SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

PAI 735 / ECN 635
State and Local Government Finance
Professor Yinger
Spring 2020

Professor Yinger
426 Eggers Hall
Phone: 315-443-9062
Email: joyinger@syr.edu
https://joyinger.expressions.syr.edu/

Class Location: 111 Maxwell Hall
Class Time: 12:45 – 2:05 MW
Office Hours: 11:00 – 12:00 MW or by appointment

Class Lecture Slides

Course Overview and Requirements

This course examines the expenditure and revenue decisions of state and local governments and fiscal aspects of intergovernmental relations.  The principal objectives of the course are to describe the fiscal institutions of the U.S. federal system; to develop analytical tools, primarily drawn from microeconomics, for understanding the behavior of voters, public officials, businesses, and other actors affected by state and local policy; and to provide tools that will help students make fiscal policy decisions.  The course is designed for students who plan to be practitioners, that is, who plan to make decisions about state and local expenditures and revenues or about intergovernmental aid.  The emphasis of the course is therefore more on institutions and on applications than on the fine points of theory, and students will be given many opportunities to apply their analytical skills to actual policy problems.

As described in detail in the attached class schedule and reading list, the class will cover the following topics:

1. State and Local Government Expenditures
2. State and Local Government Revenues
3. Financing State and Local Capital Projects
4. Fiscal Aspects of State and Local Economic Development
5. Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations

Time & Place

The class will meet from 12:45-2:05 on Mondays and Wednesdays in 111 Maxwell Hall.

Class Format

Class sessions will consist of a mix of lectures, case discussions, and student presentations.  Student participation is encouraged in all classes, and, as discussed below, required in some.

This class will make extensive use of the internet. Students should expect to make frequent use of the professor’s web site.  Many issues in state and local public finance are covered in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/). The first few articles you read each month are free and The Times contains a wealth of information about state and local public finance. Other potentially useful sites include:

Education Finance and Accountability Program http://cpr.maxwell.syr.edu/efap/index.html

Education Week http://www.edweek.com/

Government Finance Officers Association http://www.gfoa.org

International City/County Management Association  http://www.icma.org/go.cfm

National Conference of State Legislators http://www.ncsl.org/research/fiscal-policy/federal-tax-reform-and-the-states.aspx

National Education Access Network http://www.schoolfunding.info

National Governor’s Association http://www.nga.org/

National League of Cities  http://www.nlc.org/

National Tax Association  http://www.ntanet.org/

The Rockefeller Institute at SUNY Albany http://www.rockinst/org/

U.S. Census of Governments http://www.census.gov/govs/

U.S. Conference of Mayors http://www.usmayors.org/

Prerequisite
The course is designed for students with previous exposure to microeconomic analysis.  Some background in statistics and regression analysis is also desirable, but not required.  Any student who has taken ECN 601 or PAIA 723 with a grade of B or better may take this course.  Other students must receive the instructor’s permission in order to enroll.

Assignments
All students are required to (1) participate in class discussions, (2) prepare a professional memo based on one of the cases, (3) draft a memo with recommendations concerning state or local public finance in a jurisdiction of their choosing (4) present their recommendations to the class (after feedback from the professor), and (5) prepare a final version of their policy memo for posting on the class web site.  Students may work in groups for the last three assignments.  Students also may discuss the first two assignments with each other, but each student should work alone in writing the professional memo (the second assignment). All students are expected to meet the highest standards for academic integrity. See http://academicintegrity.syr.edu.

These assignments are designed for master’s students.  Any PhD students in the class should consult the professor to design alternative assignments that are appropriate for his or her course of study.  Any student requiring special arrangements because of a disability should make an appointment to see the professor.

(1) The first assignment is to participate in formal class discussions.  As listed on the following class schedule, there are five case discussions in the class.  Each student must play a lead role in one of these case discussions.  The class web page (on the professor’s web site) includes a form that allows each student to indicate the cases on which he or she would like to play a lead role.  This form should be downloaded, filled out, and turned in to the professor by e-mail (or delivered to the receptionist at the Center for Policy Research) on or before Tuesday, January 22. Students will be assigned to a case on a first-come, first-served basis.  The final assignments will be available on the class web page before class on January 23 (with the first case to take place on January 28). Guidelines for the case discussions, including suggestions for students who are playing the lead role, are posted on the class web page.

