Charles Mills Tiebout ( "TEE-bow") (1924–1968) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

most known for his development of the

Tiebout model The Tiebout model, also known as Tiebout sorting, Tiebout migration, or Tiebout hypothesis, is a positive political theory model first described by economist Charles Tiebout in his article "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures" (1956). The essence ...

, which suggested that there were actually non-political solutions to the

free rider problem In the social sciences, the free-rider problem is a type of market failure that occurs when those who benefit from resources, public goods (such as public roads or public library), or services of a communal nature do not pay for them or under-p ...

in local governance. He earned recognition in the area of local government and fiscal federalism with his widely cited 1956 paper "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures". Tiebout graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

in 1950, and received a PhD in economics in

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1957. From 1954 to 1958, Tiebout served as a lecturer and assistant professor of economics at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. From 1958 to 1962 was an assistant then associate professor of economics at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. He was Professor of Economics and Geography and was co-director for the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. He died suddenly on January 16, 1968, at age 43. Tiebout is frequently associated with the concept of

foot voting Foot voting is expressing one's preferences through one's actions, by voluntarily participating in or withdrawing from an activity, group, or process; especially, physical migration to leave a situation one does not like, or to move to a situation ...

, that is, physically moving to another jurisdiction where policies are closer to one's ideologies, instead of voting to change a government or its policies.

Major publications

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References

External links

Charles Tiebout page at University of Washington site

Information about Charles Tiebout in William A. Fischel article "Municipal Corporations, Homeowners, and the Benefit View of the Property Tax"
* * * Regional economists 1924 births 1968 deaths Wesleyan University alumni University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American economists University of Washington faculty {{US-economist-stub