Nguyen-Hoang Wins Best Paper at Midwest Public Affairs Conference 2022
Phuong Nguyen-Hoang, senior research fellow in residence in the Social and Education Policy and Health Policy Research Programs, won Best Paper at the Midwest Public Affairs Conference 2022 for his study on the impact of home rule on municipal boundary and fiscal expansion.
The study focused on evidence gathered from the state of Texas and used the variation in adoption of home rule charters to provide the first empirical examination of whether home rule adoption causes municipal boundary expansion. The findings showed that home rule cities expand their boundaries to significantly greater total area than general law cities in Texas. The study also showed evidence that annexations allow home rule cities to fiscally expand, primarily by broadening tax bases.