Students who do not have a lead role for a particular case are still expected to attend and participate in the class discussion.  Students are also expected to attend and participate in all three sessions of the class conference (discussed under the fourth requirement).

A student’s grade in class discussion will be based primarily on the case for which he or she plays a lead role.  However, exceptionally helpful (or counterproductive) contributions in other case discussions and in the discussions during the class conference also could influence a student’s grade.

(2) The second requirement is to prepare a short (2‑page), professional memoranda to an imaginary decision maker.  This memo must be based on one of the five case studies.  Instructions for the memos, tips for professional writing, and examples of the professor’s professional memos can be found on the professor’s web site. A student may select any of the five possible memos, but a memo must be turned in at the beginning of the class during which it is discussed.  Late memos will not be accepted.  Plan ahead!  These memos will be graded on presentation as well as on substance.  Although only one memo is required, a student may submit two memos; his or her grade will be based on the best one.

(3) The third requirement is to draft a professional memorandum on a topic in state and local public finance selected by the student.  This topic must either be taken directly from the course syllabus or be approved by the professor.  Some topics in the class obviously will not have been covered by the time this draft is due. Students selecting one of these topics are expected to complete the relevant readings before drafting their memo.

The memo must include a policy recommendation for a particular state or local government, so this assignment involves some investigation both of a topic in state and local public finance and of the circumstances facing a particular government.

The memo should be between two and four pages in length (plus supporting tables and figures, if desired).  Students are strongly encouraged to form groups to complete this assignment (and the following two assignments, which are related).  A memo from a group should be two to four pages per student.

This memo must also have an annotated bibliography. This bibliography must list the sources used for the memo along with an evaluation of the credibility of the information from each source. This bibliography should indicate, for example, whether a source is a peer-reviewed journal article. Information about the credibility of each key sources should also be incorporated into the text of the memo where appropriate.

This draft memo is due on March 25. Unless specifically authorized by the professor, late memos will receive a grade penalty. The professor will provide comments on each student’s draft memo by April 8.

These draft memos (and their final versions, which are discussed below) will be graded largely on the quality of the analysis on which the recommendation is based.  A terrific recommendation that is not backed up by good analysis will not receive a good grade.  The readings for the course provide many examples of the type of analysis that can strengthen a memo and help to back up a recommendation.  Additional material can be found in the National Tax Journal, Public Budgeting and Finance, Public Finance Review, the Economics of Education Review, Education Finance and Policy, and other professional journals.

These policy memos will also be graded on presentation, following the same guidelines as the case-based memos.

(4) The last three days of class (April 20, 22, 27) will be run as a conference on state and local public finance. Each student (or group of students) will present the topic and recommendation in his or her (their) memorandum (the third assignment), as revised in response to the professor’s comments.  To the extent that time permits, each student (or group) will also respond to questions from the class.  A schedule for the presentations will be posted on the class website by April 13. All members of a group should participate in the presentation.

(5) The fifth assignment is for each student (or group) to complete a final version of his or her (their) policy memo, incorporating both the professor’s comments and issues that arise in the discussion at the class conference.  This final version should not exceed five pages (or five pages per student for groups), plus supporting tables and figures, if any. The final memo is due on May 6. Unless specifically authorized by the professor, late memos will receive a grade penalty.

All final memos will be posted on the class website, where they can be viewed not only by other students but by anyone with access to a web browser.

The professor will award a prize to the best memo.  This prize will be announced on the web site.  Several other memos may receive honorable mention, which will also be indicated when the memos are posted.

Grades
The following weights will be used to determine each student’s final grade in the course:

Case Discussions – 10%

Case Memo – 20%

Draft Policy Memo – 10%

Policy Presentations – 20%

Final Policy Memo – 40%

A typical final grade distribution for this class will have a median grade near the A-/B+ border, few straight A’s, and no B-‘s (at least for students who complete all the course requirements on time).

