@techreport{NBERw14857,
 title = "Government Form and Public Spending: Theory and Evidence from U.S. Municipalities",
 author = "Stephen Coate and Brian Knight",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "14857",
 year = "2009",
 month = "April",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w14857",
 abstract = {There are two main forms of government in U.S. cities: council-manager and mayor-council. This paper develops a theory of fiscal policy determination under these two forms. The theory predicts that expected public spending will be lower under mayor-council, but that either form of government could be favored by a majority of citizens. The latter prediction means that the theory is consistent with the co-existence of both government forms. Support for the former prediction is found in both a cross-sectional analysis and a panel analysis of changes in government form.},
}