Cost Shifting in Australian Local Government: an analysis of the spatial impact of pensioner rate concession rebates in New South Wales, Australia

The problem of cost shifting from higher tiers of government to local councils in Australia is widely recognised and has been investigated by several official inquiries. However, it has thus far been difficult to gather reliable estimates of the magnitude of the problem. Quite apart from the taxing definitional and data problems associated with the phenomenon, these difficulties have been compounded by the fact that very few attempts have been made to measure the impact of specific instances of cost shifting in Australian local government, especially its spatial impact. In an attempt to remedy this neglect, this paper seeks to measure the spatial effects of pensioner rate concession rebates on local councils in New South Wales.