Readings
All required reading, which is listed on the following reading list, is available through the internet or on the class blackboard page.

CLASS SCHEDULE

WEEK 1    January 13-15

A. Introduction and Overview.
Course overview, description of the state and local public sector, principles of public finance.

B. Demand for Local Public Services I: Determinants.
Determinants of demand, mechanisms of demand articulation

WEEK 2    January 20-22

A. MLK Day, No class.

B. Demand for Local Public Services II: Collective Choice and Tax and Expenditure Limitations.
Aggregating demand through voting, implications of demand for our system of local  governments

WEEK 3    January 27-29

A. Demand for Local Public Services III:
*CASE DISCUSSION #1: Revising New York’s School Tax Relief Program.

B. Public Sector Cost Determinants I:  Concepts.
Production and cost concepts, governmental inefficiency

WEEK 4    February 3-5

A. Public Sector Cost Determinants II:  Policy.
Competition, privatization, and contracting out

B. Public Sector Cost Determinants III: Application.
*CASE DISCUSSION #2: Private Highways

WEEK 5    February 10-12

A. State and Local Revenue Sources: Overview.
Evaluating revenue sources, introduction to the property tax.

B. Property Tax I:  Capitalization.
Property tax capitalization and assessment reform

WEEK 6    February 17-19

A. Property Tax II:  Equity and Efficiency.
Impact of the property tax by income class, programs for property tax relief limitation

B. Property Tax III:  Application to Property Tax Classification.
*CASE DISCUSSION #3: State Regulation of Local Property Tax Assessing

WEEK 7    February 24-26

A. State and Local Income and Sales Taxes.
Definitions of tax bases, administrative feasibility, equity and efficiency

B. Revenue from Government Monopoly.
Reasons for government monopoly, types of government monopoly, evaluation of lotteries

WEEK 8     March 2-4

A. Sin Taxes
Evaluating Taxes on Liquor, Cigarettes, and Marijuana.

B. State and Local Infrastructure.
What is capital spending? When is long-term financing appropriate? Who bears the burden?

WEEK 9    March 9-11

A. State and Local Bonds I:  Bond Markets.
What is a municipal bond?  How do bond markets work?

B. State and Local Bonds II:  Issuing Bonds.
Procedures for issuing municipal bonds, rating and bidding

WEEK 10    March 16-18

SPRING BREAK!!!

WEEK 11   March 23-25

A. User Fees
The theory of public pricing, determining when user fees are appropriate.

B. Fiscal Aspects of Economic Development I: Conceptual Tools
Macroeconomic models; agglomeration Economics.

** Draft Policy Memo must be handed into the professor by March 25th.

WEEK 12    March 30-April 1

A. Fiscal Aspects of Economic Development II:  Policy.
Evaluating alternative state and local policies.

B. CASE DISCUSSION #4: Subsidies to Firms?

WEEK 13   April 6-8

A. Intergovernmental Relations:  Introduction.
Division of responsibilities in a federal system, theory of intergovernmental grants

B. School Aid I.
Objectives and design of education aid programs

WEEK 14    April 13-15

A. School Aid II.
Accountability, choice, and other issues related to state aid reform

B. School Aid Reform in New York State.
*CASE DISCUSSION #5: Campaign for Fiscal Equity vs. New York

WEEK 15    April 20-22

A. Class Conference: Day 1

B. Class Conference: Day 2

WEEK 16    April 27

A. Class Conference: Day 3

**Final Policy Memo must be handed in to the professor by May 4.

CLASS OUTLINE AND READING LIST

An optional textbook for the class, which nicely supplements the other readings is State Tax Policy by David Brunori, 3rd Edition (The Urban Institute Press, 2011). It is abbreviated “Brunori” on the reading list.  All other required readings are available through the internet or on the class blackboard page.The reading list also provides several optional readings, most of which are available on the internet. State and Local Public Finance, 4^th Edition, by Ronald C. Fisher (Routledge, 2016), abbreviated “Fisher” on the reading list, also provides excellent supplementary material for interested students.  A few key chapters from Fisher are also posted on the class blackboard page.

