Abstract

UNDA GUTIERREZ, Mónica. Poor local finances: What explains property tax collection in Mexico?. Estud. demogr. urbanos [online]. 2021, vol.36, n.1, pp.49-88.  Epub Feb 23, 2021. ISSN 2448-6515.  https://doi.org/10.24201/edu.v36i1.1871.

This article analyzes the main determinants of property tax collection in Mexico from 1990 to 2010. Through a statistical study, based on data at the municipal level, the main hypotheses suggested by the literature are examined to understand collection levels. In other words, the explanatory capacity of economic, political, and administrative factors is evaluated. On the one hand, the article analyzes the way both the socioeconomic variables of the municipality, and the amount of transfers they receive, influence tax collection. In addition, on the other, it analyzes whether the institutional capacity of the municipality and the level of political competition influence the amount collected from property. The findings indicate that municipalities facing the greatest electoral competition tend not to increase property tax collection; that the institutional capacity of treasuries and land registers is also an influential factor; and that the richer and more urban the municipality, the more it collects. Finally, it is found that intergovernmental fiscal transfers have not discouraged property tax collection.

Keywords : municipal finances; predial; institutional capacity; property taxes; Mexican municipalities.