Budgets

Research

Beyond Unemployment: Pennsylvania's Sluggish Labor Market Keith Hall, Robert Greene \| Jun 12, 2013 While the Great Recession had a moderately less severe impact on Pennsylvania than on the nation as a whole, the state’s recovery since the height of the recession has been slower than the national average. Sluggish economic growth is slowing the pace of the state’s labor market recovery.	The Economic Situation, March 2013 Bruce Yandle \| Mar 01, 2013 There was only one lane open as I made my trip to Atlanta; the other three were blocked with those unhappy yellow and black make-believe barrels used by the highway folks. Traffic flow was constrained by efforts to repair potholes and broken pavement. We in the slow lane had little choice in the matter. Instead of 70, we were slowed to 20 miles per hour. We had to accept our fate, or find another route at the next exit.
Medicaid Reform and Emergency Room Visits: Evidence from West Virginia's Medicaid Redesign , Tami Gurley-Calvez, Genevieve M. Kenney, Kosali Simon and Douglas Wissoker \| Oct 02, 2012 We use an innovative redesign of West Virginia’s Medicaid that took place from 2007 to 2010 to estimate the causal impact of incentives within Medicaid to encourage better health and health care behaviors and reduce emergency room (ER) visits.	The Economic Situation, September 2012 Bruce Yandle \| Sep 11, 2012 The U.S. economy has not been healthy since 2001 when 9/11 pushed the country into a recession. As the accompanying data tell us, real GDP growth has risen to meet the long-term average of 3.11 percent just once since 2001, and that was in 2004. The combination of wars, financial collapse, natural disasters, and political games has taken a heavy toll on economic growth. No one is talking about 3 percent or better growth anytime in the foreseeable future. But it’s not just about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about something deep in the economy.
The Fiscal Health of the States Jeffrey Miron, Robert Sarvis \| Feb 13, 2012 This paper examines the fiscal health of the states, focusing on two worrisome characteristics: an understatement of unfunded pension liabilities and ever-increasing expenditures, driven primarily by health care costs.	Rhode Island's Local Pension Debts Eileen Norcross, Benjamin J. VanMetre \| Nov 08, 2011 This working paper shows how Rhode Island’s state and municipal pension systems face large and growing unfunded pension liabilities and provides recommendations for reform.

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Testimony & Comments

A Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution Matthew Mitchell \| Oct 04, 2011 Matthew Mitchell testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary about state governments' experiences with Balanced Budget Amendments.	The Stimulus: Two Years Later Russell Roberts \| Feb 16, 2011 Russell Roberts testified before the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform on the second anniversary of the stimulus.
State and Municipal Debt: The Coming Crisis? Eileen Norcross \| Feb 09, 2011 Eileen Norcross testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the looming municipal debt crisis.

Expert Commentary

Californians Stifled By Lack of Freedoms San Diego Union-Tribune By William Ruger, Jason Sorens \| Apr 08, 2013 If you’re finding it harder and harder to live in California, you’re not alone.	Freedom and Prosperity: Some Comparative Historical Reflections on State Policies and Performance Pileus By Jason Sorens \| Apr 08, 2013 States like California and New York are living off the accumulated capital of past economic freedom. Now that the political tide has turned decisively against economic freedom in those states, they are shedding people and jobs and growing more slowly than the rest of the country. Places like the Dakotas, Carolinas, Oklahoma, and Texas, which have reversed their anti-market policies of the past, represent America’s dynamic economic future.
Study of States Shows Freedom Works Best Washington Examiner By Veronique de Rugy \| Apr 05, 2013 People follow jobs, and jobs follow freedom. That's one of the main results from the third and much improved edition of the Mercatus Center's "Freedom in the Fifty States: Index of Personal and Economic Freedom."	States Limiting Freedom Pushes People Out USA Today By William Ruger, Jason Sorens \| Mar 28, 2013 Google's auto-complete feature has long been a source of amusement, but as a recent feature on BuzzFeed makes clear, it also says a lot about what it's like to live and work in different states in the country.
Motor City Can’t Drive Itself Anymore U.S. News and World Report By Emily Washington \| Mar 05, 2013 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced that he would assign an emergency financial manager to Detroit, stating that the city cannot feasibly pay back its $14 billion in debt and long-term liabilities. The governor asserted that local policymakers have failed to provide basic services that Michigan municipalities are required to provide their residents.	States’ Real Debt Burden: $4 Trillion National Review Online By Veronique de Rugy \| Aug 29, 2012 The Washington Examiner’s Conn Carroll points to a new study showing that the states have accumulated $4 trillion in “debt,” when you consider their unfunded liabilities and other fiscal shortfalls. Add that number to our $11 trillion federal debt held by the public and our almost $5 trillion in intra-governmental debt, and you just might start worrying about this country’s ability to pay its bills.

