Search Results
Journal Article
Interstate fiscal disparity in 1997
Readily available tax statistics tell state and local policymakers the amount and mix of revenues that their governments receive. However, these officials pose harder fiscal questions than simply how much money is flowing into their coffers and from what sources. They frequently ask, What is our state's capacity to raise revenues, regardless of how much we actually collect? To what extent do we utilize that capacity? Is our revenue capacity sufficient to finance our state's need for public services? These questions are especially salient today, given that during state fiscal year 2002 ...
Journal Article
Come the devolution, will states be able to respond?
Since the founding of the Republic, Americans have engaged in endless debate about the division of fiscal and regulatory responsibilities among levels of government. The controversy has often involved the concomitant question of the optimal role of government as a whole. The issue has been not only which level of government should do what, but also what government at any level should do.
Journal Article
Put it on my ... er, his tab
Opinion polls show a big gap between the public's desire for services and its willingness to pay for those services
Journal Article
Commentary on \\"state tax revenue growth and volatility\\"
Working Paper
Revenue-maximizing monetary policy
In this paper, we examine the impact that changes in the rate of money creation and reserve requirements have on real seigniorage revenue. We consider two additional features that differ from previous analyses. First, the model economies grow endogenously, and that growth depends on the accumulation of intermediated capital. Second, agents have two means of financing; one is bank deposits against which reserves must be held and the other is a nonbank intermediary. Thus, growth-rate effects and financing-substitution effects are both present, and one can assess the quantitiative importance or ...
Journal Article
An acquired taste for public goodies
State and local government spending has steadily increased across the district, and states have unique spending priorities
Journal Article
Devolution: the new federalism, an overview
In recent years, a growing number of scholars and policymakers have concluded that the federal government has become too large and powerful, intruding into affairs better handled by states and municipalities. Based on this premise, they have argued for a reduction in federal aid, the conversion of matching grants to block grants, greater flexibility for states in implementing federally funded programs, and curtailment of federal mandates. Their program is popularly referred to as devolution, the devolving of federal responsibilities to lower levels of government. The controversy that ...
Estimates of State and Local Government Revenue Losses from Pandemic Mitigation
This data brief presents estimates of the impacts of the COVID-19 mitigation shutdowns on US state and local income and sales tax revenue. The author estimates that these revenues will decline by $54 billion in fiscal year 2020 (FY20). Depending on the speed of the recovery over the next fiscal year, another $25 billion to $137 billion of revenue may be lost. If states split their rainy day funds between FY20 and fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to offset these revenue declines, the shortfalls would be reduced to $21 billion in FY20 and $4 billion to $78 billion in FY21.
Journal Article
Upfront : Regional news at a glance.
Journal Article
The devolution tortoise and the centralization hare
There has been much talk in recent years of devolving powers and functions from the federal government to the states. Some observers even proclaim a devolution revolution, the result of which will be a more efficient and effective federal government and more robust and responsive states. The generally recognized objectives of devolution include (1) more efficient provision and production of public services; (2) better alignment of the costs and benefits of government for a diverse citizenry; (3) better fits between public goods and their spatial characteristics; (4) increased competition, ...