Abstract
The theory of political yardstick competition states that a comparison of public service levels and tax rates with those in nearby jurisdictions can provide voters with a useful instrument to assess politicians' performance. However, we argue that fiscal disparities bias this yardstick, and that this bias may be removed through fiscal equalization. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4-6 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Economics Letters |
| Volume | 117 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct-2012 |
Keywords
- Yardstick competition
- Fiscal disparities
- Equalization