Concern about “open space” is growing. Conservation advocates worry that private land use decisionmakers preserve too little open space. Yet private land developers are deciding on their own to preserve open space in new developments because it provides amenities to purchasers of lots....

This paper tests whether state fiscal policy alters neighborhood income homogeneity. One implication of the Tiebout model is that within-community homogeneity declines as a result of an exogenous decrease in the ability of jurisdictions to set local tax and expenditure levels. The Property tax...

Popular wisdom and economic research suggest that the quality of the neighborhood school should be an important determinant of housing values. Many researchers have found that housing values are higher where school spending or student test scores are higher. However, few economists consider...

This paper examines the urban housing sector of China and proposes a property tax reform. Over the past decade, housing price in urban China has been increasing dramatically because of strong demand for self-use, investment and speculation. The booming housing market, however, has brought...

The property tax is an important local revenue source in many countries, but it is often underused as a source for financing local expenditures. In India, many local governments have initiated administrative and valuation reforms to increase the yield from property taxes. In this paper, we...

This paper examines why local governments rely heavily on the property tax, even when they have access to another revenue source, using data from Ohio's recent experience of permitting local school districts to use both property taxes and residence-based income taxes. Nechyba's (1997) theory...

Armenia showed strong economic performance owing to its prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms, under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) Arrangement. Executive Directors welcomed this development, and stressed the need to strengthen the tax system, structural reform...

Antigua and Barbuda’s 2004 Article IV Consultation reports that growth has strengthened since mid-2003 owing to a rebound in tourism, but fiscal imbalances remain large, the debt stock is high, and arrears continue to mount. Tourism has rebounded strongly as the global economy strengthens...

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that inflation has stabilized at industrial country rates, anchored by the currency board. About half of activity is accounted for by the private sector and banks have been almost completely privatized to nonresidents. The...

Tax reform in Latin America during the 1980s emphasized broad-based, low-rate consumption taxes over steeply progressive income and property taxes, primarily to simplify the tax structure and facilitate tax administration. While tax reform need not necessarily raise tax-to-GDP ratios, countries...