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Charts

The Fiscal Interplay Between Federal, State, and Local Governments

Using data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the following two charts place the post-1960s explosion in federal grants to state and local governments in perspective.

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Experts

Eileen Norcross

Eileen Norcross is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her primary research interests include fiscal federalism and institutions, state and local governments, and economic development.

Emily Washington

Emily Washington is a Policy Research Manager for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She manages the Spending and Budget Initiative and State and Local Policy Project portfolios.

Videos

Optional Medicaid Expansion: Considerations Facing the States

Charles Blahous | May 14, 2013

Veronique de Rugy and Will Ruger Discuss Freedom in the 50 States on Stossel

Veronique de Rugy, William Ruger | May 03, 2013

Podcasts

Jason Sorens Discusses Freedom in Virginia on Virginia Public Radio

Jason Sorens | April 23, 2013

Jason Sorens Discusses Freedom in Virginia on Virginia Public Radio based on the 2013 edition of Freedom in the 50 States.

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Recent Events

State Budget Basics

Mercatus Center budget scholars will share their academic research and practical knowledge with local thought leaders in a half-day seminar hosted by the Bluegrass Institute in Lexington, Kentucky.

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More Media Clippings

Beyond Unemployment: Pennsylvania's Sluggish Labor Market Keith Hall, Robert Greene \| Jun 12, 2013 While the Great Recession had a moderately less severe impact on Pennsylvania than on the nation as a whole, the state’s recovery since the height of the recession has been slower than the national average. Sluggish economic growth is slowing the pace of the state’s labor market recovery.	The Economic Situation, March 2013 Bruce Yandle \| Mar 01, 2013 There was only one lane open as I made my trip to Atlanta; the other three were blocked with those unhappy yellow and black make-believe barrels used by the highway folks. Traffic flow was constrained by efforts to repair potholes and broken pavement. We in the slow lane had little choice in the matter. Instead of 70, we were slowed to 20 miles per hour. We had to accept our fate, or find another route at the next exit.
Medicaid Reform and Emergency Room Visits: Evidence from West Virginia's Medicaid Redesign , Tami Gurley-Calvez, Genevieve M. Kenney, Kosali Simon and Douglas Wissoker \| Oct 02, 2012 We use an innovative redesign of West Virginia’s Medicaid that took place from 2007 to 2010 to estimate the causal impact of incentives within Medicaid to encourage better health and health care behaviors and reduce emergency room (ER) visits.	The Economic Situation, September 2012 Bruce Yandle \| Sep 11, 2012 The U.S. economy has not been healthy since 2001 when 9/11 pushed the country into a recession. As the accompanying data tell us, real GDP growth has risen to meet the long-term average of 3.11 percent just once since 2001, and that was in 2004. The combination of wars, financial collapse, natural disasters, and political games has taken a heavy toll on economic growth. No one is talking about 3 percent or better growth anytime in the foreseeable future. But it’s not just about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about something deep in the economy.
The Fiscal Health of the States Jeffrey Miron, Robert Sarvis \| Feb 13, 2012 This paper examines the fiscal health of the states, focusing on two worrisome characteristics: an understatement of unfunded pension liabilities and ever-increasing expenditures, driven primarily by health care costs.	Rhode Island's Local Pension Debts Eileen Norcross, Benjamin J. VanMetre \| Nov 08, 2011 This working paper shows how Rhode Island’s state and municipal pension systems face large and growing unfunded pension liabilities and provides recommendations for reform.

