In regions with many local governments, some services are provided the least in poorer communities where they are needed the most

There are nearly 90,000 local governments in the U.S.; each one with its own fiscal and administrative responsibilities. This ‘market’ for local governments means that individuals are often able to base their choice of where to live on differing regimes of tax and service provision, and to exercise their voice to ensure that their government responds to their service needs. But does the voice of the poor matter as much as the voice of the rich in determining service levels in the local public market? Using data for municipal governments in the U.S., Benedict S. Jimenez compares the municipal budgetary choices in poor and affluent municipalities, and shows that in highly fragmented regions some services are provided the least in poorer communities, where they are needed the most.