This paper proposes a system of tradable deficit permits for implementing budgetary austerity at the local level. We evaluate the efficiency of the fiscal retrenchment allocation in a dynamic setting with a commitment problem. The way rights are allcated and traded on the market turns out to be...

In the present article, Tiebout meets Laffont and Tirole in the land of Fiscal Federalism. We use a non-trivial Principal-Multi-Agent model to characterize the optimal intergovernmental grant schedule, when the cost of local public goods depends on hidden characteristics and actions of local...

We analyze how the merger of regions affects capital tax competition in a two-tier territorial organization where both regions and cities share the same mobile tax base. We identify three effects generated by the merger of regions that impact, either directly or indirectly, both regional and...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of inter-municipal cooperation on local taxation. Municipalities that join/create an inter-municipal jurisdiction choose between three tax regimes, which may induce both horizontal and vertical tax externalities. Using the differences in...

The purpose of this paper is to compare different forms of inter-municipal tax cooperation. We use a tax competition model in a two-tier framework, where the two tax bases are interdependently mobile. We consider three different tax regimes: tax-base sharing for the two tax bases, tax...

Our paper identifies a potential problem with decentralization at a time when its virtues are widely extolled. We show that responsibility for equalization at multi-levels within a decentralized federation creates an overlapping equalization policy that can worsen fiscal discipline. Contrary to...

This article evaluates the efficiency of a market for tradable deficit permits as a mechanism for implementing budgetary austerity at the local level, when the initial allocation of deficit rights can be manipulated. The way déficit rights are allocated in the market turns out to be decisive...

This paper analyzes mergers of regions in a two-tier setting with both horizontal and vertical tax competition. The merger of regions induces three effects on regional and local tax policies, which are transmitted both horizontally and vertically: i) an alleviation of tax competition at the...

This paper analyzes mergers of regions in a two-tier setting with both horizontal and vertical tax competition. The merger of regions induces three effects on regional and local tax policies, which are transmitted both horizontally and vertically: i) an alleviation of tax competition at the...