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CONFERENCE PAPERS

Factors Affecting the Level of Fund Balance in American Cities

Theodore Arapis, Doctoral Student
Changhoon Jung, Ph.D. Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Auburn University


This study examined patterns in the building of fiscal reserves in municipal governments in the United States by analyzing national sample during the time period 1996-2006.
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Budget Rules and Financial Management Quality: An Empirical Analysis of the U.S. States

Sarah Arnett, Ph.D. Student, Public Policy
Department of Public Management and Policy
Georgia State University


Public management is an important component of government performance. Recent research shows a strong link between public management, policy priorities and outcomes.
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Constraints on Local Authority to Raise Revenue Through the Property Tax: An Empirical Study

Nancy Y. Augustine
The George Washington University
The George Washington Institute of Public Policy


This study uses a new collection of state‐level data on the property tax to describe a relatively
overlooked constraint on the ability of local government to raise revenue through the property tax.
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Fiscal Decentralization in Kenya: The Constituency Development Fund and the Growth of
Government

Obuya Bagaka
Department of Political Science, Division of Public Administration
Northern Illinois University


This paper explores the financial implications of fiscal decentralization policies on the central government's operating budget in Kenya.
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The Challenge of Implementing Gender Budgets

John R. Bartle, David Scott Diamond Professor of Public Affairs
Sikarn Issarachaiyos, Graduate Assistant
University of Nebraska – Omaha;
and
Marilyn Marks Rubin, Professor of Public Administration and Economics
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York


Over the last three decades, countries all over the world, supported by the international community of nations, have been moving toward more equitable treatment of women.
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Applying Pragmatism to Public Budgeting and Financial Management

John R. Bartle, David Scott Diamond Professor of Public Affairs
Director, School of Public Administration
University of Nebraska - Omaha; and
Patricia Shields, Professor
Department of Political Science
Texas State University


Pragmatism is a philosophy that emphasizes learning through action and building a knowledge base from experience and reflection.
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Intrametropolitan Decentralization: Is Government Structure Capitalized in Residential Property Values?

Stephen Billings
Department of Economics
University of Colorado;
and
Thomas Thibodeau
Leeds School of Business
University of Colorado


This paper examines the influence that intrametropolitan government decentralization has on residential property values.
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Looking for Leviathan in the Tax Base: Frowth and Local Property Taxes

Spencer T. Brien
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University


Revenue diversification remains a pressing iddues for local governments.
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Examining the Determinants of Nonprofit Accounting Basis Choice

Thad Calabrese, Doctoral Candidate
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
New York University


This paper examines the determinants of whether nonprofit organizations report their publicly available financial information on the cash or accrual basis of accounting.
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Implementation of GASB 45 North Carolina Cities and Counties

Charles K. Coe
School of Public and International Affairs
North Carolina State University;
and
William Rivenbark
UNC School of Government
UNC Chapel Hill

In addition to pensions, state and local governments can offer a range of other postemployment benefits (OPEB), including dental, life insurance, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care and health care.
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Lies, Damned Lies, and Budgetary Information: Trying to Find the Facts in the Figures in WV

Michael John Dougherty, WVU Extension Service Professor and Specialist

The budget is the most basic of financial documents. It is taken to be a summary of how much money is coming in (revenue) and how much money is going out (expenditures).
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Debt Management in New York City, 1978-2008

Dall Forsythe
Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service,
New York University


This paper is the third in a series of working papers on financial management in New York City after the fiscal crisis. The City’s return to financial health after the fiscal crisis is a complex story, and one important theme is debt management.
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Linking Institutional Expenditures to Student Success: An Analysis of Public Institutions of Higher Education

Jacob Fowles
Martin School of Public Policy and Administration
University of Kentucky


While the primary and secondary education literatures are rich with studies of the impact of school expenditures on student outcomes, the corresponding literature within higher education is much less developed.
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Does Local Government Fragmentation Cost Less?

Rebecca Hendrick
Benedict Jimenez
Kamna Lal

Department of Public Administration
University of Illinois at Chicago


Literature from various fields has vigorously debated the value and effects of fragmented and decentralized government systems versus consolidated and centralized systems.
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Effectiveness and Accuracy of Inflation Indices and Economic Activity on Evaluating and Forecasting Government Expenditures

Kenneth Hunter, MPA
Budget & Evaluation Manager
City of Rocky Mount, NC


Public perception of the rate of growth in government expenditures often focuses not on the nature of government operations, but rather overall societal economic perspective.
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Chasing Competition: Examining the Effects of Noncompetitive Public Service Markets

Jocelyn M. Johnston, Associate Professor
Amanda M. Girth, PhD Student
Department of Public Administration, School of Public Affairs
American University


When public managers contract out government services, they often confront challenges associated with low levels of provider competition.
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Prudent Budget Planning and Budgetary Process Effectiveness: The Canadian Federal Government’s Experience

Mike Joyce
School of Policy Studies
Queen's University


One of the more significant changes that the Liberal government made when it came to power in 1993 was the introduction of a formal approach to prudent budget planning.
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Guess Who is Coming to the Table of Performance Budgeting: The Power and Puzzle of a Participative Process

Yi Lu, Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration, College of Community and Public Affairs
Binghamton University


Active participation from all stakeholders in the budget process is one of the key issues to the integration of performance information with budgeting.
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Charting Performance Budgeting Laws in the States: Successful or Just Hype?

