Usage of Specialized Service Delivery: Evidence from Contiguous Counties

Special districts
Autonomy
Circumvention

Christopher B. Goodman (2018) “Usage of Specialized Service Delivery: Evidence from Contiguous Counties.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 48 (4): 686-708, doi: 10.1093/publius/pjx065

Author
Affiliation

Northern Illinois University

Published

January 2018

Doi

Abstract

This study exploits exogenous policy discontinuities along state borders to estimate the influence of differences in local autonomy on the usage of special districts in U.S. counties. Using forty years of data, this analysis compares counties on either side of state borders where local autonomy differs and finds little to no evidence that negative changes in local autonomy leads to increased utilization of special districts. This study suggests that some prior literature may overstate the importance of local autonomy in local service delivery.

Citation

BibTeX citation:
@article{goodman2018,
  author = {Christopher B. Goodman},
  title = {Usage of Specialized Service Delivery: Evidence from
    Contiguous Counties},
  journal = {Publius: The Journal of Federalism},
  volume = {48},
  number = {4},
  pages = {686 - 708},
  date = {2018},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/publius/article-abstract/48/4/686/4783109},
  doi = {10.1093/publius/pjx065},
  langid = {en}
}