Net interstate population growth rates and the Tiebout-Tullock hypothesis: New empirical evidence, 1990–2000

Abstract

This study empirically investigates the Tiebout-Tullock hypothesis as it might have applied to the pattern of net interstate population growth rates over the period 1990–2000. For the study period, it appears that the net state population growth rate has been an increasing function of the ratio of the total state plus local government outlays on public education in a state to that state's total state plus local government tax burden. Additional variables in the study, including the previous-period median single-family housing-price inflation rate, a measure of previous-period growth in real personal income per capita and certain quality-of-life variables, also prove to be significant determinants of the net population growth rate in a state. In this context, it appears that, for the study period, the Tiebout-Tullock hypothesis played a significant role in determining state net population growth rates.