Highly recommended readings are marked with an asterisk (*).  Completing these readings before the class for which they are assigned will help a student understand the lectures.

Introduction and Overview (Monday 1/13)

*C. Hogue. 2013. “Government Organization Summary Report: 2012.” Government Division Brief G12-CG-ORG, September 26. Available at: http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/g12_org.pdf.

Fisher, Chapters 1, 2, and 6. Available through the class blackboard page.

PART I:  LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES

A. Demand for Local Public Services

1. Determinants of Demand (Wednesday 1/15)

*Fisher, Chapter 3.  Available on the class blackboard page.

1. Collective Choice and Tax and Expenditure Limitations (Wednesday, 1/22)

*Fisher, Chapter 4. Available on the class blackboard page.

T.A. Downes and D.N. Figlio, 1999. “Do Tax and Expenditure Limits Provide a Free Lunch?  Evidence on the Link Between Limits and Public Sector Service Quality,” National Tax Journal, (March): 113-128.  Available through Journals at the SU library.

T.R. Hodge, G. Sands, and M. Skidmore, 2015. “Assessment Growth Limits and Mobility: Evidence from Home Sale Data in Detroit Michigan,” National Tax Journal, 68 (September): 573-600.

S.N. Kioko, 2011. “Structure of State-Level Tax and Expenditure Limits.” Public Budgeting & Finance, (Summer): 43-78. Available on the class blackboard page.

W. Duncombe and J. Yinger, 2011. “Making Do: State Constraints and Local Responses in California’s Education Finance System.” International Tax and Public Finance, (June): 337-368. Available on the class blackboard page.

L. Meckler and Kate Rabinowitz, 2019. “The lines that divide: School district boundaries often stymie integration.” The Washington Post, December 16.

J. Yinger, “Bidding and Sorting,” In Housing and Commuting: The Theory of Urban Residential Structure, edited by J. Yinger (World Scientific Publishing, 2018), pp. 361-384. Available on the class blackboard page.

S.F. Reardon and K, Bischoff. 2016. “The Continuing Increase in Income Segregation, 2007-2012,”  CEPA Report, Stanford University.

3. Application (Monday, 1/27)

*Case Discussion #1:  Revising New York’s School Tax Relief Program.

*J. Yinger, 2014. The Last Word on STAR?, It’s Elementary, July. Available on the class blackboard page.

B. Public Sector Cost Determinants

1 .    Concepts (Wednesday, 1/29)

*J. Yinger, 2005. “Calculating the Added Costs of Educating Disadvantaged Students,” It’s Elementary, January.   Available on the class blackboard page.

W. Duncombe and J. Yinger, 2011. “Are Education Cost Functions Ready for Prime Time?  An Examination of their Validity and Reliability.” Peabody Journal of Education, 86(1): 28-57. Available on the class blackboard page.

Fisher, Chapter 8. Available on the class blackboard page.

2. Policy (Monday, 2/3) 

*W.J. Baumol and others, 2012. The Cost Disease: Why Computers Get Cheaper and Health Care Doesn’t. New Haven: Yale University Press, Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2. Chapters 3 and 4 are optional. Available on the class blackboard page.

*Key Findings from 50-State Assessment of Evidence-Based Policymaking: http://www.routefifty.com/2017/01/key-findings-50-state-assessment-evidence-based-policymaking/135042/?oref=rf-home-latest-top

M. Warner and R. Hebdon, “Local Government Restructuring: Privatization and Its Alternatives,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Spring 2001, 315-336. Available through Journals at the SU library.

Editorial Board, 2014. “Not Getting Their Money’s Worth,” The New York Times, January 3.  Available on the class blackboard page.

R. Nixon, 2011. “Government Pays More in Contracts, Study Finds,” The New York Times, September 12. Available on the class blackboard page.

G.L. Berlin, 2016. “Using Evidence as the Driver of Policy Change: The Next Steps in Supporting Innovation, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability.” Testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, May 10. Available on the class blackboard page.

