Abstract: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected state budgets? Using a quarterly panel of states between 1994 and 2019, we estimate how changes in employment affect tax revenues. We find that a one percentage point (pp) rise in employment is associated with a 1.56pp rise in total tax revenue,...

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected state budgets? Using a quarterly panel of states between 1994 and 2019, we estimate how changes in employment affect tax revenues. We find that a one percentage point (pp) rise in employment is associated with a 1.56pp rise in total tax revenue, which is...

We expect effective state institutions to matter in a country's ability to respond to crises. Yet notably in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, what has stood out in simple global snapshots is that wealthier countries with stronger institutions have had the highest numbers of cases and...

The United States provides a classic example of a bottom-up system of federalism. It was created in 1787 when representatives of the then 13 colonies convened to ratify a constitution under which both the central government and the states would be sovereign entities. Within certain...

Pensions are important to government employees. In the United States, some states fund almost 100 percent of the present value of future pension obligations; while in other states, the funding is substantially lacking. Results of this study show that states with lower state expenditures per...