An empirical investigation of public choices for green spaces

Abstract

While the social demand for green spaces is growing, the understanding of local public policies remains scant. The provision of green spaces is subject to market failures, hence they are publicly provided. Yet, the optimal level may not be reached due to government failures. This article highlights potential government failures incurred by the public provision of green spaces. We investigate the median voter hypothesis in a sample of 161 French municipalities. We shall assess various specifications for the provision of green spaces by differentiating operating expenditures and their surfaces. Finally, in order to compare alternative specifications of income and tax price used in the median voter model, we implement tests for non-nested models. The median voter model is weak to explain expenditure levels but is appropriate to explain the ratio of green spaces in the municipalities of the sample.