The Opinion Pages, 2011. “Is Privatization a Bad Deal for Cities and States?”, The New York Times, April. Available on the class blackboard page.

“Putting Evidence at the Heart of Making Policy,” MDRC, February 2017.

3. Application (Wednesday, 2/5) 

*Case Discussion #2: Private Highways. Available on the class blackboard page.

*J. Kile, “Public-Private Partnerships for Highway Projects,” Testimony before the Panel on Public-Private Partnerships, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives, March 5, 2014. Available at: https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/113th-congress-2013-2014/reports/45157-PublicPrivatePartnerships.pdf

M. Laris, 2015. “How Virginia paid more than $250 million for a road that never got built,” The Washington Post, May 30.

PART II: STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES

A. Overview and Introduction to the Property Tax (Monday, 2/10) 

U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances,” Available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/gov-finances.html

*J. Yinger. Forthcoming. “The Property Tax in the United States.” In J. Yinger, Editor, Poverty and Proficiency, the Cost of and Demand for Local Public Education, World Scientific Publishing. Skip Sections 3.2, 4.3, and 4.4. Available on the class blackboard page.

*Brunori, Chapters 1 and 2. Available on the class blackboard page.

*R.C. Fisher, 2009. “What Policy Makers Should Know about Property Taxes,” Land Lines, (January): 8-14.

Fisher, Chapters 13. Available on the class blackboard page.

B. Property Tax 

1. Capitalization (Wednesday, 2/13) 

*J. Yinger, H. Bloom, A. Börsch‑Supan, and H. F. Ladd, 1988. Property Taxes and House Values (Academic Press), Chapter 1, and Chapter 7. Available on the class blackboard page.

K.R. Ihlanfeldt, 2011. “Do caps on increases in assessed values create a lock-in effect? Evidence from Florida’s amendment one.” National Tax Journal, (March): 7-26. Available on the class blackboard page.

1. Equity and Efficiency (Monday, 2/18) 

*J. Yinger. Forthcoming. “The Property Tax in the United States.” In J. Yinger, Editor, Poverty and Proficiency, the Cost of and Demand for Local Public Education, World Scientific Publishing. Sections 3.2, 4.3, and 4.4. Available on the class blackboard page.

P. Cohen, 2015. “Study Finds Local Taxes Hit Lower Wage Earners Harder,” The New York Times, Business Day, January 13. Available on the class blackboard page.

Fisher, Chapter 14. Available on the class blackboard page.

M. Skidmore, C.L. Ballard, and T.R. Hodge, 2010. “Property Value Assessment Growth Limits and Redistribution of Property Tax Payments: Evidence from Michigan.” National Tax Journal, (September): 509-538.

3. Application (Wednesday, 2/19) 

*Case Discussion #3: State Regulation of Local Property Tax Assessing

C. Other State and Local Taxes

1. Analysis  (Monday, 2/24)

*Alfonso, Whitney B. 2019. “The Barriers Created by Complexity: A State-by-State Analysis of Local Sales Tax Laws in Light of the Wayfair Ruling.” National Tax Journal 72 (4) (December): 777-800.

*J.B. Stewart, 2013. “The Myth of the Rich Who Flee From Taxes,” The New York Times, February 15. Available on the class blackboard page.

Mikesell, John L., and Justin Ross. 2019. “After Mayfair: What are State Use Taxes Worth?” National Tax Journal 72 (4) (December): 7801-820.

V.J. Karplus. 2013. “The Case for a Higher Gasoline Tax,” The New York Times, February 21. Available on the class blackboard page.

L. Chiou, and E. Muehlegger, 2014. “Consumer Response to Cigarette Excise Tax Changes,” National Tax Journal, (September) 67(3). Available on the class blackboard page.

Brunori, Chapters 5, 6, 8 and 10. Available on the class blackboard page.

Fisher, Chapters 15 and 16.  Available on the class blackboard page.

R.H. Frank, 2011. Find the Taxes That Do Double Duty, The New York Times, Economic View, February 18. Available on the class blackboard page.

