This paper replicates and analyses a study by Hoover and Pecorino (2005) on federal spending in US states. H&P followed on path-breaking research by Atlas et al. (1995) in which evidence was claimed in favour of the “small state effect;” namely, that since every state is represented by two...

This paper replicates and analyses a study by Hoover and Pecorino on Federal spending in US states (Hoover and Pecorino, 2005; henceforth H&P). H&P followed on path-breaking research by Atlas et al. (1995) in which evidence was claimed in favour of the “small state effect;” namely, that since...

This study replicates Nijkamp & Poot (2004), henceforth N&P, and performs a variety of robustness checks. Using a sample of fiscal policy studies published between 1983-1998, N&P concluded that certain types of fiscal policies were more likely to confirm prior beliefs about their impact on...