Results by title

8 books match the query 'Intergovernmental fiscal relations'

cover of Fiscal Federalism: Quantitative Studies

Fiscal Federalism

Quantitative Studies

Edited by Harvey S. Rosen

University of Chicago Press, 1988

We often think of fiscal decisions as being made by a single government, but in the United States the reality is that an astounding number of entities have the power to tax and spend. State, local, and federal governments all play crucial roles in the U.S. fiscal system, and the interrelation has been the source of continuing controversy. This fact is the focus of the seven papers and commentaries presented in this volume, the result of a conference sponsored by the NBER. The contributors use various quantitative tools to study policy issues, obtaining results that will interest policymakers and researchers working in the areas of taxation and public finance.

The first three papers study the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. John Joseph Wallis and Wallace E. Oates look at the extend and evolution of decentralization in the state and local sector; Robert P. Inman examines the growth of federal grants and the structure of congressional decision making; and Jeffrey S. Zax investigates the effects of the number of government jurisdictions on aggregate local public debt and expenditures. The next three papers look at the deductibility of state and local taxes on federal tax returns. Using an econometric analysis, Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Harvey S. Rosen examine the effects of deductibility on revenue sources and level of expenditures. Lawrence B. Lindsey looks at how deductibility affects the level and type of taxation. George R. Zodrow uses a two-sector general equilibrium model to investigate revenue effects of deductibility. Finally, Charles R. Hulten and Robert M. Schwab analyze the problem of developing an accurate estimate of income for the state and local sector, finding that conventional accounting procedures have underestimated the income generated by a startling $100 billion.
[more]
cover of Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations

William Anderson

University of Minnesota Press, 1956

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations was first published in 1956. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.This volume is number 8 in a series of monographs edited by William Anderson and Edward W. Weidner on intergovernmental relations in the United States as observed in the state of Minnesota. Topics discussed include: the financial problems of a federal system; Minnesota’s place and rank in the union; the financial relationship between Minnesota and the nation from 1783 to 1953; the respective financial powers of Minnesota and the nation; national and state taxes in Minnesota; federal grants-in-aid as a revenue source; the national-state fiscal balance; state-local revenue relations; and state payments to local governments.
[more]
cover of Intergovernmental Relations in the American Administrative State: The Johnson Presidency

Intergovernmental Relations in the American Administrative State

The Johnson Presidency

By David M. Welborn and Jesse Burkhead

University of Texas Press, 1989

During the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson and his administration substantially altered the structure of the American administrative state. Creating intergovernmental programs to forward the goal of the Great Society, they changed the contours of national-state-local relationships, and these changes largely have remained, despite the attempts of later administrations to reverse them. Intergovernmental Relations in the American Administrative State is the first comprehensive study of how and why these changes occurred.

Drawn from a wealth of primary material in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, the study probes the objectives of the president and other framers of new policies and programs, within the institutional and political context of the time. The authors give special attention to the inherent incongruities that arise when intergovernmental programs are used to address problems defined in national terms. In addition, they reveal how certain programs actually challenged the power of established national bureaucracies. They conclude with a thoughtful overview of the Johnson legacy in intergovernmental relations during subsequent administrations.

[more]
cover of Mayors and Money: Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago

Mayors and Money

Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago

Ester R. Fuchs

University of Chicago Press, 1992

Chicago and New York share similar backgrounds but have had strikingly different fates. Tracing their fortunes from the 1930s to the present day, Ester R. Fuchs examines key policy decisions which have influenced the political structures of these cities and guided them into, or clear of, periods of economic crisis.
[more]
cover of Policy Responses to Tax Competition

Policy Responses to Tax Competition

Edited by David R. Agrawal, James M. Poterba, and Owen M. Zidar

University of Chicago Press, 2025

A critical examination of the effects of tax competition.

Policy Responses to Tax Competition provides an in-depth exploration of how jurisdictions design taxes on mobile economic factors. Tax competition between jurisdictions that seek to attract businesses and residents presents both opportunities and challenges. It can foster government efficiency and provide a counterweight to lobbying for increased spending, but it can also result in inefficiently low tax rates and revenue shortfalls as jurisdictions vie for tax bases. This volume examines the economic drivers and consequences of tax competition and presents empirical evidence on its effects.

