The Impact of Court-Ordered District Elections on City Finances

In 1972, the representation of blacks on city councils was only half of their share of the US population. Starting in 1975, courts sought to increase minority representation by ruling at-large city council elections unconstitutional in jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination. Economic t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of law & economics 2019-11, Vol.62 (4), p.633-661
Main Author: Boylan, Richard T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Black people
Cities
Councils
Courts
Discrimination
Economic theory
Elections
Expenditures
Governance
Local elections
Municipal government
Political institutions
Representation
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Summary:In 1972, the representation of blacks on city councils was only half of their share of the US population. Starting in 1975, courts sought to increase minority representation by ruling at-large city council elections unconstitutional in jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination. Economic theory suggests that this court-induced shift toward district elections could lead to a common-pool problem and thus to greater government noninfrastructure spending. This paper provides empirical evidence that cities that adopt district elections increase noninfrastructure spending, thus providing empirical support for the common-pool problem. Since political institutions seldom change, the shift of US cities to district elections may be long-lasting, which suggests that the goals of equal representation and effective governance may be at odds.
ISSN:0022-2186
1537-5285
DOI:10.1086/705682