Briefing

The fiscal capacity of New England

Abstract: New Englanders may demand high levels of government services, but their underlying need for public service provision remains quite low, and they tend to be able to better afford the costs of these services relative to the rest of the nation. As a result, the region?s state and local governments face relatively less pressure to raise taxes or increase spending in order to achieve a basic level of public services, and constituent preferences may play a larger role in the fiscal decisions that New England policymakers make.

Keywords: Local finance - New England; State finance - New England;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Part of Series: New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Publication Date: 2007

Issue: May

Order Number: 07-4