Divided into three parts, the book first reviews existing research on the determinants and consequences of tax competition and related policy initiatives such as development incentives. The second section focuses on specific policies, such as the Kansas-Missouri noncompete pact and international measures like the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative, that are designed to limit tax competition. It also considers the economic responses to these policies, the distributional impact of competition-reducing policies, and potential strategic reactions of other governments. The final section presents case studies of the effects of various policies, including inter-municipal cooperation in France and corporate tax equalization in Switzerland.

Altogether, this volume provides new insights into the nature of inter-jurisdictional tax competition and the range of potential responses available to jurisdictions at various levels in federal systems.

[more]
cover of Politics by Formula: How Congressional Policymaking Creates Disparities

Politics by Formula

How Congressional Policymaking Creates Disparities

Leah Rosenstiel

University of Chicago Press, 2026

A clear-eyed study that reveals how politics shapes and often distorts important federal programs, driving inequalities across states.

From Medicaid to Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, a large percentage of the annual US federal budget (approximately $1 trillion) is distributed through grants-in-aid, a policy tool that allocates aid to state and local governments rather than to individual Americans. When members of Congress use grants-in-aid to fund healthcare, housing, and other forms of support, they are not solely determining how much assistance one person receives. Instead, they can allot certain localities larger grants, which carry big implications for the quality of public services available to citizens living in different states.

Many reasonably assume that these assistance programs distribute funding to states impartially because they use statistical formulas based on population levels, poverty, and other characteristics that, ostensibly, measure need. However, in Politics by Formula, Leah Rosenstiel shows how this seemingly technocratic aspect of federal policymaking is deeply affected by both the structure of political institutions and the motivations of elected officials. Key congressional committees—and especially their leaders—design formulas to benefit their constituencies. Superficially neutral formulas can shield these political decisions from scrutiny, but formulas also constrain congressmembers. Drawing on formal modeling and quantitative and qualitative evidence, Rosenstiel elucidates how these dynamics shape whose and what needs are met and where.

[more]
cover of The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State: State and Local Economic Development Policy in the United States

The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State

State and Local Economic Development Policy in the United States

Peter K. Eisinger

University of Wisconsin Press, 1989

The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State charts the development of state and local government initiatives to influence the market and strengthen economic development policies. This trend marked a decisive break from governments’ traditionally small role in the affairs of private industry that defined the relationship between the public and private sector for the first half of the twentieth century. The turn to state and local government intervention signaled a change in subnational politics that, in many ways, transcended partisan politics, regional distinctions ,and racial alliances.

Eisinger’s meticulous research uncovers state and local governments’ transition from supply-side to demand-side strategies of market creation. He shows that, instead of relying solely on the supply-side strategies of tax breaks and other incentives to encourage business relocation, some governments promoted innovation and the creation of new business approaches.
[more]
cover of The Two New Yorks: State-City Relations in the Changing Federal System

The Two New Yorks

State-City Relations in the Changing Federal System

Gerald Benjamin

Russell Sage Foundation, 1988

Over the past eight years, a marked shift in the national political mood has substantially reduced the federal government's involvement in ameliorating urban problems and enhanced the prominence of state and local governments in the domestic policy arena. Many states and big cities have been forced to reassess their traditionally vexed relationships. Nowhere has this drama been played out more stormily than in New York. In The Two New Yorks, experts from government, the academy, and the non-profit sector examine aspects of an interaction that has a major impact on the performance of state and city institutions. The analyses presented here explore current state-city strategies for handling such troubling policy areas as education, health care, and housing. Attention is also given to important contextual factors such as economic and demographic trends, and to structural features such s the political framework, relationships with the national government, and the system of public finance. Despite its uniquely large scope, the drama of the new New Yorks parallels or presages issues faced by virtually all large cities and their states. This unprecedented study makes a vital contribution in an era of declining federal aid and pressing urban need.
[more]