FINANCIAL INDICATORS AND TRENDS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: A STATE-BASED POLICY PERSPECTIVE |
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| Authors: | John M. Stevens Robert P. McGowan |
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| Affiliation: | JOHN M. STEVENS is an assistant professor in the Institute of Public Administration at the Pennsylvania State University. His research and teaching interests are in public organization, management, policy implementation-analysis, productivity, human services management, management information systems, and managerial commitment. His published work has appeared in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Public Administration Review, Journal of Management, Public Productivity Review, Academy of Management Proceedings, Journal of Health and Human Resource . Administration, Southern Review of Public Administration, Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, Urban Interest, and Research in Higher Education.;ROBERT P. MCGOWAN is an assistant professor at the Institute of Public Administration, The Pennsylvania State University, where he specilizes in the area of program analysis, management information systems, and organization behavior, and human resources management. He has previously published in such journals as Public Administration Review, Public Productivity, The Urban Interest, and the International Journal of Public Administration. |
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| Abstract: | Recent federal reports, the projected "new" federalism, research in financial and economic trends, and the emerging consensus concerning local government distress have highlighted the fact that no comprehensive or systematic federal, state, or local policies exist to deal with the problems that have been identified. The purpose of this article is to perform a statebased study of financial patterns and trends in local governments that have implications for state policy. Included in the analysis were correlations between constant dollar financial indicators and an instability index for four data points. The results of the analysis and trends suggest that certain consistent patterns which have implications for state policy exist. |
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