We investigate how lump-sum equalization transfers affect expenditures and taxes in the municipalities of the largest German state North Rhine-Westphalia. In general, those general-purpose transfers cannot be treated as exogenous variables. Thus, for the identification of causal effects, two...

Introduction: Measuring Tax Progression -- Theories: Local Measures -- Global Measures -- Uniform Measures -- Applications: Data and Fiscal Institutions of the Surveyed Countries -- Numerical Results -- Statistical Tests -- Progression Intensity