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Rules versus Home Rule: Local Government Responses to Negative Revenue Shocks

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  • Shoag, Daniel

    (Harvard University)

  • Tuttle, Cody

    (University of Maryland)

  • Veuger, Stan

    (American Enterprise Institute)

Abstract

Local governments rely heavily on sales tax revenue. We use national bankruptcies of big-box retail chains to study sudden plausibly exogenous revenue shortfalls. Treated localities respond by reducing spending on law enforcement and administrative services. We further study how cities with different degrees of autonomy vary in their response. Cities in home rule states react more swiftly by raising taxes or issuing bonds. A regression discontinuity analysis of cities in Illinois emphasizes that this effect of local autonomy is causal. Home rule cities do not abuse their discretion: their bond ratings are more likely to be strong.

Suggested Citation

  • Shoag, Daniel & Tuttle, Cody & Veuger, Stan, 2017. "Rules versus Home Rule: Local Government Responses to Negative Revenue Shocks," Working Paper Series rwp17-037, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp17-037
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    Cited by:

    1. Koomin Kim, 2023. "How gubernatorial budgetary power and interest groups affect vertical fiscal imbalances in the US states: Focusing on fiscal centralization and decentralization," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 53-81, July.
    2. Jeffrey Clemens & Stan Veuger, 2020. "Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for State Government Tax Revenues," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 73(3), pages 619-644, September.
    3. Jerch, Rhiannon & Kahn, Matthew E. & Lin, Gary C., 2023. "Local public finance dynamics and hurricane shocks," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    4. Ivanov, Ivan T. & Zimmermann, Tom, 2024. "The “Privatization” of municipal debt," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    5. Pengju Zhang & Phuong Nguyen‐Hoang & Na Chen, 2022. "The impact of home rule on municipal boundary and fiscal expansion: Evidence from Texas," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1442-1466, November.
    6. Riley Wilson, 2021. "Isolated States of America: The Impact of State Borders on Mobility and Regional Labor Market Adjustments," Upjohn Working Papers 21-358, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    7. Pengju Zhang & Phuong Nguyen‐Hoang, 2023. "Home rule and municipal revenue stability: New evidence from Texas," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 38-60, March.
    8. repec:aei:rpaper:1008570714 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Green, Daniel & Loualiche, Erik, 2021. "State and local government employment in the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    10. Wilson, Riley, 2022. "The Isolated States of America: Home State Bias, State Identity, and the Impact of State Borders on Mobility," IZA Discussion Papers 15193, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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