A subset of the costs (and benefits) of sub-national fiscal autonomy in federations is examined, with the major focus being road check-posts. The examination is done with reference to Indian states and using elementary, partial equilibrium, diagrammatic analysis. Empirical analyses of the...

Tax competition arguments suggest that governements that operate in an open economy (such as local governments) should not and will not rely on non-benefit taxes, such as the income tax. Yet we observe reliance on income taxes by local governments in many countries, and such reliance changes...