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Government weakness and local public debt development in Flemish municipalities

Ashworth, J.; Geys, B.; Heyndels, B.

Authors

B. Geys

B. Heyndels



Abstract

The Weak Government Hypothesis states that government fragmentation leads to higher public deficits and debt. This relation can be explained by government inaction, common pool problems or the strategic use of debt that arise in coalition governments. Importantly, whereas government inaction models concentrate on the short-term effects of government fragmentation on indebtedness, common pool and strategic debt models imply that such effects will persist in the long term. We test these hypotheses using a large panel of data on municipal debt in 298 Flemish municipalities (1977–2000). We find that there is no long-run effect from weak governments. However, there is general support for the fact that the number of parties in a coalition has a positive effect on the municipality’s short-term debt levels–in line with government inaction models.

Citation

Ashworth, J., Geys, B., & Heyndels, B. (2005). Government weakness and local public debt development in Flemish municipalities. International Tax and Public Finance, 12(4), 395-422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-005-2317-3

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2005-08
Deposit Date Mar 28, 2007
Journal International Tax and Public Finance
Print ISSN 0927-5940
Electronic ISSN 1573-6970
Publisher Springer
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 4
Pages 395-422
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-005-2317-3
Keywords Government fragmentation, Debt, Local government.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1585298