IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v34y2016i8p1825-1842.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An empirical investigation of the influence of municipal fiscal policy on firm growth

Author

Listed:
  • Philippe Van Cauwenberge
  • Peter Beyne
  • Heidi Vander Bauwhede

Abstract

Over the last decades, many countries experienced a trend towards fiscal decentralisation, with the result that municipal governments have a largely increased degree of autonomy with respect to their fiscal policy. This shift has not been matched however with a change in the focus of the academic research on the economic effects of public finance, which is still predominantly conducted at the national and regional level. In this paper, we study the impact of municipal government taxation and spending on the growth rate of firms. We explore a panel dataset which combines detailed information from the financial accounts of Flemish municipalities with the financial reports of the firms located in those municipalities. Our analysis of data from close to 70,000 firms in 308 municipalities for the period 2004–2013 indicates that municipal fiscal policy has a statistically significant effect on firm added value growth and employment growth. No statistically significant effect was found on asset growth. Overall, the economic significance of municipal fiscal policy turns out to be small and is, for instance, not able to outweigh the effects of the recent financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Peter Beyne & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2016. "An empirical investigation of the influence of municipal fiscal policy on firm growth," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1825-1842, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:34:y:2016:i:8:p:1825-1842
    DOI: 10.1177/0263774X16642767
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263774X16642767
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0263774X16642767?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Evans, David S, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Growth, Size, and Age: Estimates for 100 Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 567-581, June.
    2. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Is public expenditure productive?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 177-200, March.
    3. Clotfelter, Charles T, 1977. "Public Services, Private Substitutes, and the Demand for Protection against Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(5), pages 867-877, December.
    4. Blandina Oliveira & Adelino Fortunato, 2006. "Firm Growth and Liquidity Constraints: A Dynamic Analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 139-156, October.
    5. Cristian F Sepulveda & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2011. "The Consequences of Fiscal Decentralization on Poverty and Income Equality," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(2), pages 321-343, April.
    6. B. Schoonjans & P. Van Cauwenberge & C. Reekmans & G. Simoens, 2011. "A survey on tax compliance costs of Flemish SMEs: Magnitude and determinants," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/707, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    7. Helms, L Jay, 1985. "The Effect of State and Local Taxes on Economic Growth: A Time Series-Cross Section Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 574-582, November.
    8. Evans, David S, 1987. "Tests of Alternative Theories of Firm Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(4), pages 657-674, August.
    9. Robert Tannenwald, 1996. "State business tax climate: how should it be measured and how important is it?," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Jan, pages 23-38.
    10. Yuji Honjo & Nobuyuki Harada, 2006. "SME Policy, Financial Structure and Firm Growth: Evidence From Japan," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 289-300, December.
    11. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    12. Benny Geys & Federico Revelli, 2011. "Economic and Political Foundations of Local Tax Structures: An Empirical Investigation of the Tax Mix of Flemish Municipalities," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(3), pages 410-427, June.
    13. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    14. Timothy J. Bartik, 1992. "The Effects of State and Local Taxes on Economic Development: A Review of Recent Research," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 6(1), pages 102-111, February.
    15. Timothy J. Bartik, 1991. "Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number wbsle.
    16. Timothy J. Bartik, 2000. "Jobs, Productivity, and Local Economic Development: What Implications Does Economic Research Have for the Role of Government?," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Robert W. Wassmer (ed.),Readings in Urban Economics: Issues and Public Policy, pages 72-122, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    17. Xie, Danyang & Zou, Heng-fu & Davoodi, Hamid, 1999. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 228-239, March.
    18. Carlton, Dennis W, 1983. "The Location and Employment Choices of New Firms: An Econometric Model with Discrete and Continuous Endogenous Variables," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(3), pages 440-449, August.
    19. Lang, Larry & Ofek, Eli & Stulz, Rene M., 1996. "Leverage, investment, and firm growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 3-29, January.
    20. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1982. "Selection and the Evolution of Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(3), pages 649-670, May.
    21. Jordi Jofre-Monseny & Albert Sole-Olle, 2010. "Tax Differentials in Intraregional Firm Location: Evidence from New Manufacturing Establishments in Spanish Municipalities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(6), pages 663-677.
    22. repec:bla:jindec:v:46:y:1998:i:4:p:453-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Dietmar Harhoff & Konrad Stahl & Michaerl Woywode, 1998. "Legal Form, Growth and Exit of West German Firms—Empirical Results for Manufacturing, Construction, Trade and Service Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 453-488, December.
    24. Das, Sanghamitra, 1995. "Size, age and firm growth in an infant industry: The computer hardware industry in India," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 111-126, March.
    25. Delmar, Frederic & Davidsson, Per & Gartner, William B., 2003. "Arriving at the high-growth firm," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 189-216, March.