Californians Stifled By Lack of Freedoms San Diego Union-Tribune By William Ruger, Jason Sorens \| Apr 08, 2013 If you’re finding it harder and harder to live in California, you’re not alone.	Freedom and Prosperity: Some Comparative Historical Reflections on State Policies and Performance Pileus By Jason Sorens \| Apr 08, 2013 States like California and New York are living off the accumulated capital of past economic freedom. Now that the political tide has turned decisively against economic freedom in those states, they are shedding people and jobs and growing more slowly than the rest of the country. Places like the Dakotas, Carolinas, Oklahoma, and Texas, which have reversed their anti-market policies of the past, represent America’s dynamic economic future.
Study of States Shows Freedom Works Best Washington Examiner By Veronique de Rugy \| Apr 05, 2013 People follow jobs, and jobs follow freedom. That's one of the main results from the third and much improved edition of the Mercatus Center's "Freedom in the Fifty States: Index of Personal and Economic Freedom."	States Limiting Freedom Pushes People Out USA Today By William Ruger, Jason Sorens \| Mar 28, 2013 Google's auto-complete feature has long been a source of amusement, but as a recent feature on BuzzFeed makes clear, it also says a lot about what it's like to live and work in different states in the country.
Motor City Can’t Drive Itself Anymore U.S. News and World Report By Emily Washington \| Mar 05, 2013 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced that he would assign an emergency financial manager to Detroit, stating that the city cannot feasibly pay back its $14 billion in debt and long-term liabilities. The governor asserted that local policymakers have failed to provide basic services that Michigan municipalities are required to provide their residents.	States’ Real Debt Burden: $4 Trillion National Review Online By Veronique de Rugy \| Aug 29, 2012 The Washington Examiner’s Conn Carroll points to a new study showing that the states have accumulated $4 trillion in “debt,” when you consider their unfunded liabilities and other fiscal shortfalls. Add that number to our $11 trillion federal debt held by the public and our almost $5 trillion in intra-governmental debt, and you just might start worrying about this country’s ability to pay its bills.

Mercatus Center

Budgets

Budgets

Research

Beyond Unemployment: Pennsylvania's Sluggish Labor Market

The Economic Situation, March 2013

Medicaid Reform and Emergency Room Visits: Evidence from West Virginia's Medicaid Redesign

The Economic Situation, September 2012

The Fiscal Health of the States

Rhode Island's Local Pension Debts

Testimony & Comments

A Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution

The Stimulus: Two Years Later

State and Municipal Debt: The Coming Crisis?

Expert Commentary

Californians Stifled By Lack of Freedoms

Freedom and Prosperity: Some Comparative Historical Reflections on State Policies and Performance

Study of States Shows Freedom Works Best

States Limiting Freedom Pushes People Out

Motor City Can’t Drive Itself Anymore

States’ Real Debt Burden: $4 Trillion

Charts

The Fiscal Interplay Between Federal, State, and Local Governments

Experts

Eileen Norcross

Emily Washington

Videos

Optional Medicaid Expansion: Considerations Facing the States

Veronique de Rugy and Will Ruger Discuss Freedom in the 50 States on Stossel

Podcasts

Jason Sorens Discusses Freedom in Virginia on Virginia Public Radio

Recent Events

State Budget Basics

Media Clippings

Moody’s Pension Proposal Paints a Starker Picture of Debt

Stretched Budgets, Rising Debts – Will Scranton be the Next to go Bankrupt?

Will GASB Changes Force Higher Contributions to Pensions?

Does the Government Really Need More Help Than the Private Sector?

Scott Walker, Chris Christie Deal with State Budget Realities