J. Alm and J. S. Leguizamon, 2015. “Whither the Marriage Tax?” National Tax Journal 68 (June): 251-280.

S.H. Giertz and M.S. Tosun, 2012. “Migration Elasticities, Fiscal Federalism, and the Ability of States to Redistribute Income.” National Tax Journal, (December): 1069-1092. Available on the class blackboard page.

2. Revenues from Government Monopoly (Wednesday, 2/26)

*Brunori, Chapters 9. Available on the class blackboard page.

*C. Haberman, 2012. “Cuomo’s Push for Casinos Not Good New for All Gamblers.” The New York Times, January 5. Available on the class blackboard page.

*J. Yinger, 2008. “Don’t Gamble with New York’s Lottery.” January. Available on the class blackboard page.

*M.S. Kearney, “The Economic Winners and Losers of Legalized Gambling.” National Tax Journal, June 2005, pp. 281-302. Available through Journals at the SU library.

*V. Lee, “State Aims to Lift Curbs on a Lottery That Beguiles” The New York Times, February 20, 2013. Available on the class blackboard page.

M.A. Trousdale, and R.A. Dunn, 2014. “Demand for Lottery Gambling: Evaluating Price Sensitivity within a Portfolio of Lottery Games,” National Tax Journal, 6 7(3), 595-620. Available on the class blackboard page.

J.E. Anderson, 2005. “Casino Taxation in the United States.” National Tax Journal, (June): 303-324.

Fisher, Chapter 18.  Available on the class blackboard page.

3. Sin Taxes (Monday, 3/2)

*Dadayan, Lucy. 2019. “States’ Addiction to Sins: Sin Tax Fallacy.” National Tax Journal 72 (4) (December): 723-754.

R.H. Mattoon, 2015. “Sin Taxes: The Sobering Fiscal Reality,” Essays on Issues, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Number 339. Available on the class blackboard page.

D. State and Local Infrastructure (Wednesday, 3/4) 

*A. Malinovskaya and D. Wessel. 2017. “The Hutchins Center Explains: Public Investment. The Brookings Institution,” January 3. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/01/03/the-hutchins-center-explains-public-investment/

*D. Ivory, B. Protess and G. Palmer. 2016. “Desperate Towns Have Turned to Private Equity Firms to Manage Their Waterworks. The Deals Bring Much-Needed Upgrades, But Can Carry Hefty Price Tags.” The New York Times, December 24. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/24/business/dealbook/private-equity-water.html?ref=business

*American Society of Civil Engineers, Investing in Infrastructure: Our Nations Economic Engine, http://www.asce.org/failuretoact/

*San José State University Department of Economics, “An Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Available at: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cba.htm

H. Lawrence, 2014. “Summers, Idle workers + Low interest rates = Time to rebuild infrastructure Rebuilding the nation’s airports, highways, and bridges will boost the economy and jobs,” The Boston Globe, April 11. Available on the class blackboard page.

U.E. Reinhardt. 2012. “America’s Mid-20^th-Century Infrastructure.” Economix:  Explaining the Science of Everyday Life.  The New York Times, November 16.

J.Schwartz, 2013. “Governments Look for New Ways to Pay for Roads and Bridges,” The New York Times, February 14. Available on the class blackboard page.

W. Wang, W.D. Duncombe, and J. Yinger. 2011. “School District Responses to Matching Aid Programs for Capital Facilities: A Case Study for New York’s Building Aid Program,” National Tax Journal, (September) 64 (3): 759–794. Available on the class blackboard page.

Infrastructure Report Card. 2017. American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card.

PART III: FINANCING CAPITAL PROJECTS

A. State and Local Bonds (Monday 3/9) 

1. Bond Markets

*The Bond Market Association, “An Investor’s Guide to Bond Basics.” (scroll down to find this guide).

*J. Yinger. Forthcoming. “Present Value and Discounting, with Applications to Local Public Finance.” Appendix A in J. Yinger, Editor, Poverty and Proficiency, the Cost of and Demand for Local Public Education, World Scientific Publishing. Section on Bonds. Available on the class blackboard page.

