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Local Government Expenditures in Belgium: Do Political Distinctions Matter? *
Author(s) -
GINSBURGH VICTOR,
PESTIEAU PIERRE
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1981.tb00597.x
Subject(s) - politics , local government , test (biology) , public economics , political science , public spending , economics , political economy , positive economics , public administration , law , paleontology , biology
The purpose of this paper is to test whether public spending by local communities in Belgium is influenced by local politics. Unlike previous studies which are briefly surveyed, we test alternative models of the local budgetary decision, and systematically favour the one which includes political variables. In spite of this deliberate bias, political factors influence neither the level nor the structure of local public spending in Belgium. This may imply little differentiation among parties at the local level, rather than institutional constraints.