The Challenge of Fiscal Disparities for State and Local Governments

This outstanding selection of Helen Ladd's work provides an overview of the policy-oriented research she has conducted in the area of state and local public finance during the past twenty-five years.

The volume is divided into four parts. The first addresses the concept and measurement of fiscal disparities across local jurisdictions and the design of intergovernmental aid programmes. The second part examines the design of taxes and tax structures, including chapters on the mix of taxes at state level and tax limitation measures. The third part deals with the interaction between taxes and land use, including the fiscal effects of rapid population growth and the use of tax subsidies to promote growth in declining urban areas. The final part focuses on education finance.

This important collection will be of interest to public finance and urban economists and practitioners and policymakers in state and local government.

Helen F. Ladd, Professor of Public Policy Studies and Economics, Duke University, US