An Analysis of Acquisition Value Property Tax Assessment for Homesteaded Property

This article explores the implications of acquisition value assessment for homesteaded property established in 1983 in Muscogee County, Georgia. The resulting freeze in assessed values has created sizeable assessment inequality that varies systematically with the value of the parcel. The difference between market value and acquisition value assessments is substantially larger for households with longer tenure and is associated with households with higher income, who are older, and who are white. The freeze has a small effect on the size of the property tax base and does not appear to reduce the probability of a home's being sold.     

Tax Harmonization and Tax Competition: Contrasting Views and Policy Issues in Three Federal Countries

This article contrasts divergent attitudes toward tax competitionand tax harmonization in Australia, Canada, and the United States.Despite strong arguments on each side, competition and harmonizationare not necessarily conflicting goals except at the extremes.The most troublesome issue is the tradeoff between promotingefficiency in the public sector and in the private sector. Dueto the difficulty of measuring and comparing efficiency in bothsectors, this issue is not likely to be resolved objectively.However, tax-base harmonization appears to be the best compromisein pursuing both goals. Some fundamental problems remain regardlessof the policy direction taken, including limiting "micro-level"competition and addressing environmental and redistributiveconcerns in regional and local arenas. Improved intergovernmentalcooperation and experimentation are viewed as the key to resolvingthese issues.     

Institutional Differences and Local Government Performance: Evidence from Property Tax Assessment Quality

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between institutional differences embedded in local governance structures and government performance in the specific context of property assessment. In order to provide deeper insight into why certain governance structures perform better than others, we focus on the impact of nested levels of institutions—constitutional-level and substantive-level rules of governance—beyond the conventional perspective of the form of government. Based on panel data of cities and towns in New York State between 1993 and 2010, our analysis indicates that, among other institutional arrangements, municipalities employing the council–manager form with appointed assessors are most likely to achieve higher levels of assessment quality (uniformity) of the residential property. This indicates that having politically independent (more career-oriented), low-powered appointed governance structures rather than politically risk-averse (more voter-oriented), high-powered elected counterparts are more likely to be effective at reducing risk in tax equity issues, thus providing better financial performance.     

Not‐for‐Profit Advocacy: Challenging Policy Images and Pursuing Policy Change

The not‐for‐profit sector has long played an important role in the policy process through encouraging political engagement, policy research and advocacy, and service delivery. This paper examines two not‐for‐profit organizations, National Children's Alliance and National Alliance on Mental Illness, both of which are grassroots organizations formed to radically change public and professional perceptions of their respective issues and reform the way services are offered to those in need. Borrowing from the literature on policy image and agenda setting, we identify the strategies used by these two highly successful not‐for‐profit groups in their efforts to change the system through redefining problems, reframing issues, and securing legislation with the help of policy entrepreneurs and politicians sympathetic to their causes.     

Early‐Life Origins of Life‐Cycle Well‐Being: Research and Policy Implications

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early‐life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the life cycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early‐life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population well‐being, but also for economic growth and competitiveness in a global economy. In this paper, we first discuss the research on the strength of the link between early‐life health and adult outcomes, and then provide an evidence‐based review of the effectiveness of existing U.S. policies targeting the early‐life environment. We conclude that there is a robust and economically meaningful relationship between early‐life conditions and well‐being throughout the life cycle, as measured by adult health, educational attainment, labor market attachment, and other indicators of socioeconomic status. However, there is some variation in the degree to which current policies in the United States are effective in improving early‐life conditions. Among existing programs, some of the most effective are the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), home visiting with nurse practitioners, and high‐quality, center‐based early‐childhood care and education. In contrast, the evidence on other policies such as prenatal care and family leave is more mixed and limited.     

A Comprehensive Model of Determinants of Property Tax Assessment Quality: Evidence in New York State

This study proposes and examines a comprehensive model for the determinants of property tax assessment quality. In addition to providing evidence in support of reform of property tax administration by institutionalizing the full market value standard, a specific revaluation cycle, and county or statewide assessment functions, this study examines the impact of the monitoring pressure of residents on the quality of assessment. The empirical results reveal that the median tax share, the median property value as a share of median income, the ratio of state aid to total expenditures, and the share of adults with college or higher education have significant impacts on the quality of property tax assessment.     

