Revenue forecasting is one of the most critical and often difficult tasks in governmental budgeting. It is critical because it determines the parameters upon which the budget is based. It is difficult because many outside influences can impact revenue results and cause variances with the...

Measures of the value of public investments are critical inputs into the policy process, and aggregate production and cost functions have become the dominant methods of evaluating these benefits. This paper examines the limitations of these approaches in light of applied production and spatial...

In recent years, a growing number of scholars and policymakers have concluded that the federal government has become too large and powerful, intruding into affairs better handled by states and municipalities. Based on this premise, they have argued for a reduction in federal aid, the conversion...

Remarks at the Quarterly Regional Economic Press Briefing, New York City.

Since the founding of the Republic, Americans have engaged in “endless debate” about the division of fiscal and regulatory responsibilities among levels of government. The controversy has often involved the concomitant question of the optimal role of government as a whole. The issue has been...

There has been much talk in recent years of devolving powers and functions from the federal government to the states. Some observers even proclaim a “devolution revolution”, the result of which will be a more efficient and effective federal government and more robust and responsive states....