TY  - JOUR
AU  - Glaeser,Edward L.
TI  - Urban Public Finance
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 18244
PY  - 2012
Y2  - July 2012
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18244
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18244.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Edward L. Glaeser
Department of Economics
315A Littauer Center
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-0575
Fax: 617/495-7730
E-Mail: eglaeser@harvard.edu
AB  -   America’s local governments spend about one-eighth of our national income, one-fourth of total government spending, and employ over 14 million people.  This paper surveys the large and growing economics literature on local governments and their finances.  A primary difference between local and national government is the ease of labor mobility within countries, which disciplines local governments and means that heterogeneous service levels can be beneficial, but mobility also challenges local attempts at redistribution.  The empirical literature on mobility responses to local government is distinguished, but remains a pressing area for future research.  We have sophisticated models of local spending, tax policy and institutional design, but research is often far less developed on even basic questions of costs and benefits of core local public services.
ER  -