Description
Book SynopsisIn this book on new fiscal approaches, nineteen experts examine topics ranging from constitutional reform and debt fatigue to fiscal rules and zero-based budgeting. Together, these contributions inform a multifaceted, nuanced argument for the need to formalize spending restraint and redefine state debt to include unfunded liabilities. Scholars will find the book useful as a reference tool explaining how rules-based fiscal policy is used to address debt fatigue and unsustainable spending growth. Legislators and practitioners will find the book useful as a reference source in designing and simulating second generation fiscal rules, and educators will find the book helpful for its close analysis of policies in representative states such as Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, and California.
Trade ReviewThe analyses in this volume are applicable to all levels of government, especially for difficult conceptual issues, e.g. recognition of unfunded liabilities, right-sizing budget stabilization funds, regulatory budgeting, asset/liability valuation, and design of the essential budget constraint.
-- Marvin Phaup, George Mason University
Table of ContentsPart I State Debt and Fiscal Stabilization
Chapter 1 State Debt and Liabilities: A Holistic Approach
Chapter 2 U.S. State Debt Defaults and Constitutional Reform in Historical Perspective
Chapter 3 Pension Liability Stress for State Governments
Chapter 4 Preparing State Finances for a Time of Crisis
Chapter 5 Debt Fatigue in the States: Red States, Blue States, and Zombie States
Part II State Fiscal Institutions
Chapter 6 Budget Stabilization Funds
Chapter 7 Anti-Aid Provisions in State Constitutions
Chapter 8 Competition, Networks, and Public-Private Partnerships: Contributions to State Governance
Chapter 9 Extending Zero-Based Budgeting to Zero-Based Regulation
Part III Fiscal Federalism
Chapter 10 Government Growth, Institutional Erosion, and the Fiscal Squeeze: Nebraska as a Case Study
Chapter 11 Fiscal Federalism and State Budgeting
Chapter 12 Give People a Vote That Counts, and They Will Vote for Fiscal Responsibility
Chapter 13 Florida’s Fiscal Conservatism
