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Sharing Budgetary Austerity under Free Mobility and Asymmetric Information: An Optimal Regulation Approach to Fiscal Federalism

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  • Marie-Laure Breuillé
  • Robert J. Gary-Bobo

Abstract

In the present article, Tiebout meets Laffont and Tirole in the land of Fiscal Federalism. We use a non-trivial Principal-Multi-Agent model to characterize the optimal intergovernmental grant schedule, when the cost of local public goods depends on hidden characteristics and actions of local governments, and under citizen free mobility. We show that local governments earn informational rents, and how optimal local taxes, public good production levels and land prices are jointly distorted at the second-best optimum, as a consequence of free mobility and asymmetric information. The effect of informational asymmetries is to decrease the average production of public goods and to increase the inter-jurisdictional variance of taxes and public-good production.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie-Laure Breuillé & Robert J. Gary-Bobo, 2005. "Sharing Budgetary Austerity under Free Mobility and Asymmetric Information: An Optimal Regulation Approach to Fiscal Federalism," CESifo Working Paper Series 1559, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1559
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    Cited by:

    1. Bönke, Timm & Jochimsen, Beate & Schröder, Carsten, 2014. "Fiscal federalism and tax enforcement," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100394, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Xin, Fangkun & Qian, Yilei, 2022. "Does fiscal decentralization promote green utilization of land resources? Evidence from Chinese local governments," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Anton Bondarev & Beat Hintermann & Frank C. Krysiak & Ralph Winkler, 2017. "The Intricacy of Adapting to Climate Change: Flood Protection as a Local Public Goods Game," CESifo Working Paper Series 6382, CESifo.
    4. Huber, Bernd & Runkel, Marco, 2008. "Interregional redistribution and budget institutions under asymmetric information," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(12), pages 2350-2361, December.
    5. Kai Konrad & Stergios Skaperdas, 2012. "The market for protection and the origin of the state," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 50(2), pages 417-443, June.
    6. Darong Dai & Guoqiang Tian & Liqun Liu, 2019. "Optimal Regional Insurance Provision under Privately Observable Shocks," 2019 Meeting Papers 448, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Rosella Levaggi, 2008. "Decentralisation vs fiscal federalism in the presence of impure public goods," Working Papers 0812, University of Brescia, Department of Economics.
    8. Bönke, Timm & Jochimsen, Beate & Schröder, Carsten, 2011. "Fiscal equalization and regions' (un)willingness-to-tax: Evidence from Germany," Economics Working Papers 2011-06, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics.
    9. Nicolas Gravel & Michel Poitevin, 2014. "Should a Non-Rival Public Good Always Be Provided Centrally?," Working Papers halshs-01063191, HAL.
    10. Herold, Katharina, 2009. "Intergovernmental grants and financial autonomy under asymmetric information," FiFo Discussion Papers - Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 09-2, University of Cologne, FiFo Institute for Public Economics.
    11. Geys, Benny & Konrad, Kai A., . "Federalism and optimal allocation across levels of governance," Chapters in Economics,, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    12. Mario TURCO, 2015. "The Management of the Financial Collapse of Local Bodies and its Economic-Territorial Effects: The Case of the Municipality of Taranto," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2015(25), pages 6-26, Decembre.
    13. Linda Toolsema & Maarten Allers, 2014. "Welfare Financing: Grant Allocation and Efficiency," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 147-166, June.
    14. repec:dgr:rugsom:12004-eef is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Klaus Gründler & Niklas Potrafke, 2019. "Ideologically-charged terminology: austerity, fiscal consolidation, and sustainable governance," CESifo Working Paper Series 7613, CESifo.
    16. Toolsema-Veldman, Linda & Allers, M.A., 2012. "Welfare financing," Research Report 12004-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    17. Darong Dai & Weige Huang & Liqun Liu & Guoqiang Tian, 2022. "Optimal Regional Insurance Provision: Do Federal Transfers Complement Local Debt?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 35-80, September.
    18. Darong Dai & Liqun Liu & Guoqiang Tian, 2019. "Interregional redistribution and budget institutions with private information on intergenerational externality," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 23(3), pages 127-154, December.
    19. Darong Dai & Guoqiang Tian, 2023. "Optimal interregional redistribution and local budget rules with multidimensional heterogeneity," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 27(1), pages 79-124, February.
    20. Timm Bönke & Beate Jochimsen & Carsten Schröder, 2013. "Fiscal Federalism and Tax Administration: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1307, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    asymmetric information; Principal-Agent model; public budget deficits; free-mobility equilibrium; fiscal federalism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General

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