Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
Two of the most widely referred to models of local (or state) budgetary behavior are developed and tested. The models considered are a variant of the flypaper model (see, for example, Courant et al., 1979 and Oates, 1979) and a conventional model which builds on the seminal work of Wilde (1969, 1971). The models are developed in a manner which allows them to be tested empirically using data for English local government. Two types of test are employed: the ability of the two models to explain the variation in expediture levels across local governments within any given fiscal year; the ability of the models to predict future levels of expenditure given changes to local government budget constraints (as brought about, for example, by changes in grants-in-aid from central government). Copyright 1991 by Kluwer Academic Publishers