Since 2008, support for effective fiscal stimulus has been premised on the belief in the existence of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of what became popularly known as ― shovel-ready projects. These infrastructure construction and improvement projects would simultaneously lower...

The federal government widely promoted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA), more commonly called the “stimulus package,” as a means to help states balance theirbudgets for the 2010 fiscal year amid decreasing tax revenues. The ARRA allocated $140 billion to help states' budgets...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted an extraordinarily high human toll throughout the country, imposing an almost unfathomable strain on its healthcare infrastructure and vast losses in terms of economic growth and employment. The failures of the federal government in its response to the pandemic...

The Millennium Challenge Account's (MCA) focus on results and creating incentives for developing countries to enact good policy continues to hold promise for a well-needed change in government-driven international development assistance. The continued success of the MCA will depend on the...

In the aftermath of natural disaster, a speedy and efficient recovery is crucial for socio-economic redevelopment. Political actors have at their disposal a variety of instruments, which can either support rapid and effective rebuilding through making clear and credible commitments to rules of...

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina posed an unprecedented set of challenges to formal and informal systems of disaster response and recovery. Informed by the Virginia School of Political Economy, the contributors to this study critically examine the public policy environment that led to both successes...