The window tax provides a dramatic and transparent historical example of the potential distorting effects of taxation. Imposed in England in 1696, the tax—a kind of predecessor of the modern property tax—was levied on dwellings with the tax liability based on the number of windows. The tax...

Economic theorists and finance practitioners alike turn to the seminal work of Wallace E. Oates for a systematic statement of the economic principles of fiscal federalism. In this book, Professor Oates provides an overview of fiscal federalism and analyses specific problems in a selection of his...

This title presents an authoritative collection of the most significant papers on fiscal federalism and local finance. In addition to some classic papers, it offers clear and insightful presentations of conventional wisdom in the field as well as recent papers which illuminate important issues...

This reprinted edition of a classic and truly seminal book, written by one of the leading thinkers in the field, represents the first comprehensive treatment of the economic theory of multi-level government. It explores the specific economic roles of the various levels of government, the...

This paper takes issue with the Porter-van der Linde claim that traditional benefit-cost analysis is a fundamental misrepresentation of the environmental problem. They contend that stringent environmental measures induce innovative efforts leading to improvements in abatement and production...

We re-evaluate two forms of fiscal illusion in local public finance: debt illusion and renter illusion. The Ricardian Equivalence Theorem for local governments suggests the form of finance of a public program (tax or debt finance) has no effects on substantive outcomes. For the local case, this...

This paper explores the roles of different levels of government in assisting the poor. Using a model with utility interdependence, the paper presents some theoretical results on how levels of poor relief vary with the extent of mobility of the poor under both centralized and decentralized...