We investigate how the number and size of local political jurisdictions in an area is determined. Our model focuses on the tradeoff between the benefits of economies of scale and the costs of a heterogeneous population. We consider heterogeneity in income, race, ethnicity, and religion, and we test...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Alesina, Alberto 1957-2020 (Author), Baqir, Reza (Author), Hoxby, Caroline M. 1966- (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2000
Series:	NBER working paper series 7859
Subjects:	Administrative and political divisions Economies of scale Economies of scale > United States Pluralism (Social sciences) Pluralism (Social sciences) > United States USA United States > Administrative and political divisions
Online Access:	Volltext
Summary:	We investigate how the number and size of local political jurisdictions in an area is determined. Our model focuses on the tradeoff between the benefits of economies of scale and the costs of a heterogeneous population. We consider heterogeneity in income, race, ethnicity, and religion, and we test the model using American school districts, school attendance areas, municipalities, and special districts. Using both cross-sectional and panel analysis, we find evidence of a significant tradeoff between economies of scale and racial heterogeneity. We find weaker tradeoffs between economies of scale and income or ethnic heterogeneity. That is, it appears that people are willing to sacrifice the most, in terms of economies of scale, in order to avoid racial heterogeneity in their jurisdiction.
Physical Description:	51 S. graph. Darst.