Were Fourth District Local Governments Ready for a Recession? How the Great Recession Influenced How Much They Save

Abstract

Did the Great Recession give local governments a better idea of how much savings they needed to weather another economic downturn? To find out, our economists studied financial statements from 25 cities and 25 counties in the Fourth District at two points in time: the most recent statements available and at the close of the 2007, just before the Great Recession.