On the tenacity of tiebout: A response to dowding

Our recent article in this journal sought to examine the continuing currency of
the theory of fiscal mobility associated with Charles Tiebout. Simply stated,
Tiebout’s ‘pure’ theory argues that consumer-voters move between local jurisdictions in response to differences in the tax-service bundle being offered by local administrations. As a result of this market-like mechanism, the allocation of local public goods can, under restrictive conditions, be optimal. We sought to link fiscal mobility with the literature on residential mobility, to examine how well the ideas travel from their origin in the USA, and to frame the discussion in relation to a number of different perspectives within the philosophy of science.