This handbook evaluates the persistent problems in the fiscal systems of state and local governments and what can be done to solve them. Each chapter provides a description of the discipline area, examines major developments in policy practices and research, and opines on future prospects.

The paper discusses the fiscal impact of the Great Recession of 2007-08 on state and local governments in the United States. It documents the sharp decline in tax revenue and discusses how states responded to close the budget gaps in order to obey the balanced budget provisions. It highligts the...

Preface / Joseba Agirreazkuenaga -- Small states in a time of big crises: Nevada, Ireland, and the Basque autonomous community -- During the Great recession / Elliott Parker -- Resilience of cooperatives in times of crisis : are mondragon's strategies in coping with crisis still a competitive...

Fiscal consolidation in Greek and German local governments differs for many reasons. While some German local governments experienced a long period of austerity, driven by economic decline and federal and state measures, the global financial crisis and "troika" programme caused the need for harsh...

The paper deals with the problem of municipalities’ fiscal distress and its diagnosis. The study examines the key financial indicators of Polish municipalities located in the West Pomeranian Region and uses them to build an aggregate measurement to identify the level of these municipalities’...