The Henry George Theorem in a second-best world

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Urban Economics
Year: 2015
Volume: 85
Issue: C
Pages: 34-51

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

The Henry George Theorem (HGT) states that, in first-best economies, the fiscal surplus of a city government that finances the Pigouvian subsidies for agglomeration externalities and the costs of local public goods by a 100% tax on land is zero at optimal city sizes. We extend the HGT to distorted economies where product differentiation and increasing returns are the sources of agglomeration economies and city governments levy property taxes. Without relying on specific functional forms, we derive a second-best HGT that relates the fiscal surplus to the excess burden expressed as an extended Harberger formula.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:juecon:v:85:y:2015:i:c:p:34-51
Journal Field
Urban
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24