Carl Gaigne

    (INRA Rennes - INRA Rennes - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)

  • Stéphane Riou

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Jacques-François Thisse

    (CORE - Center of Operation Research and Econometrics [Louvain] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, CREA - Center for Research in Economic Analysis - uni.lu - Université du Luxembourg = University of Luxembourg = Universität Luxemburg, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

Abstract

We study how political boundaries and fiscal competition interact with the labor and land markets to determine the economic structure and performance of metropolitan areas. Contrary to general belief, institutional fragmentation need not be welfare-decreasing, and commuting from the suburbs to the central city is not wasteful. Thus, the institutional and economic limits of the central city are not the same. With tax competition, the central business district is too small. The dispersion of jobs is increased when suburbanite workers are allowed to consume the public services supplied by the central city. This indicates the need for some metropolitan governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Carl Gaigne & Stéphane Riou & Jacques-François Thisse, 2013. "How to make the metropolitan areas work: neither big government nor laissez-faire," Post-Print halshs-00828729, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00828729
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fitjar, Rune Dahl, 2019. "2019/01 Merging city and suburban governments: A public choice perspective on the Norwegian local government reform," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2019/1, University of Stavanger.
    2. Brülhart, Marius & Bucovetsky, Sam & Schmidheiny, Kurt, 2015. "Taxes in Cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1123-1196, Elsevier.
    3. Yu, Huayi & Hou, Yujuan, 2021. "A tale of two districts: The impact of district consolidation on property values in Shanghai," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Wei Tang & Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, 2017. "Do city–county mergers in China promote local economic development?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(3), pages 439-469, July.
    5. Gaigné, Carl & Riou, Stéphane & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2016. "How to make the metropolitan area work? Neither big government, nor laissez-faire," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 100-113.
    6. Henderson, J. Vernon & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2024. "Urban and spatial economics after 50 years," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Kauffmann, Albrecht, 2015. "Wie lässt sich die Bevölkerungsentwicklung von Städten korrekt ermitteln? Eine Methode zur Bereinigung amtlicher Daten um die Effekte von Gebietsänderungen am Beispiel von Ostdeutschland," IWH Online 5/2015, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    8. Romain Gaté, 2019. "Efficiency of road pricing schemes with endogenous workplace locations in a polycentric city," Working Papers halshs-02335766, HAL.
    9. ARTIGE, Lionel & CAVENAILE, Laurent & PESTIEAU, Pierre, 2014. "The macroeconomics of PAYG pension schemes in an aging society," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2014033, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    10. Tidiane Ly, 2018. "Sub-metropolitan tax competition with household and capital mobility," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(5), pages 1129-1169, October.
    11. Yuriy V. Pavlov, 2022. "Systematisation of factors behind the agglomeration effect," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 22(4), pages 116-138, January.
    12. Dong, Xuebing & Miao, Binbin & Chi, Ruonan, 2023. "Capital flows under integration: Evidence from China's metropolitan area development planning," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. Zhi-Chun Li & Wen-Jing Liu & André de Palma & Yuki Takayama & Takao Dantsuji, 2025. "Autonomous vehicles, urban deployment, and welfare effects," Thema Working Papers 2025-05, THEMA (Théorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), CY Cergy-Paris University, ESSEC and CNRS.
    14. Baumgart, Eike & Blaufus, Kay & Hechtner, Frank, 2023. "The tax treatment of commuting expenses and job-related mobility," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 280, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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