This study investigates the effect of participative political institutions (PPIs) that emerged in many central European cities from the late 13th century. The empirical analysis of the paper is based on newly compiled long-run data for the existence of different types of PPIs in 104 cities in...

This paper analyzes the impact of political and fiscal decentralization on regional inequalities using a unique data set which covers 56 countries at different stages of economic develop-ment. Cross-section and panel data estimations show that decentralization decreases regional inequalities in...

The Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London (2005) authorized the use of eminent domain for economic redevelopment projects provided that there are sufficient spillover benefits to the public in the form of enhanced taxes and new jobs. This paper examines the economic basis for this...

En este trabajo se revisan algunos aspectos de la economía de la Ciudad de México, desde su vocación como una ciudad de servicios y alta tecnología hasta la situación actual de su erario público. Se hace una revisión en particular del estado actual de la deuda de la ciudad.

This paper analyze the role of FCM in the convergence process of the income governments with a panel data of 345 municipalities for the period between 2001 and 2011. Using quasi-experiments and dynamic equations demonstrated that the FCM doesn’t have a significant effect in the increase of the...

State preemption laws strictly limit local governments from regulating beyond their borders. Local governments, however, face a broad spectrum of challenges which cannot be confined to municipal borders. These challenges freely flow in and out of many local jurisdictions at the same time. The...

Employing tools drawn from economics and urban studies - particularly agglomeration economics, public choice, and the wisdom of Woody Allen's classic film Annie Hall - this essay provides a theoretical explanation for the prevalence of big city political corruption. The essay argues that the...

This paper examines a distinctive mechanism of providing incentives to local governments - upgrading counties to cities. In China, awarding city status to existing counties is the dominant way of creating new urban administrative units, during which the local government gets many benefits. Using...

It has been widely observed that China is under-urbanized. The central government has tried to use various policies to promote urbanization. In this paper, we evaluate one of these policies – count-to-city upgrading. Under China’s hierarchical governance structure, a city status can only be...

This study investigates the effect of participative political institutions (PPIs) that emerged in many central European cities from the late 13th century. The empirical analysis of the paper is based on newly compiled long-run data for the existence of different types of PPIs in 104 cities in...