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Equilibrium Impotence: Why the States and Not the American National Government Financed Economic Development in the Antebellum Era

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  • John Joseph Wallis
  • Barry R. Weingast

Abstract

Why did states dominate investments in economic development in early America? Between 1787 and 1860, the national government's $54 million on promoting transportation infrastructure while the states spent $450 million. Using models of legislative choice, we show that Congress could not finance projects that provided benefits to a minority of districts while spreading the taxes over all. Although states faced the same political problems, they used benefit taxation schemes -- for example, by assessing property taxes on the basis of the expected increase in value due to an infrastructure investment. The U.S. Constitution prohibited the federal government from using benefit taxation. Moreover, the federal government's expenditures were concentrated in collections small projects -- such as lighthouses and rivers and harbors -- that spent money in all districts. Federal inaction was the result of the equilibrium political forces in Congress, and hence an equilibrium impotence.

Suggested Citation

  • John Joseph Wallis & Barry R. Weingast, 2005. "Equilibrium Impotence: Why the States and Not the American National Government Financed Economic Development in the Antebellum Era," NBER Working Papers 11397, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11397
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Weingast, Barry R & Marshall, William J, 1988. "The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(1), pages 132-163, February.
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    3. repec:ucp:bknber:9780226301105 is not listed on IDEAS
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    6. Sylla, Richard & Legler, John B. & Wallis, John J., 1987. "Banks and State Public Finance in the New Republic: The United States, 1790–1860," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(2), pages 391-403, June.
    7. Ronald N. Johnson & Gary D. Libecap, 2003. "Transaction Costs and Coalition Stability under Majority Rule," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 193-207, April.
    8. Wallis, John Joseph, 1984. "The Birth of the Old Federalism: Financing the New Deal, 1932–1940," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(1), pages 139-159, March.
    9. Inman, Robert P & Fitts, Michael A, 1990. "Political Institutions and Fiscal Policy: Evidence from the U.S. Historical Record," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(0), pages 79-132.
    10. Weingast, Barry R & Shepsle, Kenneth A & Johnsen, Christopher, 1981. "The Political Economy of Benefits and Costs: A Neoclassical Approach to Distributive Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 642-664, August.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ghosh, Arghya & Meagher, Kieron, 2015. "The politics of infrastructure investment: The role of product market competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 308-329.
    2. S Nazareth, Marcos & Gurgel, Angelo & Vieira, Wilson, 2017. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Performance in Brazil: An Investigation Using PAEG/GTAP," Conference papers 332831, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    3. Douglas A. Irwin, 2008. "Antebellum Tariff Politics: Regional Coalitions and Shifting Economic Interests," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(4), pages 715-741, November.
    4. Stephen Haber & Enrico Perotti, 2008. "The Political Economy of Financial Systems," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-045/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Jorge M. Streb & Gustavo Torrens, 2011. "La economía política de la política fiscal," CEMA Working Papers: Serie Documentos de Trabajo. 455, Universidad del CEMA.
    6. Thomas J. Sargent, 2012. "Nobel Lecture: United States Then, Europe Now," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 120(1), pages 1-40.
    7. Sonia Mittal & Jack N. Rakove & Barry R. Weingast, 2010. "The Constitutional Choices of 1787 and Their Consequences," NBER Chapters, in: Founding Choices: American Economic Policy in the 1790s, pages 25-56, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. John Joseph Wallis, 2006. "The Concept of Systematic Corruption in American History," NBER Chapters, in: Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History, pages 23-62, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Enrico Perotti, 2013. "The Political Economy of Finance," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-034/IV/DSF53, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Marta Curto-Grau & Alfonso Herranz-Loncán & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2010. "The political economy of infrastructure construction: The Spanish “Parliamentary Roads” (1880-1914)," Working Papers 2010/22, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    11. John Joseph Wallis, 2010. "The Other Foundings: Federalism and the Constitutional Structure of American Government," NBER Chapters, in: Founding Choices: American Economic Policy in the 1790s, pages 177-213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation
    • N7 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government

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