| For many citizens the functioning and structure of their local government is predominantly unknown. However, local government officials often have a substantial impact on the lives of those same city residents; their decisions undoubtedly impact the desirability of the community. Though attention is often focused on education expenditures and school quality at the local level, there are many other city services which influence residents' well being. Different structural arrangements for municipal governments may impact the way these services are determined.;This dissertation looks at three components of local government structure---the municipal form of government, the size of the city council, and the election method for city council members. By looking at the relationship between these three components of government structure and public expenditure, I am able to determine if they generate consistent and predictable impacts on expenditure levels. In order to obtain a better understanding of how government structure affects efficiency, I analyze the impact of form of government on house prices with the idea that efficiency gains would be capitalized into the value of homes. In the final section, I look at the determinants of the three components separately. Once each component is estimated, the predicted values are used to re-estimate the expenditure analysis now taking into account the endogeneity of government structure. |
