The Effect of Council Size on Municipal Expenditures: Evidence from Italian Municipalities

Marco Alberto De Benedetto
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Marco Alberto De Benedetto: Birkbeck, University of London

No 1802, Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance from Birkbeck, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics

Abstract: I study the effect of council size on municipal expenditures by using a rich data set providing information on Italian municipal budgets over the period 2001-2007. By implementing a Sharp Regression Discontinuity Design, I find a negative relationship between local government size, as measured by total expenditures per capita, and the council size. Similar results are found when I consider expenditures that are more directly under the control of bureaucrats, such as current expenditures per capita. Finally, I test the "law of 1/n" on pork barrel policies, finding again a negative effect of council size on capital expenditures per capita.

Keywords: Government Size; Legislature Size; Law of 1/n; Natural Experiment; Sharp RDD. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D78 H11 H70 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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