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This study extends Peterson’s city limits perspective to counties to empirically examine how economic, political, institutional, and demographic factors influence overall county spending and spending priorities across three core policy arenas. Pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis of Florida counties reveals that although population density and economic conditions influence spending, politics and institutions matter. Political ideology as indicated by presidential and gubernatorial Democratic vote share has a positive influence on all three spending categories. The findings also reveal that county adoption of a home rule charter leads to greater emphasis on developmental and redistributive rather than allocational functions.
Choi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.