THE AMBIGUITIES AND LIMITS OF FISCAL STRAIN INDICATORS

Several attempts have been made to develop indicators of the fiscal strain conditions of cities. These indicators are meant to represent the existence of conditions which will strain tax bases and produce outmigration from cities with high strain. The indicators which have been developed, however, are not valid representations of what they claim to be. This essay presents the reasons for this assessment, and suggests an alternative approach to assessing fiscal strain.