This paper investigates the extent to which interjurisdictional spillovers -- transboundary pollution and the so-called 'race to the bottom' -- distort decentralized environmental regulation in practice. To that end, I develop a model in which local jurisdictions set regulations by trading-off...

The Concept of Foreign Direct Investment is now a part of India's economic future but the term remains vague to many, despite the profound effects on the economy. Despite the extensive studies on FDI, there has been little illumination forthcoming and it remains a contentious topic. The paper...

This paper develops new measures of environmental costs and local revenue capacity as the basis for a new municipal aid formula in Massachusetts. On the cost side, unlike previous studies, we quantify the effects on local non-school spending of characteristics related to uncontrollable costs. On...

This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. Using conceptual analysis and simulations with Massachusetts data, the authors illustrate the tradeoffs that policymakers face in deciding on the policy variables in the formula and lay out several...

We empirically analyze convergence of European producer and consumer prices for diesel fuel and investigate the role of excise taxation. By comparing the speed of convergence of prices and taxes we find a surprisingly fast speed of convergence for consumer prices. While this can in part be...

This paper surveys the nexus between tax competition and the fiscal constitution. We distinguish various approaches to competition between jurisdictions and provide a critique of evolutionary approaches to 'systems competition'. In the main part of the paper, a simple model of horizontal tax...

Secondary schools in the developed world differ in the degree of differentiation and in the first age of selection of pupils into different tracks. In this paper, we account for the heterogeneity of tracking time with a simple stochastic model which conjugates the returns from specialization...

The paper evaluates the working of German CFC rules that restrict the use of foreign subsidiaries located in low-tax countries to shelter passive investment income from home taxation. While passive investments make up a significant fraction of German outbound FDI, we find that German CFC rules...

This paper argues that profit-shifting activities of multi-jurisdictional enterprises (MJE) are maintained under a tax system of consolidation and formula apportionment (FA). A theoretical model discusses how an MJE can exploit its impact on the definition of the consolidated group...

Despite the continuing political interest in the usefulness of tax competition and tax coordination as well as the wealth of theoretical analyses, it still remains open whether or when tax competition is harmful. Moreover, the influence of tax differentials on multinationals' decisions is still...