State & Local Government eJournal最新文献

{"title":"Moneyball for State Regulators","authors":"E. Glaeser, C. Sunstein","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2418306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2418306","url":null,"abstract":"For over thirty years, Republican and Democratic presidents have required executive agencies to assess the costs and benefits of significant regulations, and to proceed only if the benefits justify the costs (to the extent permitted by law). The goals of the resulting processes have been to constrain unjustified regulation, to promote interagency coordination, and to allow a degree of centralized management of what can be a cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus. Unfortunately, state and local governments sometimes impose costly requirements, undisciplined by careful analysis of their likely consequences. New institutions at the state level, producing such analysis, could be highly beneficial, replacing processes sometimes driven by anecdotes, dogmas, emotions, and interest-group pressures with a form of Regulatory Moneyball.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"259 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116224976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconceptualizing Recognition Uniformity","authors":"Kevin L. Cope","doi":"10.1163/9789004278929_011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004278929_011","url":null,"abstract":"An often-cited basis for implementing a federalized foreign judgments recognition-and-enforcement regime is to create predictability for litigants by achieving uniformity. But the debate over federalization has largely misconceptualized uniformity, focusing on the nonuniformity of state statutory regimes, rather than outcome uniformity, that is, past litigant and court behavior. And there is little evidence that the federalized alternative would produce significantly more outcome uniformity than the current state-by-state approach. Therefore, while federalization may have other advantages, the uniformity justification currently lacks adequate theoretical and empirical support. Accordingly, the practical consequences of choosing one approach over the other may be less significant than much of the current discourse suggests.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129972964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"States as Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Gatekeepers: Federalism, Specific Authorization, and Protection of Municipal Economic Health","authors":"Michael S. Frost","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2390758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2390758","url":null,"abstract":"Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code provides relief exclusively to financially distressed state-based municipalities. Once a debtor municipality meets eligibility requirements however, Chapter 9 operates advantageously to debtors due to the constitutional protection of state sovereignty. Though Chapter 9 filings have historically been less frequent in comparison to other Code chapters, as Chapter 9 filing quantities and outstanding debt numbers continue to increase, the macro-level economic impact of these filings also continues to raise concerns. Eligibility for Chapter 9 access requires debtors to be \"specifically authorized\" by state law to access the federal bankruptcy system. Thus, each State operates as its own gatekeeper to Chapter 9. Because of this, States bear the responsibility of balancing the economic impact of municipal bankruptcy with the ultimate needs of individual municipalities to find relief from financial distress. This piece advances the idea that the optimal balance is found through States implementing statutory express authorization to Chapter 9 as well as an additional conditional authorization system based on the Political Model. Additionally, this piece provides a breakdown of how each of the 50 states handles the Chapter 9 specific authorization requirement as well as a comprehensive analysis of each Conditional Authorization system currently being implemented.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130443591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adjusting the Volume: Private‐Activity Municipal Bonds and the Variation in the Volume Cap","authors":"S. Whitaker","doi":"10.1111/pbaf.12030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbaf.12030","url":null,"abstract":"States allocate authority, under a federally‐imposed volume cap, to issue tax‐exempt bonds for financing private activities including industrial development, utilities, and low‐income housing. The generosity of the cap varies widely between states. This paper analyzes the relationships between the caps, political characteristics of the states, and the authorizations to competing constituencies. In per capita terms, each additional dollar of volume cap is associated with an additional $0.49 to $0.66 of borrowing per year. Mortgage revenue bonds and student loan bonds are the most responsive to variation in the cap. There is some evidence of political influence on the allocation process.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130874248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fiscal Vulnerabilities and Risks from Local Government Finance in China","authors":"Y. S. Zhang, S. Barnett","doi":"10.5089/9781484349953.001.A001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484349953.001.A001","url":null,"abstract":"China weathered the global financial crisis better than most, thanks to a large and timely stimulus. This stimulus, however, was mainly in the form of off-budget infrastructure spending and thus not visible in the headline fiscal data. We construct a time series for the augmented fiscal deficit and debt - augmented to include off-budget activity - that better illustrates the counter-cyclical role of fiscal policy. The results also show that the augmented fiscal deficit and debt are both considerably higher than the headline government data suggest. Nonetheless, at around 45 percent of GDP, the augmented debt is still at a manageable level.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132554101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Walking a Tightrope: Are U.S. State and Local Governments on a Fiscally Sustainable Path?","authors":"Bo Zhao, David Coyne","doi":"10.1111/pbaf.12168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbaf.12168","url":null,"abstract":"This paper develops a new measure of state and local fiscal sustainability called the \"trend gap,\" which is based on socioeconomic and other fundamental factors and removes the short-term influence of the business cycle. The paper estimates the trend gap and finds that the nationwide per capita trend gap has been on a growing path over the past three decades, a different conclusion than found in previous studies. Social insurance and income maintenance programs have played a major role in the growth of the trend gap, while pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) plans have become increasingly important in driving it up. In addition, there are large and growing disparities in the trend gap across states.