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Journal Article
Medicaid-the need for reform: commentary
Journal Article
The economic impact of a smoking ban in Columbia, Missouri: an analysis of sales tax data for the first year
In January 2007, an ordinance took effect in Columbia, Missouri, banning smoking in all bars, restaurants, and workplaces. This paper analyzes data for sales tax collections at eating and drinking establishments from January 2001 through December 2007, including the first twelve months of the smoking ban. The analysis accounts for trends, seasonality, general business conditions, and weather. The findings suggest that the smoking ban has been associated with statistically significant losses in sales tax revenues at Columbia's bars and restaurants, with an average decline of approximately 3 to ...
Journal Article
Income inequality in rural southeast Missouri
Journal Article
School accountability and student performance - commentary
Journal Article
Medicaid-the need for reform
Recent administration proposals to address the rising cost of Medicaid will do little to contain costs or truly reform the program. The primary issues are the large differences among state Medicaid programs in coverage and benefits and the programs high and rising costs. In this paper, we describe and develop several options for Medicaid reform that would expand coverage, provide fiscal relief to states, shift responsibility for some or all of the cost of dual eligibles to the federal government, and eliminate or restructure the disproportionate share programs. A number of other issues are ...
Journal Article
The state of state and local government finance
This paper provides an overview of the state-local government sector, a review of the short-run impact of the 2007-09 recession on state and local governments, and a brief summary of key long-run challenges state and local governments will encounter in the next decade. State and local governments in aggregate represent about one-seventh of the U.S. economy, with education and welfare (mostly Medicaid) accounting for more than half. These governments currently face nearly unprecedented fiscal turmoil as a result of the recent recession. Even after the economy recovers, states and localities ...
Journal Article
Commentary on \\"states in fiscal distress\\"
Journal Article
Commentary
Journal Article
Can state and local governments rely on alternative tax sources?
State governments are much more likely than their local counterparts to depend on taxes other than sales, property, and personal income taxes. Excises on alcohol, beer, tobacco, gambling, and business taxes are among the alternative taxes. Local governments, on the other hand, are more likely to impose user fees. Reliance on these alternative state tax sources in aggregate has diminished over the past several decades, despite a pattern of rate increases and new gambling alternatives. Competitive pressures between states and with the federal government are likely to continue limiting reliance ...
Journal Article
How well are the states of the Eighth Federal Reserve District prepared for the next recession?
Economic downturns often force state policymakers to enact sizable tax increases or spending cuts to close budget shortfalls. In this paper the authors make use of a Markov-switching regression model to empirically describe the expansions and contractions in the states of the Eighth Federal Reserve District. They use the estimated parameters from the switching regressions to form probability distributions of the revenue shortfalls states are likely to encounter in future slowdowns. This allows them to estimate the probability that each state's projected fiscal-year-end balances will be ...