The median voter hypothesis: Evidence from general purpose local governments

The median voter hypothesis (MVH) represents a much-used as well as much-criticized tool in the hands of public finance economists. To evaluate the MVH, this paper applies the Cox specification test using data from general purpose municipal governments. The Cox test allows for possible simultaneous rejection of the MVH and all tested models, thus providing stricter criteria than applied to date in empirical MVH analyses. The test results reveal that the MVH is appropriate for explaining the aggregate behavior of municipal governments, but not specific services. Further, the single service and single tax base assumptions are not critical to the empirical MVH performance.     

The incentive effects of property taxes on local governments

This paper applies the ideas of Brennan and Buchanan (1977, 1978, 1980) to local property taxes. When local governments maximize their revenues, property taxes provide incentives for adequate amenity provision. Local amenity provision determines property values which then determine local tax revenues. As long as the demand for housing is inelastic, property-taxes will provide stronger incentives for local governments than lump-sum taxes. As current property values reflect expectations about future amenity levels, property taxes create incentives for even the most myopic government to invest for the future. Local property taxes can also act to limit the incentives of localities to tax; there are cases where higher levels of local property taxes lead to lower overall tax burdens. These ideas are applied to the tax reform in the late 1970s; one reason that tax reform may have been so successful is that in a period where land prices are driven by many forces other than government amenities, property taxes lose their value as incentive devices.     

浅论协调地方政府间横向关系

随着中央与地方关系改革的发展 ,地方政府间横向关系逐步得到发展 ;而在地方政府间横向关系发展中 ,由于种种原因导致的摩擦与矛盾产生了诸多负面影响 ;因此 ,必须采取措施对地方政府间横向关系加以协调     

转型期我国地方政府间恶性竞争的制度分析

行政性分权造成的中央政府与地方政府的事权、财权体制的不完善扭曲了地方政府作为利益主体的竞争意识.但在同时,由于激励机制的缺陷和约束机制的孱弱,导致了地方政府间的恶性竞争,并出现了不容忽视的负面效应.     

Redistribution and the income of the median voter

The income of the median voter has been measured by median income. This measure fails to consider the income distribution of both voters and number of adults per family. Proper measures of the income of the median voter change standard results. This income is no longer less than mean income; its ratio to mean income is only slightly related to the ratio of median to mean income.     

科学发展观视野下的地方政府竞争

地方政府竞争是基于中央政府与地方政府关系、地方政府间的法制环境,在我国,主要包括地方政府的法律地位、地方财税制度、政绩考核制度、反垄断制度.由于法制环境的不完善,导致地方政府竞争处于困境,不适应科学发展观的新要求.而要充分发挥地方政府竞争的正效应,克服负外部性,有必要从法制途径进行规范.其基本思路是:完善中央与地方权限的划分制度;改革户籍制度和选举制度;完善地方财政税收制度;建立以提供公共服务能力为中心的多元标准的绩效评定机制;完善反垄断制度和司法监督制度.     

Innovation attributes,policy intervention,and the diffusion of computer applications among local governments

Several shortcomings of traditional diffusion research create major impediments to our understanding of the diffusion of innovations as well as to the development of effective strategies of policy intervention to facilitate diffusion. Among the criticisms of diffusion research are the selection bias of many diffusion studies and the futility of curve fitting as an adequate test of theoretical relevance. These shortcomings can be avoided by substantive and methodological changes in diffusion research. We argue that innovation attributes, together with policies associated with the diffusion of an innovation, account for significant differences in diffusion patterns. An empirical analysis of this thesis focuses on the diffusion of computer applications software in local government.This paper is part of a research project entitled Diffusion and Adoption of Computer Applications Software in Local Governments. This project is supported by a grant to the Public Policy Research Organization and the Graduate School of Administration from the Division of Policy Research and Analysis of the National Science Foundation (PRA-76-15549). The views expressed herein are those of the researchers and should not be ascribed to the National Science Foundation. The full report of this research is forthcoming in Technological Innovation in American Local Governments: The Case of Computing (New York: Pergamon).The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of Robert Eyestone, Joseph Matthews, and Kenneth Warner.Authors are listed randomly to denote equal contribution.     

A comparative analysis of voter turnout in regional elections

Elections to regional assemblies have become increasingly important as the power and responsibilities of regional governments have increased. Yet, few studies have attempted to explain the considerable variation in turnout in regional elections from one region to another. This article conducts a cross-sectional examination of voter participation in regional elections across nine multi-level OECD states between 2003 and 2006. It contends that standard models of voter turnout in national elections are insufficient to explain variation in turnout in regional elections and argues for the use of independent variables tailored to capture variation across regional communities and regional political institutions. Our findings suggest that variations in the strength of political autonomy and the strength of attachment to the region among the electorate have a strong and positive impact on the level of turnout in regional elections.     

我国地方政府间合作研究:进展与问题

近年来,地方政府间合作成为我国府际关系研究的新热点.本文通过对该领域研究的透视,分析未来我国该领域研究需要重点加强的方向.指出深入展开地方政府间合作研究,探讨新时期有效的地方政府间合作模式与途径,为我国地方政府间新型合作关系的建立提出既具有理论深度,而又能指导实践的理论支持和政策建议,成为新世纪我国府际关系研究的重要课胚.     

Does the median voter model explain the size of government?: Evidence from the states

Despite an attempt by its own authors, it is difficult to argue that the influential model of the size of government developed by Meltzer and Richard (1981) has had convincing empirical backing. In this paper, we adapt that model to a model of state government size. The main testable hypothesis is that as income inequality grows, government size (as measured by the percentage of income devoted to government redistribution) grows. We test the model using panel data from the US states from 1979–1991. In contrast to the results found by Meltzer and Richard (1983), we find little evidence to support the model. The results are robust to several model specifications and estimation techniques.     

