Redistribution, Local Spending, and Growth: Evidence from the Origins of a Municipal Equalization Fund

Casper Worm Hansen and Peter Sandholdt Jensen

No 20349, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: This paper examines how intergovernmental transfers affect local government behavior and economic outcomes during the early stages of welfare state formation in Denmark. We exploit a 1937 reform that reimbursed municipal spending on social, medical, and school services (``MEF grants''). Using newly digitized annual panel data and a shift-share like IV strategy, we show that these grants expanded municipal budgets (crowding-in), reduced income inequality, and did not reduce average income or firm profitability. These findings contribute to long-standing debates on the equity-efficiency tradeoff and show that redistributive transfers can expand local welfare capacity without incurring significant growth costs.

Keywords: Public spending; Redistribution; Crowding-in; Economic growth; Inequality; Welfare state (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H7 N4 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-06
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