This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. When states are in transition to a new local aid formula, the issue of whether and how to hold existing aid harmless poses a challenge. The authors show that some previous studies and the formulas...

Local governments in New England rely on state aid to finance the provision of essential public services. Yet in response to the recent and ongoing fiscal crisis, state governments across the region have cut local aid deeply, often by the same percentage in each community. This across-the-board...

We study the case of a Chinese industrial policy, implemented in Shanghai, that makes it mandatory for car manufacturers to share electro-mechanical performance and real time navigation data from their entire fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles with local and central government authorities....