As growing numbers of their work force approach retirement age, state and local governments are taking a hard look at their pension funds to see if they are prepared for this exodus.> This one-day conference brought together policymakers and experts to weigh the state of these funds.

What are the cyclical properties of U.S. state and local government fiscal policy? The budget surplus of local and, in particular, state governments is procyclical, smoothing disposable income and consumption of state residents. This happens over both short- and medium-term horizons. Procyclical...

Opinion polls show a big gap between the public's desire for services and its willingness to pay for those services

Persistent budget shortfalls have created subtle spending shifts and a kitchen-sink mentality to close budget gaps without cutting services

State and local government spending has steadily increased across the district, and states have unique spending priorities

States and their local governments vary both in their needs to provide basic public services and in their abilities to raise revenues to pay for those services. A joint study by the Tax Policy Center and the New England Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston uses the Representative...

An examination of the costs and benefits of cutbacks in federal aid to state and local governments during the 1980s, concluding that less reliance on federal funds may result in long-term benefits.