This paper investigates the existence of a second dimension of state policy ideology orthogonal to the traditional left-right dimension: civil libertarianism-communitarianism. It argues that voter attitudes toward nonviolent acts that are sometimes crimes, particularly weapons and drugs...

As economic conditions change, so do voters’ priorities. During economic recession or crisis, economic policy and management dominate voters’ concerns, and parties with a clear ideological “brand” on the traditional, left-right, socioeconomic spectrum are best placed to attract votes....

Federalism can be a conflict-prevention mechanism, but some political scientists and economists have also endorsed certain features of the system as being likely to establish proper market incentives for economic growth. Most developing countries have ignored economists' recommendations for...

Why have richer U.S. states become more Democratic and poorer states more Republican? I find that this phenomenon actually reflects cost of living, driven by residential building restrictions. Such restrictions have come under intense scrutiny from economists in recent years. By making housing...

How can policymakers reform US federalism for better economic performance? This paper focuses on vertical fiscal gaps: the proportion of subcentral government expenditure funded by central government grants and shared revenue over which subcentral governments lack autonomous control. On one...

The New Hampshire Zoning Atlas is a database and interactive online map cataloguing and portraying many zoning district-level land use regulations affecting housing construction across the entire land area of the state. The data are valid as of June 1, 2022 and represent these regulations as...

This paper investigates whether the costs of corruption are conditional on the extent of government intervention in the economy. We use data on corruption convictions and economic growth between 1975 and 2007 across the U.S. states to test this hypothesis. Although no state approaches the level...

This paper investigates the merits of abolishing zoning. Recent arguments for zoning abolition maintain that local governments can adequately regulate land use without the strict separation of permitted uses that characterizes modern zoning. The harms of zoning are consequential, and the case...