Cities,Tax Revenues,and a State's Fiscal Future: The Value of Major Urban Centers

Competition among core cities or urban centers and suburban and rural areas besets numerous states. The competition often occurs amid a political environment in which suburban and rural areas enjoy a political majority in the state legislature, a majority that directs state investments to their areas. With Ohio as a case study, the issues that have created the urban–suburban–rural trichotomy are reviewed and an analysis of the tax returns, by area, to state investments is presented. The findings illustrate that urban centers produce more tax dollars per dollar of state investment than other areas, implying that state underinvestment in urban areas harms overall state tax revenues.     

Using Panel Data to Determine the Effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Per‐Student Public Education Expenditures at the State Level

The purpose of the present study is to determine whether passage of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 resulted in a statistically significant increase in per‐student public education expenditures at the state level. Although numerous studies have estimated educational cost functions, no prior study has examined the impact of the ADA on per capita education spending. The results of the present study are consistent with anecdotal evidence in that enactment of the ADA has had a positive effect on per‐student educational expenditures; this result suggests that legislative mandates may lead to increased government spending. In addition to the ADA, several of the leading determinants of per‐student education spending include population density, per capita income, percentage of the state that is over the age of 65, percentage of state's residents who have a four‐year college degree, percentage of state's residents who are homeowners, and total student population.     

The Free Economy and the Schizophrenic State: Ideology and the Conservatives

This article focuses on Michael Howard's ideas to illustrate ideological developments within the Conservative party. It recognises that the ideas of a democratic organisation cannot be represented by the thoughts of a single individual, but Howard provides useful insights. He won the leadership unopposed in November 2003 partly because he seemed likely to perform well in debates with Tony Blair, but also because he offered the prospect of policy reform on a range of issues without a radical departure from the Thatcher legacy.
Soon after becoming leader Howard issued an unusually detailed statement of his beliefs. This showed him to be a convinced economic liberal, whose thinking has been heavily influenced by America. The main departure from Thatcherism is that he is even more antipathetic towards the state. This is difficult to reconcile with his support for UK 'sovereignty' within the EU, his hard line on law and order issues, and his insistence that there are no plans to privatise the NHS. It is unlikely to provide a platform for a significant Tory recovery.     

Community of Choice or Ghetto of Last Resort: Community Development and the Viability of an African American Community1

The viability of local government‐sponsored community development of poor ethnic enclaves hinges on the perceptions of residents. If residents view the enclave in which they live as their “community of choice,” they will be more likely to join with local government to coproduce community improvement. Residents who see their enclave as their community of choice tend to hold positive perceptions of neighbors and neighborhood and are less fearful of crime. Conversely, those who see the enclave where they live as a “ghetto of last resort” commonly are not meeting their economic expectations, are uneasy about race related issues, and are concerned about the desirability of their neighborhood. Government should not employ a community development strategy to preserve a “ghetto of last resort” where most residents remain because they feel they have few options. The vast majority of the residents examined here view the enclave where they live as their community of choice.     

Taxes,Time, and Support for Security

New technologies have been developed in response to terrorism. These present problems for local officials: implementing technologies will be expensive, and no technologies exist that can be used to gauge demand. We apply contingent valuation methodologies to determine support for additional taxes to pay for new terrorism‐related technologies and services. We present findings from a national survey about people's attitudes toward terrorism prevention and response. We find that respondents generally support new services and technologies and local tax increases to pay for them. We also find that respondents are willing to pay more if programs have everyday uses that would enhance public safety, but are less supportive as inconveniences increase.     

Rock Chic in Chengdu

The dynamo behind the Little Bar in Chengdu talks about expansion plans, Cui Jian and making independent rock records in China's southwest.     

Innovation and Innovators Inside Government: From Institutions to Networks

Innovation and innovators inhabit an institutional space, which is partially defined by formal positions and partially by informal networks. This article investigates the role of politicians and bureaucrats in fostering innovation inside government and provides an empirical explanation of who the innovators are, whether this is mostly an attribute of position or role, or mostly an effect of certain forms of networking. The study uses original data collected from 11 municipal governments in Australia in order to define and describe the normative underpinnings of innovation inside government and to show the importance of advice and strategic information networks among politicians and senior bureaucrats (n = 947). Social network analysis is combined with conventional statistical analysis in order to demonstrate the comparative importance of networks in explaining who innovates.