In this paper convergence in per capita incomes (personal and disposable) in US states over 1929-2005 is revisited using the notion of relative stochastic convergence and stationarity tests for panel data. According to the results, although the dispersion of per capita income be-came stationary...

This study develops a regional econometric model to extend and complement standard local economic impact analysis for Washington counties. Based on a static macroeconomic model, we derive labor supply equations and fiscal equations. The resulting empirical model is based on a cross- sectional...

Pareto welfare criterion based only on people’s willingness to pay for the project’s output is regarded by many as being a narrow interpretation of an improvement in social well-being. A broader opinion is that even though poorer individuals may be less able to pay for a particular...

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people in the United States. Its aim is to increase individuals’ food-purchasing power and improve the nutritional content of their diet. We employed recent advances in...

This article examines the popular notion that elected officials, particularly at the local level, can not be trusted with broad powers of taxation; that they are likely to use and perhaps abuse all of the powers of taxation they possess. The study looks at the use of tax powers, made over a 30...

Many state legislatures grant local governments the authority to enact sales taxes on retail sales transactions that occur within local jurisdictions. Local government reliance on these local option sales tax (LOST) revenues is increasing. In many states, including Oklahoma, municipal...

Tax and expenditure limitations (TEL) on state and local governments have been passed with the presumption they will limit the growth of government, raise government efficiency, and increase direct democracy by requiring voter approval of tax increases. Both the popular press and the academic...

This paper investigates the recoveries following the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions on a state by state and regional basis, and examines why different states and regions performed differently over these two expansions. The general conclusion of the study is that, when measured by a six-year Okun...

This paper identifies the states that suffered the largest job losses and the states whose employment levels suffered the least during the 2008/2009 recession. State-by-state performance varied widely during this downturn, with Nevada having the largest percentage job loss, a drop in employment...