Differences in Property Tax Collections in the Border Area: Evidence from the Municipalities of Chihuahua

Abstract

Based on the study by Ibarra and Sotres (2009), in this article we provide additional evidence linking the characteristics of the northern border region and the institutional framework for property tax collection. We estimate a series of econometric specifications using a panel database for the 67 municipalities in Chihuahua corresponding to 2002-2006. Our central hypothesis is that the economic and demographic dynamics in theborder area of Chihuahua has increased demand for services and infrastructure in theborder municipalities of the state, which has led them to differentiate their institutionalframework to obtain more funds through property tax compared with non-border municipalities.This is possible since the 1999 constitutional amendment of Article 115allows municipalities to amend the fiscal institutional framework to deal with their ownpeculiarities.