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...

Balanced-budget rules alone are not sufficient to ensure states’ long-term fiscal health.

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

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

The recession that began in late 2007 severely reduced state tax revenue and increased demand for many public services. In the near term, institutional and political factors limit the options states have for cutting spending and raising taxes. Aid to states in the federal economic program is...

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...