State and Local

Research

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.	Delaware's Public Employees' Retirement System: A Complete and Transparent Accounting Eileen Norcross \| Feb 05, 2013 The sustainability of public sector pension plans is an issue of great fiscal concern for state and local governments in the United States. According to government reports, state public sector pension plans confront a total unfunded liability of $842 billion. Underfunding of this magnitude presents a serious fiscal problem for individual governments and will require a growing amount of budgetary resources to fund benefit promises to retired workers.
State Capitalism and the Rent-Seeking Conjecture Paul Dragos Aligica, \| Nov 01, 2012 The notion that state capitalism (an economic system “in which the state functions as the leading economic actor and uses markets primarily for political gain”) is a new form of capitalism emerging in the global arena has been recently advanced by several authors. This paper explores the problem of the nature of this system in the light of these claims to novelty.	Government Streamlining Commissions: A Methodology for Measuring Effectiveness Emily Washington, Carmine Scavo \| Oct 15, 2012 This paper proposes a methodology for evaluating the operation and success of state government streamlining commissions. These commissions—typically appointed by governors or state legislatures—became increasingly popular in the last decade as a way to identify potential savings in state government by reducing redundancies and increasing efficiencies in state spending. Such changes contribute to creating a more business-friendly environment in states resulting in increased state competitiveness in economic development.
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.

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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.	Public Interest Comment on the Draft 2010 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall \| Jul 06, 2010 As always, OMB has produced a very thorough report based on the instructions provided in the Regulatory-Right-to Know Act. Nevertheless, it is time to re-examine this report to see if it can be made…
Crowdsourcing Accountability: How to Prevent Stimulus Waste and Fraud Jerry Brito \| Mar 20, 2009 Senior Research Fellow Jerry Brito presents his ideas on transparency in the stimulus bill in this testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government…	Transparency and Accountability in Louisiana Maurice P. McTigue \| Nov 28, 2007

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Research Summaries & Toolkits

A Comparison of Indices that Rank State Economic Competitiveness Emily Washington \| Dec 20, 2011 Several public policy organizations have published studies that rank state economic competitiveness. This piece looks at the overlap between three indices and draws lessons for state policymakers.	State Government Streamlining Commissions: Ten Factors for Success Maurice P. McTigue, Emily Washington, Daniel M. Rothschild \| Dec 20, 2011 This paper draws on the experiences of government streamlining commissions in Louisiana and Virginia to craft recommendations for designing effective commissions.
Do Intergovernmental Grants Create Ratchets in State and Local Taxes? George R. Crowley, \| Sep 17, 2010 Every dollar in temporary federal grants leads to 40 cents of tax increases. Economists have long suggested the existence of a “flypaper effect,” wherein federal money given to states prompts…

Speeches & Presentations

Pensions in Peril: How Municipalities Are Defusing This Fiscal Time Bomb Eileen Norcross \| Oct 25, 2012 Cities across the United States are facing $7 trillion in outstanding pension liabilities. This conference, part of the Anton/Lippitt Conference on Urban Affairs at Brown University, shed light on how municipalities are addressing this financial challenge.	Smart Regulation and Competition Policy in Electric and Telecommunications Markets Jerry Ellig \| Jan 14, 2010 Jerry Ellig participated in panel discussion before Texas policy makers in Austin, Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation on the future of the Texas Public Utility…
The Effect of Transparency on Ethics, Honor & Results in Government Maurice P. McTigue \| Feb 08, 2008 Maurice McTigue speaks to the World Trade Center in New Orleans regarding transparency in government, and its importance in assuring sustainable economic and social development.

Expert Commentary

There's Nothing Fair About an Internet Sales Tax U.S. News and World Report By Nita Ghei \| May 06, 2013 Just a few years ago, retail giant Amazon primarily stood on the sidelines of the debate over federal legislation – dubbed the Main Street Fairness Act – to require online retailers to collect sales taxes. But now Amazon is front and center supporting the current iteration of the bill wending its way through Congress. Amazon's support aside, the tax revenues that states may be able to extract would be far dwarfed by the damage the legislation inflicts on growth, innovation and competition, and by further entrenching cronyism in our already troubled economy.	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.

