Abstract
We believe that tastes for association could play an important role in determining the structure, conduct, and performance of the system of local governments in the United States. Accordingly, we incorporate racial discrimination into a model of jurisdiction formation. If one group is prejudiced, the model demonstrates that as the population of a region becomes more racially heterogenous a greater number of jurisdictions is required to satisfy their taste for disassociation. Using state and metropolitan area panel data, we test this implication of the model. We find that, controlling for other relevant variables, increasing racial heterogeneity of a state population increases the number of school districts. We discuss the robustness of our results. We compare the impact of racial heterogeneity on special districts with its impact on school districts. In sharp contrast to our school district result, we find no evidence that increasing racial heterogeneity affects the formation of special districts.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.