IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/wzcgj.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Fiscal Impacts of Urban Sprawl: Evidence from U.S. County Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Goodman, Christopher B

    (Northern Illinois University)

Abstract

This paper examines the fiscal impacts of urban development patterns in the United States. Previous studies have indicated that low-density, spatially expansive development patterns are costly to provide public services leading to higher per capita expenditures. However, theory would suggest alternate outcomes. These two possibilities are examined empirically using a panel dataset of U.S. county areas from 1982 to 2012 and a specification allowing for a potential non-linearity between development patterns and per capita expenditures. Estimates indicate that the spatial extent of urban development is the most important, suggesting that more compact development is less costly to provide public services. Increased density increases per capita expenditures suggesting "urban harshness"; however, the effects are quantitatively small.

Suggested Citation

  • Goodman, Christopher B, 2017. "The Fiscal Impacts of Urban Sprawl: Evidence from U.S. County Areas," SocArXiv wzcgj, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:wzcgj
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/wzcgj
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/59430104b83f69022cb9f5e9/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/wzcgj?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Mieszkowski & Edwin S. Mills, 1993. "The Causes of Metropolitan Suburbanization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 135-147, Summer.
    2. Song, Yan & Zenou, Yves, 2006. "Property tax and urban sprawl: Theory and implications for US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 519-534, November.
    3. Borcherding, Thomas E & Deacon, Robert T, 1972. "The Demand for the Services of Non-Federal Governments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 891-901, December.
    4. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2004. "Sprawl and urban growth," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 56, pages 2481-2527, Elsevier.
    5. John I. Carruthers & Gudmundur F. Ulfarsson, 2002. "Fragmentation and Sprawl: Evidence from Interregional Analysis," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 312-340.
    6. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    7. Randall G. Holcombe & DeEdgra W. Williams, 2008. "The Impact of Population Density on Municipal Government Expenditures," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(3), pages 359-373, May.
    8. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, 2007. "Did Highways Cause Suburbanization?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 775-805.
    9. Burge, Gregory & Ihlanfeldt, Keith, 2006. "Impact fees and single-family home construction," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 284-306, September.
    10. Miriam Hortas-Rico & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2010. "Does Urban Sprawl Increase the Costs of Providing Local Public Services? Evidence from Spanish Municipalities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1513-1540, June.
    11. Helen F. Ladd, 1992. "Population Growth, Density and the Costs of Providing Public Services," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 29(2), pages 273-295, April.
    12. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    13. Robert W. Wassmer, 2006. "The Influence of Local Urban Containment Policies and Statewide Growth Management on the Size of United States Urban Areas," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 25-65, February.
    14. Brueckner, Jan K & Kim, Hyun-A, 2003. "Urban Sprawl and the Property Tax," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(1), pages 5-23, January.
    15. Brueckner, Jan K., 1997. "Infrastructure financing and urban development:: The economics of impact fees," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 383-407, December.
    16. Brueckner, Jan K & Fansler, David A, 1983. "The Economics of Urban Sprawl: Theory and Evidence on the Spatial Sizes of Cities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(3), pages 479-482, August.
    17. Keith Ihlanfeldt & Kevin Willardsen, 2018. "Local Public Services Costs And The Geography Of Development: Evidence From Florida Counties," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 5-37, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Karina Simone Sass & Alexandre Alves Porsse, 2021. "Urban sprawl and the cost of providing local public services: Empirical evidence for Brazilian municipalities," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 1371-1387, August.
    2. Deslatte, Aaron & Szmigiel-Rawska, Katarzyna & Tavares, António F. & Ślawska, Justyna & Karsznia, Izabela & Łukomska, Julita, 2022. "Land use institutions and social-ecological systems: A spatial analysis of local landscape changes in Poland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Yan Yan & Hui Liu & Ningcheng Wang & Shenjun Yao, 2021. "How Does Low-Density Urbanization Reduce the Financial Sustainability of Chinese Cities? A Debt Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miriam Hortas-Rico, 2014. "Urban sprawl and municipal budgets in Spain: A dynamic panel data analysis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 843-864, November.
    2. Miriam Hortas-Rico & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2010. "Does Urban Sprawl Increase the Costs of Providing Local Public Services? Evidence from Spanish Municipalities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1513-1540, June.
    3. Miguel Gómez-Antonio & Miriam Hortas-Rico & Linna Li, 2016. "The Causes of Urban Sprawl in Spanish Urban Areas: A Spatial Approach," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 219-247, June.
    4. Miriam Hortas-Rico & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2010. "Does Urban Sprawl Increase the Costs of Providing Local Public Services? Evidence from Spanish Municipalities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1513-1540, June.
    5. Ermini, Barbara & Santolini, Raffaella, 2015. "Differentiated property tax and urban sprawl in Italian urbanized areas," MPRA Paper 65460, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Miriam Hortas-Rico, 2015. "Sprawl, Blight, And The Role Of Urban Containment Policies: Evidence From U.S. Cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 298-323, March.
    7. Yan Song & Yves Zenou, 2009. "How Do Differences In Property Taxes Within Cities Affect Urban Sprawl?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 801-831, December.
    8. Albert Solé-Ollé & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2007. "Economic and political determinants of urban expansion: Exploring the local connection," Working Papers 2007/5, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    9. Albert Solé-Ollé & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2007. "Economic and political determinants of urban expansion: Exploring the local connection," Working Papers 2007/5, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    10. Ortuño-Padilla, Armando & Fernández-Aracil, Patricia, 2013. "Impact of fuel price on the development of the urban sprawl in Spain," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 180-187.
    11. Kurt Paulsen, 2014. "Geography, policy or market? New evidence on the measurement and causes of sprawl (and infill) in US metropolitan regions," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(12), pages 2629-2645, September.
    12. Wassmer, Robert W., 2016. "Further empirical evidence on residential property taxation and the occurrence of urban sprawl," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 73-85.
    13. Bento, Antonio M. & Franco, Sofia F. & Kaffine, Daniel, 2011. "Is there a double-dividend from anti-sprawl policies?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 135-152, March.
    14. Paulsen, Kurt, 2012. "Yet even more evidence on the spatial size of cities: Urban spatial expansion in the US, 1980–2000," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 561-568.
    15. Silvia Beghelli & Gianni Guastella & Stefano Pareglio, 2020. "Governance fragmentation and urban spatial expansion: Evidence from Europe and the United States [Governance-Fragmentierung und urbane räumliche Expansion: Erkenntnisse aus Europa und den USA]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(1), pages 13-32, April.
    16. Brueckner, Jan K. & Helsley, Robert W., 2011. "Sprawl and blight," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 205-213, March.
    17. Miriam Hortas-Rico, 2015. "Sprawl, Blight, And The Role Of Urban Containment Policies: Evidence From U.S. Cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 298-323, March.
    18. Barbara Ermini & Raffaella Santolini, 2017. "Urban sprawl and property tax of a city’s core and suburbs: evidence from Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(9), pages 1374-1386, September.
    19. Joseph DeSalvo & Qing Su, 2013. "An Empirical Analysis of Determinants of Multi-Dimensional Urban Sprawl," Working Papers 1813, University of South Florida, Department of Economics.
    20. Rhoads, Thomas A. & Shogren, Jason F., 2006. "Why do cities use supply side strategies to mitigate traffic congestion externalities?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 214-219, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:wzcgj. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://arabixiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.