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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

Matthew Mitchell

Matthew Mitchell is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the lead scholar on the Project for the Study of American Capitalism. His primary research interests include economic freedom and economic growth, public choice economics, and the economics of government-granted privileges to businesses.

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.

Maurice P. McTigue

Maurice McTigue is vice president for outreach at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is director of the Mercatus Center's Government Accountability Project and a member of its Spending and Budget Initiative and State and Local Policy Project.

William Ruger

William P. Ruger is an assistant professor in the political science department at Texas State University. He has been an affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University since 2008.

Jason Sorens

Jason Sorens is an assistant professor in the political science department at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). He has been an affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University since 2008. …

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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

Veronique De Rugy Discusses her Research on the Defense Multiplier on WRVA

Veronique de Rugy | May 21, 2013

Veronique De Rugy Discusses her Research on the Defense Multiplier on WRVA

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Recent Events

Dr. Yandle's Quarterly Economic Update: October 2012

Please join the Mercatus Center's Capitol Hill Campus and Professor Bruce Yandle for an update on the state of the national economy. Dr. Yandle is the Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Mercatus Center and Dean Emeritus of Clemson College of Business and Behavioral Sciences.

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Books

Freedom in the 50 States, 2013 Edition

William Ruger, Jason Sorens | Mar 28, 2013

Now in its third edition, Freedom in the 50 States presents a completely revised and updated ranking of the American states based on how their policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory, and personal realms.

More Media Clippings

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.	Delaware's Public Employees' Retirement System: A Complete and Transparent Accounting Eileen Norcross \| Feb 05, 2013 The sustainability of public sector pension plans is an issue of great fiscal concern for state and local governments in the United States. According to government reports, state public sector pension plans confront a total unfunded liability of $842 billion. Underfunding of this magnitude presents a serious fiscal problem for individual governments and will require a growing amount of budgetary resources to fund benefit promises to retired workers.
State Capitalism and the Rent-Seeking Conjecture Paul Dragos Aligica, \| Nov 01, 2012 The notion that state capitalism (an economic system “in which the state functions as the leading economic actor and uses markets primarily for political gain”) is a new form of capitalism emerging in the global arena has been recently advanced by several authors. This paper explores the problem of the nature of this system in the light of these claims to novelty.	Government Streamlining Commissions: A Methodology for Measuring Effectiveness Emily Washington, Carmine Scavo \| Oct 15, 2012 This paper proposes a methodology for evaluating the operation and success of state government streamlining commissions. These commissions—typically appointed by governors or state legislatures—became increasingly popular in the last decade as a way to identify potential savings in state government by reducing redundancies and increasing efficiencies in state spending. Such changes contribute to creating a more business-friendly environment in states resulting in increased state competitiveness in economic development.
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.

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.	Public Interest Comment on the Draft 2010 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall \| Jul 06, 2010 As always, OMB has produced a very thorough report based on the instructions provided in the Regulatory-Right-to Know Act. Nevertheless, it is time to re-examine this report to see if it can be made…
Crowdsourcing Accountability: How to Prevent Stimulus Waste and Fraud Jerry Brito \| Mar 20, 2009 Senior Research Fellow Jerry Brito presents his ideas on transparency in the stimulus bill in this testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government…	Transparency and Accountability in Louisiana Maurice P. McTigue \| Nov 28, 2007

There's Nothing Fair About an Internet Sales Tax U.S. News and World Report By Nita Ghei \| May 06, 2013 Just a few years ago, retail giant Amazon primarily stood on the sidelines of the debate over federal legislation – dubbed the Main Street Fairness Act – to require online retailers to collect sales taxes. But now Amazon is front and center supporting the current iteration of the bill wending its way through Congress. Amazon's support aside, the tax revenues that states may be able to extract would be far dwarfed by the damage the legislation inflicts on growth, innovation and competition, and by further entrenching cronyism in our already troubled economy.	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.