We show that the efficacy of fiscal decentralization in enhancing economic growth and labor productivity growth depends on whether taxes are collected at the central level or at the sub-national level. To empirically examine the differential effects, we introduce a distinct measure of fiscal...

This paper addresses two long-standing positive questions in public finance: 1) Why is the property tax, despite widespread popular complaints against its fairness, the almost exclusive tax instrument used by local governments; and 2) why do we consistently observe higher levels of governments...

As public institutions are faced with more diverse and increased community needs, significant concern arises (both in academia and practice) for the dwindling resources available at the local level and the factors which can influence local revenue mobilization. Using data for 3,227 Romanian...