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Die politische Ökonomie deutscher Landkreise: Determinanten der Verschuldung

Author

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  • Boll David

    (Forschungsstelle für öffentliche und Nonprofit-Unternehmen, Hochschule Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Ernst-Boehe-Straße 4, 67059 Ludwigshafen am Rhein;Germany Tel.: (0621) 5203–482)

  • Sidki Marcus

    (Professur für Volkswirtschaftslehre und Statistik, Hochschule Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Ernst-Boehe-Straße 4, 67059 Ludwigshafen am Rhein;Germany)

Abstract

The indebtedness of German municipalities is an increasing matter under discussion among politicians, research and the public. This is especially true for the intense and asymmetrical increase in short-term debt over the past years. In addition to cities and municipalities, there is also a tendency to over-indebtedness on the county level, even though the latter is much less publicly perceived. Counties have only little financial autarchy. Hence, we assume that politico-economic influence can be found on the federal state level or the cooperation between county and state. This paper adapts and tests common politico-economic determinants from the municipal and federal state level on their applicability for German counties by examining county level data from 1998 to 2010. We find that in state election years, counties' short-term debt rises significantly stronger. Furthermore, higher political conformity between federal state ministers of finance and counties' district administrators leads to lower indebtedness. Likewise, a change of state government or state ministers of finance shows positive influence on counties' debt. In total, our findings highlight the important role of the federal states as funding institution for the county level.

Suggested Citation

  • Boll David & Sidki Marcus, 2017. "Die politische Ökonomie deutscher Landkreise: Determinanten der Verschuldung," Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 66(3), pages 266-293, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:lus:zwipol:v:66:y:2017:i:3:p:266-293:n:7
    DOI: 10.1515/zfwp-2017-0020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public debt; political economics; panel data; emperical analysis; öffentliche Verschuldung; politische Ökonomie; Panel Daten; empirische Analyse; public debt; political economics; panel data; emperical analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H74 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Borrowing

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