Bulletin n. 3/2015
January 2016
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
  • Bimonte Salvatore, Stabile Arsenio
    Local taxation and urban development. Testing for the side-effects of the Italian property tax
    in Ecological Economics , Volume 120, December ,  2015 ,  100-107
    Land is an essential yet limited natural resource. Its current unsustainable use asks for a better understanding of the main determinants of urban expansion. A heuristic approach is used to analyze urban development in Italy. In particular, the paper estimates an econometric model to test the impact of the Italian property tax (ICI) on the local authorities' behavior and, in particular, on urban planning and development. It tests whether its introduction has fostered rather than dampened construction activity. The hypothesis put forward is that, because of the concurrent market conditions, the introduction of the tax has facilitated urban development. The structure of the tax and the devolution process that began in the '90s induced local municipalities to adopt less tight (accommodative) urban policies to offset budgetary needs. A more elastic urban policy reduces price volatility. However, its overall welfare effect is not clearly determined. Indeed, ceteris paribus, geographical areas with more elastic housing supply witness larger land consumption. The land use changes we witnessed in the last decades could be the combined effect of financial and fiscal aspects. If this is so, careful attention should be given to the issue of whether leaving urban planning and the power to levy property taxes under the same jurisdiction.
    ©2001 - 2020 - Centro Studi sul Federalismo - P. IVA 94067130016