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"448 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134311714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Empowering the Consumer: A Discussion on Minnesota's Dual Agency Statute and a Proposed Solution that Puts the Consumer First","authors":"Micheal Fleming","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2417744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2417744","url":null,"abstract":"Many Americans across this county strive to achieve the dream of home ownership. The obstacles that stand in the way of achieving that dream can be staggering and unique to the persons pursuing home ownership. To a certain extent, it is expected that there be some proverbial hoops of fire to jump through before finally turning that key to a new home. What the consumer does not expect is to find a statutory scheme that creates unnecessary obstacles, such as a broker with a divided loyalty and information barriers, at the expense of the public. This statutory scheme is enshrined in Minnesota Statutes, section 82. The statute provides for standardized disclosure and notices regarding the agency relationship between the broker/salesperson and the consumer — in all there are three required notices. Nor does the consumer expect the state to favor a brokerage’s bottom line over a consumer’s right to fully understand all the relevant aspects of the transaction. Yet in Minnesota, that is precisely what happens. All too often, a typical residential real estate transaction involves a broker with a divided loyalty — to buyer, to seller, and to self. The average consumer likely understands that an agent, or a party acting on behalf of a seller or buyer, owes a significant duty of loyalty to the represented consumer. Thus, when a broker represents both the buyer and the seller in a realty transaction, the consumer will likely sense that something is amiss. The interests of a seller and a buyer are fundamentally at odds. The seller will want to sell the property at the highest price possible, disclaim every warranty and representation permitted by law, adhere only to the minimum disclosure requirements, keep confidential information confidential, and have an aggressive representative to negotiate with the other side. The buyer on the other hand will want the price lowered as much as possible, obtain as many warranties and representations as possible above the statutory disclosure requirements, maintain confidential information secret, and secure aggressive representation to advance the buyer’s other interests in negotiations. The consumer may be surprised, however, to find that a real estate agent is permitted to represent both sides to the transaction. What is not surprising is that such representation is the source of many disputes. Despite the fact that this dual relationship is rife with troubles, the consumer will often find him or herself subject to it. This form of agency is called dual agency. Minnesota courts recognize the conflict of interest as an inherent one, yet they consider it an acceptable conflict so long as the parties can agree to it. Even though the required disclosure has been increasingly limited. But the question remains, to what extent the parties actually understand the implications of this conflict? It seems absurd that an informed consumer would consent to this kind of conflict in what is likely to be the largest and most significant","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"83 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121176583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"It Takes a Federalist Village: A Revitalized Property Tax as the Linchpin for Stable, Effective K-12 Public Education Funding","authors":"Mildred Wigfall Robinson","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2327558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2327558","url":null,"abstract":"Undeniable intra-state, inter-district disparities in funding public K-12 education were not explicitly litigated in the federal courts prior to San Antonio v. Rodriguez. The plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Brown cases were quite strategic in presenting the case against the Topeka School Board as lead case; the Topeka public school facility was structurally equal to public schools attended by Linda Brown’s white counterparts. With funding inequities unavailable as an issue, The United States Supreme Court unequivocally declared in that case that “segregated schools are inherently unequal.” It was not until 1973 that disparate funding was addressed directly by the Court. In San Antonio v. Rodriguez, the last federal case explicitly challenging the constitutionality of funding disparities driven by principle reliance on the ad valorem property tax, the Court held that a school-financing system based on local property taxes was not an unconstitutional violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. Though the funding disparities between the two school Texas districts were stark, the plaintiffs in that case unsuccessfully argued that education is a fundamental right under the US Constitution and that a school funding system predicated upon local property taxes that impacted lower income groups created a suspect classification subject to strict scrutiny there under. From that point forward, state supreme courts became the fora in which such questions were litigated with both notable successes and equally notable failures. Whatever the litigation outcome, (and predicated on language in state constitutions that almost without exception guaranteed a public education to state residents) observable state level changes in the allocation of responsibility for funding public education have followed in Rodriguez’s wake. From heavy reliance by local school districts on local property taxes for funding, increasing state participation in financial support for public education opened state tills funded primarily through retail sales taxes and state individual taxes. In so doing, funding from property tax revenues that had proven relatively stable though inadequate because of great variations in the value of underlying tax rolls, was supplemented and in at least one instance replaced by state funding (Hawaii). This more explicitly shared responsibility has had mixed results; state funding has resulted in increased support during periods of general economic expansion but has declined during recessionary periods. Recent data show a general national pattern of reduced state support dating from the inception of the recession of 2008. In short, increased funding has proven unstable because of the greater comparative revenue elasticity of state revenue sources vis-à-vis that of the property tax. Funding for public education must be stabilized. Because public education is such a huge undertaking, all levels of government must play a role in achieving that fi","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"122 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127647867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coalition Governments, Cabinet Size, and the Common Pool Problem: Evidence from the German States","authors":"T. Baskaran","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2292992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2292992","url":null,"abstract":"The theoretical literature on common pool problems in fiscal policy suggests that government fragmentation increases public expenditures. In parliamentary regimes, the fragmentation hypothesis refers to (i) coalition governments and (ii) cabinet size. This paper explores the effect of coalition governments and cabinet size on public expenditures with panel data covering all 16 German States over the period 1975-2010. Identification is facilitated by the large within-variation in the incidence of coalition governments and the size of the cabinet in the German States. In addition, I exploit a feature of state electoral laws to construct a credible instrument for the likelihood of coalition governments.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122003103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Financial Education and Choice in State Public Pension Systems","authors":"Julie R. Agnew, Josh Hurwitz","doi":"10.3386/W18907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/W18907","url":null,"abstract":"As more and more public pension systems are shifting away from a defined benefit only framework, the complexity of the financial decisions facing public employees is increasing. This raises some concerns about the financial literacy of participants and their ability to make informed decisions. While surveys addressing financial education in private plans are available, little is known about what types of education and advice are offered in public plans. This paper fills this gap by presenting new results from the first National Public Pension Plan Financial Education Survey. The paper focuses specifically on primary defined contribution and hybrid plans. The results indicate that some form of education or advice is offered by every surveyed plan and that the sponsoring entity is actively involved in the development of the programs. However, it appears that legal uncertainties related to advice and education may be a problem for a few plans. In addition, more rigorous evaluation methods to test programs are needed. The paper concludes with suggestions for areas of future research.","PeriodicalId":368113,"journal":{"name":"State & Local Government eJournal","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129808995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}