Chromium‐Based Regulations Applicable to Metal Finishing Industries in the United States: A Policy Assessment

This article seeks to briefly evaluate the context behind the development of regulations related to chromium pollution control in metal finishing industries. The available evidence suggests the possibility of elevation of the issue to the agenda for agency rule‐making, and subsequent implementation can occur even in the absence of focusing events. Based on historical evidence, this article illustrates that gradual accumulation of knowledge of harmful effects of chromium over the period of decades has been instrumental in the formulation and implementation of standards and guidelines to regulate chromium in the environment under major statutes such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and so on. The implementation of command and control regulations has resulted in appreciable reduction of chromium released into the environment, thereby minimizing the impact on human health and the environment. However, achieving full compliance from metal finishing industries is still an illusion. There are examples of violations committed by industries. In response to this realization, policy evolution in the chromium pollution control domain has occurred in two directions: (1) gradual replacement of existing standards with more stringent standards and guidelines and (2) emphasis on multimedia, voluntary, and participatory approaches to improve compliance. But the results from the latter are not as dramatic as previously envisioned. Borrowing from the experience of the Common Sense Initiative (CSI), this article argues that consensus‐based, multistakeholder collaboration can be a policy development tool.     

Small‐Town Policy Makers

Small‐town local governments face unique challenges when it comes to policy making. This essay reviews some of those barriers and considers why they occur and why they are unique to small towns. In addition, it includes some examples of how to overcome these challenges from the perspective of a former mayor, local legislator, and member of the academic community. The essay also explores why traditional theories of public policy implementation often fail to describe policy making at the local level because of the unique environment that exists in small‐town governments.     

Hedonic Estimation and Policy Significance of the Impact of HOPE VI on Neighborhood Property Values

HOPE VI was designed as a program to revitalize distressed public housing. This study uses hedonic methods to test whether projects that are rebuilt with HOPE VI funds have a positive effect on surrounding property values. Comparisons are made between HOPE VI and other types of public housing programs using data on property values by census block groups from the 2000 census. We find that HOPE VI had a statistically significant positive impact on surrounding property values on the order of 8–10% for every quarter‐mile closer that a housing unit was located to the development. Other public housing developments were found to have little if any effect on property values.     

Agricultural Policy Reform and Policy Convergence: An Actor-Centered Institutionalist Approach

This article examines the entry into the agricultural policy arena of a new market liberal vision. Battles over market liberalism are some of the defining struggles of the present age. The article develops a stylized framework designed to help understand some of these political struggles and some of the underlying dynamics of the complex policy debates that have occurred. It begins with a brief review of the changed economic context for farming that gradually took place in the 1990s and then provides an overview of how market liberal values and norms might be applied to agriculture. Constructing a stylized set of negotiations in a game-theoretic form that might take place in a debate over the merits of a market liberal approach, it shows two different paths for agricultural policy reform. The analysis suggests that policy change is likely to move more in a market-liberal direction under a center-left government than under a conservative one. This model isthen tested by looking at policy change in two sectors (cereal grains, dairy) in three countries (Australia, Canada, and the United States of America). The analysis suggests that the models are more helpful and policy convergence is more pronounced when sectors are open to international competition. In contrast, the models work less well and convergence is lower in highly protected sectors.     

Structure of State‐Level Tax and Expenditure Limits

While much consideration has been given to the approval process, base classification, and codification of tax and expenditure limits (or TELs), these factors tell us nothing about how they actually work. This study focuses exclusively on the technical elements of these limits and finds how states estimate their limits have over time eroded their potency. More specifically, if a state resets or rebases its limit annually by using actual revenues or expenditures for the preceding year, the limit will trend closely with actual revenues or expenditures, effectively restricting growth in spending as prescribed by law. However, if the law requires a state to estimate its limit using the appropriation limit for the preceding year instead of actual revenues or expenditures, that is, without rebasing, the limit will reflect cumulative changes to the base when it was first approved. Over time, the TEL cap is significantly above the states revenues or expenditures as it remains unaffected by the state's underlying fiscal and economic environment.     

