For the fourth time since 1997, a web-based survey of fiscal health was administered to administrative officials of Wisconsin cities and villages during the summer of 2010. A total of 195 municipalities responded to the survey. Of those administrative officials responding, 53 percent reported...

Using a participatory research design structure we examine (1) historical trends, (2) economic clusters, and (3) the economic contribution of water dependent industries on Portage County, Wisconsin. A research team composed of nine members of the community along, with the authors of this study,...

Wisconsin county government officials are facing an almost perfect "fiscal storm." Since 1993, county governments have been operating under property tax rate restrictions and over the past few years levy limits as well--a primary source of locally generated revenues. The structural deficits...

Increasingly discussions of what can be done to improve Wisconsin's economy look to international markets as a potential source of growth for Wisconsin goods and services. For the most recent available data Wisconsin's exports amount to almost $22 billion annually, with the majority of that...

As part of a comprehensive strategic planning effort undertaken by the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension Service (UWEX-CES), a web-based survey of state specialists was undertaken in the fall of 2007. This manuscript represents the "reporting-out" of the survey results....

This report provides detail on the construction of an index of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) for the 50 US states for the time-frame 1969 to 2005. Separate annual indices are constructed for TELs on state and on local governments. The goal of constructing the indices is to provide a...

The popularity of public investment in local bio-fuels production as a rural development initiative is growing. An important consideration in determining the level of public support for a plant's development, however, is accurately measuring public externalities resulting from plant activity....

In this study we explore shifting patterns in crime across Wisconsin counties between 1990 and 2000. Building on the three core ecological theories of criminology including strain/anomie, social disorganization and economic rational choice theories we hypothesis that socioeconomic well-being can...