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Federalism, taxation, and economic growth

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  • Hatfield, John William

Abstract

We present a model of endogenous growth where government provides a productive public good financed by income and capital taxes. In equilibrium, a decentralized government chooses tax policy to maximize economic growth, while a centralized government does not do so. Furthermore, these conclusions hold regardless of whether governments are beholden to a median voter or are rent-maximizing Leviathans. However, a decentralized government will under-provide public goods which benefit citizens directly, while a central government beholden to the median voter will optimally invest in such public goods.

Suggested Citation

  • Hatfield, John William, 2015. "Federalism, taxation, and economic growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 114-125.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:87:y:2015:i:c:p:114-125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2015.01.003
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    6. Lessmann, Christian & Steinkraus, Arne, 2019. "The geography of natural resources, ethnic inequality and civil conflicts," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 33-51.
    7. Kovaleva, Margarita Shagenovna (Ковалева, Маргарита Шагеновна), 2019. "Evolution Of Theoretical Bases And Principles Of Federalism [Эволюция Теоретических Основ И Принципов Федерализма]," State and Municipal Management Scholar Notes, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 3, pages 276-281.
    8. Maebayashi, Noritaka & Morimoto, Keiichi, 2022. "Global Corporate Income Tax Competition, Knowledge Spillover, and Growth," MPRA Paper 112790, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Gross, Till & Klein, Paul & Makris, Miltiadis, 2020. "Residence- and source-based capital taxation in open economies with infinitely-lived consumers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    10. Maebayashi, Noritaka & Morimoto, Keiichi, 2022. "Global Corporate Income Tax Competition, Knowledge Spillover, and Growth," MPRA Paper 112781, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Floriana Cerniglia - Riccarda Longaretti - Alessandra Michelangeli, 2017. "Decentralization of public expenditure and growth in Italy: Does the composition matter?," CRANEC - Working Papers del Centro di Ricerche in Analisi economica e sviluppo economico internazionale crn1704, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Centro di Ricerche in Analisi economica e sviluppo economico internazionale (CRANEC).
    12. Samuel Adams & Kingsley Agomor, 2020. "Decentralization, Partisan Politics, and National Development in Ghana," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 351-366, June.
    13. Alessio Mitra & Athanasios Chymis, 2022. "Federalism, but how? The impact of vertical fiscal imbalance on economic growth. Evidence from Belgium," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 322-350, July.
    14. Tamai, Toshiki, 2022. "Tax competition versus tax coordination in a multi-region endogenous growth model with an integrated capital market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    15. Bartolini, David & Ninka, Eniel & Santolini, Raffaella, 2017. "Tax Decentralisation, Labour productivity and Employment," MPRA Paper 81070, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    17. Accardo, Pasquale & De Feo, Giuseppe & De Luca, Giacomo, 2023. "With a little help from my friends. Political competition in the shadow of organized crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    18. Cassidy, Traviss & Velayudhan, Tejaswi, 2022. "Government Fragmentation and Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 112045, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Kazutoshi Miyazawa & Hikaru Ogawa & Toshiki Tamai, 2018. "Tax Competition and Fiscal Sustainability," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1104, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    20. Maebayashi, Noritaka & Morimoto, Keiichi, 2024. "Global corporate income tax competition, knowledge spillover, and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    21. Miyazawa, Kazutoshi & Ogawa, Hikaru & Tamai, Toshiki, 2019. "Capital market integration and fiscal sustainability," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; Federalism; Taxation; Productive public goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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