*I. Lovett, 2013. California Schools Finance Upgrades by Making the Next Generation Pay, The New York Times, February 9. Available on the class blackboard page.

*H.K. Galper, Rueben, R. Auxier, and A. Eng, 2014. “Municipal Debt: What Does It Buy and Who Benefits?” National Tax Journal, (December) 67(4): 901-924. Available on the class blackboard page.

2. Issuing Bonds (Wednesday, 3/11)

*The Bond Market Association, “An Investor’s Guide to Municipal Bonds.” Start with “What Are Municipal Bonds;” click on the other entries on the left of the page to learn more.

*P. Sullivan. 2016. Municipal Bond Defaults Shake Up a Once-Sedate Market. The New York Times, April 22. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/your-money/municipal-bond-defaults-shake-up-a-once-sedate-market.html?ref=business

U.S. Municipal Bond Defaults and Recoveries, 1970-2011, Mody’s Investor Service, March 7, 2012. Available on the class blackboard page.

M.J. Luby, 2012. “Federal Intervention in the Municipal Bond Market: The Effectiveness of the Build America Bond Program and Its Implications on Federal and Subnational Budgeting,” Public Budgeting & Finance, (Winter): 46-70. Available on the class blackboard page.

I. J. Law, 2011. “Unbreakable Bonds,” The New York Times, March 20. Available through the class blackboard page.

M. Williams Walsh, 2009. “Bond Advice Leaves Pain in Its Wake.” The New York Times, February 17. Available on the class blackboard page.

J. Yinger, 2009. “Municipal Bond Ratings and Citizens’ Rights,” American Law and Economics Review, (October):1-38. Available on the class blackboard page.

PART IV:  FISCAL ASPECTS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

A. User Fees   (Monday, 3/23) 

*Fisher, Chapter 9. Available on the class blackboard page.

*Editorial, 2009. A Smart Way to Help Commuters. The New York Times, February 27. Available on the class blackboard page.

*J.D. Echeverria, 2013. “A Legal Blow to Sustainable Development,” The New York Times, June 26. Available on the class blackboard page.

B. Concepts (Wednesday, 3/25)

Readings on the cancelled Amazon deal with New York City.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/upshot/amazon-foxconn-subsidies-critics.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/opinion/amazon-hq2-new-york.html

*E. Moretti, 2010. “Local Multipliers,” American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, (May):1-7.  Available on the class blackboard page.

J.E. Anderson, 2012. “State Tax Rankings: What Do They and Don’t They Tell Us?” National Tax Journal, (December): 985-1010.  Available on the class blackboard page.

Fisher, Chapters 17 and 22. Available through the class blackboard page.

C. State and Local Policy (Wednesday, 3/30) 

*Brunori, Chapter 3. Available on the class blackboard page.

J. Drucker and E. Lipton, 2019. “How a Trump Tax Break to Help Poor Communities Became a Windfall for the Rich.” The New York Times, August 31.

*D.A. Kenyon, A. H. Langley, and B. P. Paquin, 2012. “Property Tax Incentive Pitfalls,” National Tax Journal, (December): 1011-1022. Available on the class blackboard page.

*S.M. Rosenthal. 2018. “Opportunity Zones May Create More Opportunities for Investors and Syndicators Than Distressed Communities.”

*D. Leonhardt, 2011. A Conversation With Edward L. Glaeser, The New York Times, Economix, February 15. Available on the class blackboard page.

*W.G. Gale, A. Krupkin, and K. Rueben. 2015. “The States Try Supply Side Tax Cuts,” The Milken Institute Review,  Fourth Quarter. Available at: http://www.milkenreview.org/articles/trends-3?IssueID=8

H. Kang, L. Reese, and M. Skidmore. 2016. “Do Industrial Tax Abatements Spur Property Value Growth?” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 35, No. 2, 388–414. Available on the class blackboard page.

T.J. Bartik. 2017. “A New Panel Database on Business Incentives for Economic Development Offered by State and Local Governments in the United States.” W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Report 225. Available at https://research.upjohn.org/reports/225/

W.G. Gale, A. Krupkin, and K. Rueben, 2015 “The Relationship Between Taxes and Growth at the State Level: New Evidence,” National Tax Journal, 68 (December): 919-942.

