Proposition 13 requires that the state of California divide countywide property tax revenue among local governments. Until the early 1990s, the allocations that existed in the three years prior to the passage of the proposition largely determined these divisions. In the early 1990s the state...

California has long been a leader in both its attempts to preserve land devoted to agricultural production and in its approach to funding its state and local governments. Recently it has become the leader in creating a statewide policy (AB 32) to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases generated...

Citizens in U.S. metropolitan areas receive goods and services provided by sub-county governments that include municipalities/townships, school districts, and special districts. Beginning with Tiebout, economists have theorized that economic factors play an important role in determining the...

In this paper, we first offer economic arguments in support of greater consideration of user charges to fund public primary and secondary education. Second, to better understand why these economic arguments have not had further influence, a regression analysis shows the factors responsible for...

Much of the economic analysis of local governments assumes that local policymakers operate in a competitive environment where cities produce a level of local public sector output that can be considered "efficient". Efficiency can be quantifies as the highest value of local property tax base...