THE LONG-RUN ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF FEDERAL,STATE, AND LOCAL FISCAL POLICIES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS*

ABSTRACT. This paper uses new estimates of metropolitan factor demand and output supply functions to study how federal, state, and local fiscal policies affect metropolitan economies. We illustrate our work with findings for ten metropolitan areas in five states for changes in state corporate income taxes, local property taxes, the federal corporate income tax, an investment tax credit, interest rates, public capital stocks, output prices, and tax and regulatory policies affecting gross wages. It is clear from these simulations that a policy that is nominally the same everywhere will have repercussions that vary widely across regions and cities.     

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE REGULATORY STATE

It is well-established in various strands of historiography that the First World War was a formative phase in the evolution of the modern state. This article deals with the Danish case, in which the politics of neutrality made a previously unseen kind of economic regulation necessary. This led to a heated debate about the functions and role of the state, especially its role in economic life. On the one hand, the Social Liberals in government saw the great potential of economic regulations, and their experiences during the war confirmed their beliefs in the importance of a strong state in dealing with the problems of capitalism; on the other, liberals and conservatives began to voice strong criticism of this slide towards stronger state control. Hence different visions of the role of the state came to be the dividing line between Left and Right, and the ideologies of the liberal and conservative Right were redefined in direct opposition to socialism and economic regulation.     

CONTESTED BOUNDARIES: STATE POLICIES,FOREST CLASSIFICATIONS,AND DEFORESTATION IN THE GARHWAL HIMALAYAS

Prominent environmental scholars and activists in India have posited that environmental crises in the Indian Himalayas result primarily from adopting forestry practices that override local communities and argue that the region can be sustained only when the state allows local communities to practice indigenous forest management. This paper challenges those critiques: focusing on the Garhwal Himalayas, it shows that forestry practices involve contestation and negotiation between the state and local communities and argues that environmental scholars fail to recognize how particular classes have shaped forest use and management practices and played a central role in determining environmental sustainability for local communities.     

PUBLIC POLICIES FOR COMMUNITIES IN ECONOMIC CRISIS

The 1980's very likely will see a major restructuring of the nation's and the world economy. In the process industries and communities that were the growth centers of previous decades will experience economic crisis. This restructuring—presaged in this country by the decaying productivity of certain basic manufacturing industries—will mean that a number of places can no longer provide sufficient income or Jobs for their people nor maintain the quality of existing public amenities. As this process of disinvestment goes forward, these communities face the challenge of finding new economic and social roles, reducing the impacts of job losses, and maintaining the quality of life within severe fiscal limits.     

中国城市社区公共服务设施配置现状与规划实施研究

城市社区服务设施分为生活服务设施、市政设施和公共服务设施三大类。在统计分析了全国城市社区建设基本情况抽样调查数据之后,重点考察了全国城市社区服务设施的覆盖率、配建规模和居民的需求现状,得出我国城市社区公共服务设施相对其它两类设施更加供不应求的结论,参照建设部和北京市、上海市、武汉市等地的城市居住区公共服务设施的设计规范,结合各种相关因素,提出了我国城市社区公共服务设施规划指标和实施建议。