This article evaluates the effect of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) on municipal general own-source revenue in the United States. Using an instrumental variable approach, this study addresses the endogeneity problem of TELs that has been largely overlooked in previous research. Data are collected on 724 US cities with populations of at least 25,000 from 1970 to 2006. Results indicate that when the endogeneity of TELs is taken into account, TELs lead to considerable reductions in property taxes but substantial increases in sales taxes, income taxes, and user charges per capita. The increases in the latter forms of revenue not only offset the loss in property taxes but also generate a supplemental revenue effect, resulting in a net gain of total municipal general own-source revenue per capita. The study provides important policy implications and suggests that TELs may have unintended consequences and lead to bigger government.

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Spurred by the tax and expenditure limitation movement of the late 1970s, user charges have grown to become a major source of revenue for local governments. Both theory and literature propose that a well-designed user-charge structure could reduce spending on the charge-financed services by strengthening the relationship between service and payment. This study empirically tests such a possibility by examining the level of expenditure for sewer and parks and recreation services. Using a panel of 686 American cities for the sewer services and 715 cities for the parks and recreation services between 1972 and 2004, this study finds evidence that greater reliance on user charges to finance government services leads to a reduction in municipal expenditures.

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Coil-rod-coil amphipathic oligomers composed of a rigid dianthranide unit and a hydrophilic branched oligoether as the coil segment were synthesized. These amphiphilic molecules self-assemble into clew-like aggregates composed of fibres or helical nanofibers in aqueous solution. Subsequently, supramolecular polymers were produced from the above objects through charge-transfer interactions by adding 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (4F-TCNQ). Interestingly, temperature-sensitive supramolecular chirality was induced by lateral methyl units located at the interface of the rigid and flexible segments. However, upon addition of the electron-acceptor molecule, 4F-TCNQ, strong donor-acceptor interactions restrict any change in supramolecular chirality with temperature.