Navigating collaborative governance in Florida: An analysis of local governments resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates the effectiveness of collaborative governance in the context of state and local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. Our analysis uncovers how local authorities have successfully adapted to implement policies to increase resilience and address the crisis, despite facing challenges, constraints, and limitations. Our findings underscore the significance of considering unique local characteristics when addressing pandemics and shed light on the potential influences of state-level actors on Home Rule. Notably, research examining the interplay between state decisions and Home Rule during a pandemic is scarce. We utilize Florida as a case study to examine local government responses to COVID-19, employing a qualitative analysis of data from webinars hosted by the Florida League of Cities and media reports on local government actions. To substantiate our findings and encourage further research, we apply the collaborative governance framework in the context of local government administrative responsibilities.     

Status of PPBS in local and state governments in the United States

There have been widespread attempts to implement PPBS or at least some of its major concepts, in local and state governments beginning in 1965. The majority of this effort has focused around the development of the structural aspects, including statements of general objectives, development of program structures, and preparation of program budgets. The use of multi-year projections and improved output measurement has begun to gain interest. Recent progress, particularly in the latter, has been encouraging. However, progress in the undertaking of the type of program and policy analysis called for by PPBS has been slow with few exceptions. The lack of quality analytical staffs inside state and local governments has been perhaps the major obstacle.This paper is a revision of a paper prepared for the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a working paper for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HUD, OECD, or The Urban Institute.     

当代中国地区政府间关系研究

当代中国地区政府间关系是指当代中国各地区政府之间基于经济社会发展的相互合作而形成的横向关系.改革开放以后,随着各种形式经济区的形成,各地区政府间的横向关系日益密切和活跃.理顺和发展各地区政府之间的横向关系,对于缩小中国地区差距,实现共同富裕和共同发展,都有着重大的现实意义和深远的历史意义.     

The local roots of the participation gap: Inequality and voter turnout

It is generally accepted that the rich are more likely to participate in politics than the poor. It is also generally accepted that the probability than an individual will participate in elections is influenced by the gap between the rich and the poor. There is little agreement, however, about whether inequality across time and space increases or decreases participation. In this paper we examine the impact of inequality across space. We suggest that the impact of inequality depends crucially on whether it is defined in terms of variations between geographical units (‘segregation’) or within geographical units (‘heterogeneity’). Evidence to support this argument is drawn from multi-level British data. Heterogeneity has a mildly positive effect on participation but this effect seems to be outweighed by the negative impact of segregation. The effect of segregation, moreover, is most pronounced among the poorer sections of the population, indicating that geographical isolation among the poor ('ghettoization') leads to lower turnout among these groups.     

Determinants of success in African local governments: An overview

A potentially useful method for determining how to design viable and competent local government systems is to examine local authorities that function effectively. This paper synthesizes the major findings of seven case studies of ‘successful’ local governments in Sub-saharan Africa, highlighting the principal factors contributing to their success and exploring ways in which they could further improve their performance. The determinants of success identified in the studies include: location in an area with an adequate economic base; well-defined responsibilities in a satisfactory legal framework; capacity to mobilize sufficient resources; supportive central government activities; and appropriate management practices, including development of productive internal and external relations and satisfactory responsiveness to constituents. All of these factors are considered to be necessary, but none is independently sufficient to guarantee success, which is a multidimensional and cumulative process of achievement.     

Policy analysis in the presence of distorting taxes

This article first describes the new literature in environmental economics on the so‐called “double‐dividend” and then explores its implications for a broad range of economic issues. This literature reveals that in a second‐best, general‐equilibrium setting, environmental measures raise costs and prices and thereby reduce the real wage. This rise in the cost of living reduces slightly the quantity of labor supplied in an already highly distorted labor market, giving rise to losses in social welfare that can be large relative to the basic gains from a cleaner environment. These losses can be offset to some extent by using revenues (if any) from the environmental programs to reduce existing taxes on labor. This same line of analysis applies to many programs and institutions in the economy that raise the cost of living: tariffs and quotas on imports, agricultural price‐support programs, monopoly pricing, programs of occupational licensure that limit entry, and many others. Thus, traditional, partial‐equilibrium benefit‐cost analysis appears, in many instances, to have unwittingly omitted from the calculations a potentially quite significant class of social costs. © 2000 by the Association for Public Policy and Management.     

Voting competitions with interested politicians: Platforms do not converge to the preferences of the median voter

We examine equilibrium voting strategies for elections with interested politicians facing uncertainty about voter pReferences. If politicians' utilities are defined over the set of strategies that voters select (instead of being dependent only on the probability of winning an election), equilibrium strategies will diverge (instead of converging to the median voter's pReferences) as long as politicians have different pReferences. We present conditions (i) for political compromise, and (ii) for politicians with different utility functions to merge into parties with complete strategic agreement.     

Federal tax reform and the financing of state and local governments

Although the Reagan Administration tax reform proposals would reduce federal income tax liabilities for most taxpayers, federal tax reform would also create strong pressures on state and local governments to cut taxes and public services. These pressures would arise primarily because itemizers would no longer be able to deduct state and local taxes in determining their federal income tax liabilities. In New York City and Boston, it is likely that the Administration's tax reform would induce cuts in spending that range from 2.5 to 7.5 percent. While the elimination of state and local tax deductibility may promote allocative efficiency in the provision of local public goods, the cost would be a decline in the degree of redistribution through the state and local public sector, and a reduction in local public services for the poor.