This paper investigates incentive effects of fiscal equalization on local tax rates. I propose three refinements to current empirical estimations of these incentive effects. I show that local policy makers may conceive of changes in equalization transfers as stemming from discrete rather than...

Federalism as a system of government that allows for the existence of multiple units of government calls for continuous interaction and interdependence among the various units of government in order to deliver public services effectively. In this pattern of governance, functions are shared which...

Does fiscal decentralization improve health and educational outcomes? Does this improvement depend on the quality of governance? How do fiscal decentralization and governance interact? We answer these questions through an instrumental variable Tobit analysis of cross-country panel data. We find...

Legislators, agency officials, and the public have a lot to learn from the United States’ experience in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. If policymakers take seriously their responsibility to identify past mistakes, and then act now to prepare for future viral outbreaks, the nation can do...

Marijuana taxation is here to stay. The evergreen issues for states, before federal complications, are how much, how, and where to tax marijuana. But federal legalization could create a new, competing federal tax and eliminate the controversial section 280E selling expense tax, to which many...

This paper investigates the impact of inequality in the geographic distribution of fiscal resources on regional economic growth under fiscal decentralization policy in the context of China’s experience, using panel data for 28 provinces over the period 1987–2010. In the recent past, the...

European Union law has an increasing impact on the development of Member States' taxation powers. This is particularly evident in the case of sub-central entities, such as the Autonomous Communities. These limits are themselves in a process of transformation, so it is not always easy to know in...