The Impact of Jurisdictional Boundaries: An Individual-Level Test of the Tiebout Model

Abstract

Despite the considerable research attention accorded the Tiebout model, its empirical foundations are not especially well developed. That is, existing empirical investigations of the Tiebout model only indirectly address many of its central assumptions, given their nearly exclusive focus on aggregate-level analyses when the model evaluates institutional arrangements on the basis of a number of assumptions about individual attitudes and behaviors. This paper takes one step toward improving this situation by examining survey data on individual political behavior under two polar cases of institutional arrangement within metropolitan areas. By comparing the responses of five Louisville-area cities with those of their matched Lexington neighborhoods, we directly assess the impacts of jurisdictional arrangements on a number of attitudes and behaviors that underlie the Tiebout model.