Yi Lu, Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration, College of Community and Public Affairs
Binghamton University;
and
Katherine Willoughby, Professor
Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University

The difference between performance budgeting as passing fad or as a sustained way to
inform decision making by government is its institutionalization into budget management and
processes.
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Credit Quality and Optimal Municipal Slack Resources

Justin Marlowe, Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration
University of Kansas


The question of what constitutes an "optimal" level of slack resources is at the heart of contemporary local government financial management, and the answer to that question is often "it depends."
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Examining Lottery Scholarships in Tennessee

Charles E. Menifield, Maxine Smith Fellow
Division of Public and Nonprofit Administration
University of Memphis


Scholarship retention is one of the most significant problems with the Tennessee Lottery. Evidence to date suggests that the problem is chronic to certain populations in the state’s colleges and universities.
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THE “BALL OF CONFUSION” IN FEDERAL BUDGETING: A SHADOW AGENDA FOR DELIBERATIVE REFORM OF THE BUDGET PROCESS

Roy T. Meyers, Professor of Political Science
Director, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program
UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)


The budget process is seriously flawed, but there is little prospect for its effective reform. Negative economic and political conditions could open the window for reform, but the excessive partisanship that helped create these conditions has also reduced the pool of institutionalists who could lead reforms.
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Use of Cost Function Analyses for Inter-Governmental Educational Transfers in Vietnam

Hoang-Phuong Nguyen
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Syracuse University


No study has been conducted to address two major problems in Vietnam’s education finance system. First, the central government’s population-based formula for allocating educational transfers fails to incorporate inter-provincial efficiency and cost differentials effectively.
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Reformulating and Refocusing a Fiscal Administration Curriculum

Michael Peddle
Kurt Thurmaier
Division of Public Administration
Northern Illinois University


Public administration programs which regularly go through the NASPAA accreditation process are typically familiar and comfortable with self-study and analysis.
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An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Single-Family Housing Prices &
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances Used to Finance School Construction

Dustin C. Read
University of North Carolina at Charlotte


An extensive body of research demonstrates that various types of growth management regulations can influence housing prices throughout a market.
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Charter School Finance: An Examination of Schools of Choice in Georgia

Cynthia S. Searcy
Department of Public Management and Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University;
and
William Duncombe, Professor of Public Administration, Center for Policy Research
Syracuse University


Despite the growing popularity of charter schools as an educational alternative to traditional public schools, relatively little is known about how their financial condition.
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Why Do Some Schools Get More and Others Less? An Examination of School-Level Funding in New York City

Amy Ellen Schwartz
Leanna Stiefel
Institute for Education and Social Policy, Wagner and Steinhardt Schools
New York University
; and
Ross Rubenstein
Maxwell School
Syracuse University


While an extensive research base has accumulated examining intergovernmental grants from states to school districts, relatively little research has focused on the processes and patterns of resource allocation across schools within districts.
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Simulation Analysis of a Fiscal Stress Measurement System: The Case of Michigan

Eric Scorsone
Nicole Bradshaw

Michigan State University;
and
Jonathan Justice
University of Delaware


Fiscal distress systems have been generated by both practioners and academics over the past several decades to assess the monitor the conditions of local government.
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BEYOND THE STATE SCHOOL FINANCE FORMULA: BUDGETING INSIDE MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Douglas Snow, Ph.D.
Aimee Williamson, Ph.D.
Sawyer Business School
Suffolk University


In this paper we report the findings of the first phase of a multi-phase project to investigate the effects of education reform on the budget practices of Massachusetts school districts.
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THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL STABILIZATION FUNDS IN MASSACHUSETTS: A RESEARCH NOTE

Douglas Snow, Ph.D.
Gerasimos Gianakis, Ph.D.
Sawyer Business School
Suffolk University


In this paper we summarize, synthesize and update three previous studies undertaken by the authors on the implementation and management of stabilization funds by Massachusetts municipalities.
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An Evaluation of Bond Ratings to Financial Reporting Structures

Shannon Sohl, Research Associate
Gregory Kuhn, Senior Research Associate
Center for Governmental Studies;
and
Michael Peddle, Associate Professor
Kurt Thurmaier, Professor
Curt Wood, Assistant Professor
Division of Public Administration
Northern Illinois University


States and local governments have a significant amount of discretion in financial reporting within the recommended best practices.
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THE EFFECT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR MEASURING DEBT CAPACITY: A SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS APPROACH

Qiushi Wang
University of Nebraska at Omaha


Public debt has been a relatively underworked area in public administration, yet it is a very important issue in government finance.
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The Impact of Revenue Diversification and Economic Base on Revenue Stability: The Empirical Analysis of State Governments

Wenli Yan, Assistant Professor
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University, Bloomington


Revenue stability has been an important policy objective for state and local government administrators.
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Fiscal Decentralization and Provincial-level Fiscal Disparities: Decomposing the Inequality Measures

Zhirong Jerry Zhao, Assistant Professor
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota


Since China’s 1994 fiscal reform, there have been increasing concerns about the distribution of fiscal capacities across the country.
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