    26. Almus, Matthias & Nerlinger, Eric A, 1999. "Growth of New Technology-Based Firms: Which Factors Matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 141-154, September.
    27. Wallace E. Oates & Wallace E. Oates, 2004. "An Essay on Fiscal Federalism," Chapters, in: Environmental Policy and Fiscal Federalism, chapter 22, pages 384-414, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    28. Ronald C. Fisher, 1997. "Effects of state and local public services on economic development," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 53-82.
    29. Hall, Bronwyn H, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Size and Firm Growth in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 583-606, June.
    30. Huynh, Kim P. & Petrunia, Robert J., 2010. "Age effects, leverage and firm growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1003-1013, May.
    31. Timothy Dunne & Mark J. Roberts & Larry Samuelson, 1989. "The Growth and Failure of U. S. Manufacturing Plants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 671-698.
    32. Michael Wasylenko, 1997. "Taxation and economic development: the state of the economic literature," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 37-52.
    33. Goddard, John & Tavakoli, Manouche & Wilson, John O.S., 2009. "Sources of variation in firm profitability and growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 495-508, April.
    34. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    35. Antonis Rovolis & Nigel Spence, 2002. "Promoting Regional Economic Growth in Greece by Investing in Public Infrastructure," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 20(3), pages 393-419, June.
    36. Timothy J. Bartik, 1994. "Taxes and Local Economic Development: What Do We Know and What Can We Know?," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Proceedings of the Eighty-Seventh Annual Conference on Taxation (November 13-15, 1994), pages 102-106, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    37. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & Merlo, Valeria, 2012. "How low business tax rates attract MNE activity: Municipality-level evidence from Germany," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 698-711.
    38. Todd M. Gabe & Kathleen P. Bell, 2004. "Tradeoffs between Local Taxes and Government Spending as Determinants of Business Location," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 21-41, February.
    39. Lars P Feld & Jan Schnellenbach, 2011. "Fiscal Federalism and Long-Run Macroeconomic Performance: A Survey of Recent Research," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(2), pages 224-243, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Gabe, Todd M., 2003. "Local Fiscal Policy and Establishment Growth," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 33(1), pages 1-24.
    2. Bilitis Schoonjans & Philippe Cauwenberge & Heidi Bauwhede, 2013. "Formal business networking and SME growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 169-181, June.
    3. Ferrando, Annalisa & Martinez-Carrascal, Carmen & Coluzzi, Chiara, 2009. "Financing obstacles and growth: an analysis for euro area non-financial corporations," Working Paper Series 997, European Central Bank.
    4. Canarella, Giorgio & Miller, Stephen M., 2018. "The determinants of growth in the U.S. information and communication technology (ICT) industry: A firm-level analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 259-271.
    5. Alessandro Gambini & Alberto Zazzaro, 2013. "Long-lasting bank relationships and growth of firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 977-1007, May.
    6. Meri Davlasheridze & Pinar C. Geylani, 2017. "Small Business vulnerability to floods and the effects of disaster loans," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 865-888, December.
    7. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2013. "Like milk or wine: Does firm performance improve with age?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 173-189.
    8. Sofie De Schoenmaker & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2014. "Effects of local fiscal policy on firm profitability," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(16), pages 1289-1306, December.
    9. W. Robert Reed, 2009. "The Determinants Of U.S. State Economic Growth: A Less Extreme Bounds Analysis," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 685-700, October.
    10. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Davide Castellani & Fabio Pieri, 2014. "Age and firm growth: evidence from three European countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 823-837, December.
    11. Blandina Oliveira & Adelino Fortunato, 2006. "Testing Gibrat's Law: Empirical Evidence from a Panel of Portuguese Manufacturing Firms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 65-81.
    12. Louri-Dendrinou, Eleni & Fotopoulos, Georgios, 2002. "Corporate Growth and FDI: Are Multinationals Stimulating Local Industrial Development?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3128, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2002. "Growth of firms in developing countries, evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 117-135, June.
    14. Younsuk Park & Jaeun Shin & Taejong Kim, 2010. "Firm size, age, industrial networking, and growth: a case of the Korean manufacturing industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 153-168, September.
    15. Dirk Burghardt & Marco Helm, 2015. "Firm growth in the course of mergers and acquisitions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 889-904, April.
    16. Valerie Paelman & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2020. "Effect of B Corp Certification on Short-Term Growth: European Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    17. Quader, Syed Manzur, 2017. "Differential effect of liquidity constraints on firm growth," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 20-29.
    18. Alex Coad, 2007. "Firm Growth: a Survey," Post-Print halshs-00155762, HAL.
    19. Cefis, Elena & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2007. "Testing Gibrat's legacy: A Bayesian approach to study the growth of firms," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 348-369, September.
    20. Aili Tang, 2015. "Does Gibrat’s law hold for Swedish energy firms?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 659-674, September.

    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:sae:envirc:v:34:y:2016:i:8:p:1825-1842. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.