R.T. Greenbaum, and J. Landers, 2014. “The Tiff over Tif: A Review of the Literature Examining the Effectiveness of the Tax Increment Financing,” National Tax Journal, (September) 67(3): 655-674. Available on the class blackboard page.

D. Burnes, D. Neumark, and M.J. White, 2014. “Fiscal Zoning and Sales Taxes: Do Higher Sales Taxes Lead To More Retailing and Less Manufacturing?” National Tax Journal, (March) 67(1): 7–50. Available on the class blackboard page.

D. Bruce, X. Liu, and M.N. Murray, 2015. “State Tax Policy and Entrepreneurship,” National Tax Journal, 68 (Special Issue, September): 803-838.

J. Kolko and D. Newmark.2010. “Do Some Enterprise Zones Create Jobs?” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, (Winter): 5-38.

N. Bania and J. A. Stone, 2008. “Ranking State Fiscal Structure Using Theory and Evidence,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, (Autumn): 751-770.

D. Wednesday, April 1

*Case Discussion #4: Subsidies to firms?

PART V: INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

A. Introduction and the Concept of Fiscal Health (Monday, 4/6)

*H.F. Ladd and J. Yinger, America’s Ailing Cities: Fiscal Health and the Design of Urban Policy, (The John Hopkins University Press) Chapters 5, Chapter 9, and Epilogue. These are available on the class blackboard page.

Fisher, Chapters 6 and 10.  Available on the class blackboard page.

K. Bradbury and B. Zhao, 2009. “Measuring Non-School Fiscal Disparities among ‘Municipalities’,” National Tax Journal, (March): 25-56.

B. School Aid

1. Aid Design (Wednesday, 4/8) 

*J. Yinger, 2004. “State Aid and the Pursuit of Educational Equity:  An Overview,” In Helping  Children Left Behind, edited by J. Yinger, MIT Press, 2004.  Skip sections 3.5 through 3.7 and 4.4 through 4.6.

*H.F. Ladd and E.B. Fiske, 2011. “Class Matters, Why Won’t We Admit It” The New York Times, Op-Ed, (December). Available on the class blackboard page.

*U.S. Census. 2009.  Public Education Finances: Skim the “Introduction” and “Table 1.” Available at: http://www2.census.gov/govs/school/09f33pub.pdf

E. Gutierrez and J. Yinger. 2018. “How Fair Is New York State’s Foundation Aid Formula?” It’s Elementary column, February. Available at https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/cpr/efap/It_s_Elementary/

J. Yinger, 2014.  “The Impact of Education Finance Reform on Student Achievement in Massachusetts,” It’s Elementary, (May), http://cpr.maxwell.syr.edu/efap/about_efap/ie/May14.pdf

Fisher, Chapter 19. Available on the class blackboard page.

2. Topics Related to Aid Reform (Wednesday, 4/13) 

*S. Dynarski, 2015. “Urban Charter Schools Often Succeed. Suburban Ones Often Don’t,” The New York Times, November 20.

*J. Yinger, 2004. “State Aid and the Pursuit of Educational Equity:  An Overview,” In Helping Children Left Behind, edited by J. Yinger, MIT Press, Sections 3.5 through 3.7 and 4.4 through 4.6.

D. Figlio, 2004. “Funding and Accountability: Some Conceptual and Technical Issues in State Aid Reform.” In Helping Children Left Behind, edited by J. Yinger, MIT Press. Available on the class blackboard page.

K.Carey, 2017. “Dismal Voucher Results Surprise Researchers as DeVos Era Begins, The New York Times, TheUpshot: School Choice, February 23. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/upshot/dismal-results-from-vouchers-surprise-researchers-as-devos-era-begins.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fupshot&_r=0

1. School Aid Reform in New York State (Wednesday, 4/15) 

*Case #5:  Campaign for Fiscal Equity vs. New York. Available on the class blackboard page.