Policy Stalemate and Policy Change in Israel's Water Sector 1970–2010: Advocacy Coalitions and Policy Narratives

This paper seeks to explain policy stalemates that persist despite recognition of their risks and damages, as well as the factors and processes that enable a breakthrough and lead to policy change. The paper seeks to fill a gap in the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory by supplementing it with Narrative Analysis (NA). We claim that NA provides a link missing in the ACF that is required for the transformation of “necessary” conditions—like external and internal shocks to the system—into “sufficient” conditions for policy persistence or change. We use the ACF to delineate coalition members and their belief systems and policy positions, as well as external, internal, and structural shocks to the system. We rely on NA to analyze the narratives employed in the public arena, which turn conditions necessary both for hurting stalemates and for policy change into sufficient conditions. We illustrate the benefits of combining the two approaches through a study of Israel's water policy during four decades (1970s–2000s) based on government records and on information from interviews with key players.     

The Durability of Carbon Cap‐and‐Trade Policy

The surge of American states' adoption of policies to mitigate climate change in the late 1990s and 2000s appeared to constitute a first wave of expanding use of market‐based policy tools such as carbon cap‐and‐trade in the absence of binding federal constraints. Instead, a substantial number of states have rescinded earlier policy commitments, as have Canadian provincial partners, while others have remained engaged or even expanded their policies. This article examines the durability of the three regional cap‐and‐trade zones that were established with comparable structure and intent but met very different fates. The analysis of these regional entities places particular emphasis on their political resilience across election cycles, their ability to be flexible and adapt administratively through mid‐course adjustments, and their capacity to build constituency support through benefit‐allocation to offset opposition linked to cost imposition.     

How Municipal Property Tax Responded to State Aid Cuts: The Case of Massachusetts Municipalities in the Post‐2001 Fiscal Crisis

This empirical study examines municipal property tax responses to state aid cuts during the post‐2001 fiscal crisis. Using panel econometric techniques on annual changes in property tax levy by 351 incorporated Massachusetts municipalities in the period of 2002–2006, the results suggest that municipal governments offset about 9 cents of each dollar of net state aid cut through the increase of their property tax rates. It contributes to public finance literature on the extent to which local property tax can be used to stabilize municipal revenues when the intergovernmental revenue shrinks.     

Cluster‐Based Policy Making: Assessing Performance and Sustaining Competitiveness

Tremendous changes in technology, political and social frameworks, as well as the impacts of globalization, have put pressure on countries to become competitive. One strategy for creating an engine of economic growth is the creation of clusters. These clusters, be they naturally or artificially conceived, hold the promise of becoming the economic weapons of a country. Many studies have been done to understand the factors behind the successes and failures of clusters. One of the reasons behind the inconsistent success of existing cluster policy frameworks in managing cluster performance is the fact that clusters often are at different levels of development, and it will require different strategies to create, enhance, and sustain their competitive advantage. This paper aims to propose and demonstrate a more holistic framework designed to understand key cluster dynamics that drives cluster performance, which then will enable policy makers to work toward ensuring sustainable cluster development.     

The Changing Property Tax and State-Local Relations

The substantial transfer of fiscal power to state government,undermining local government autonomy, characterizes the courseof state-local relations in the last quarter of the twentiethcentury in the United States. Central to this shift is diminishedlocal control of the property tax, a result of the tax limitationsadopted in most states since the 1970s. This article arguesthat control of the property tax is critical to the workingsof local representative democracy, affecting both the discretionof elected officials and participation of citizens. It presentsboth quantitative and qualitative evidence of the centralizationtrend, including changes in property-tax flows and state financesaffecting local governments, an analysis of the comparativeseverity of property-tax limitations, changes in K-12 educationfinancing, and local consequences of the tax limitations.     

Full Disclosure: Unanticipated Improvements in Property Tax Uniformity

This paper contributes to two strands in the property tax literature. One thread considers the effects of full disclosure requirements or “truth in taxation” on the rate of property tax growth. The second studies the determinants of assessment uniformity. This article focuses on the role of full disclosure in changing administrative incentives and improving the uniformity of the property tax. A panel of 29 Utah counties over a 32‐year period is used in a TSCS analysis. Findings suggest there is substantial evidence that full disclosure improved uniformity in Utah, but limited evidence that it restrained property tax growth.