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Local Government Border Congruence and the Fiscal Commons : Evidence from Ohio School Districts

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  • Joshua C. Hall

    (West Virginia University, College of Business and Economics)

Abstract

School district and municipal borders do not always align. Non-congruent borders can create a fiscal commons problem where new development does not entirely "pay its way." In response, frustrated citizens often respond by voting for lower school spending. Using GIS data on Ohio school districts, the degree of non-congruence between school district and municipal territory is calculated. The results indicate that school districts with non-congruent borders generate less revenue from local sources and that these effects seem to increase with the degree of non-congruence. The findings are robust between OLS and treatment effects regression.

Suggested Citation

  • Joshua C. Hall, 2014. "Local Government Border Congruence and the Fiscal Commons : Evidence from Ohio School Districts," Working Papers 14-13, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    • Handle: RePEc:wvu:wpaper:14-13
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    File URL: http://busecon.wvu.edu/phd_economics/pdf/14-13.pdf
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yoon-Jung Choi, 2022. "Property tax interaction among overlapping local jurisdictions: quasi-experimental evidence from school bond referenda," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 537-580, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    congruency; public education; polycentrism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • 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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