Does General Fund Balance Stabilize Municipal Expenditure? Evidence from Large American Cities

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yonghong Wu ◽  
Yu Shi
Keyword(s):  
General Fund ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
American Cities

Balanced Budget Requirements Revisited

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-672
Author(s):  
Sharon N. Kioko ◽  
Michelle L. Lofton
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
General Fund ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
Fund Balances ◽  
Balanced Budget ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Balanced Budget Requirements

We test the effect of balanced budget requirements (BBRs) on budget outcomes using data published in audited financial statements. With a focus on the General Fund, we find states frequently reported deficits in their adopted budgets and relied on sizeable and favorable expenditure variances to close budget gaps before the end of the budget period. Empirical analysis shows that technical or strict BBRs procedures did not increase the likelihood that a state would report a balanced budget. We corroborate our findings using fund balance data. If technical or strict BBRs are effective, states would report higher fund balances, all else equal. Results show that states that adopted political BBRs reported lower fund balances. More importantly, the adoption of strict or technical BBRs did not lead to higher fund balances.

scholarly journals The Use of Inter-Fund Transfers to Manage the “Bottom Line” in the Municipal Context

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Felix
Keyword(s):  
Bottom Line ◽  
General Fund ◽  
Financial Position ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Managed Change ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT This study examines whether municipalities use inter-fund transfers to manage the general fund. Since the general fund is a municipality's largest fund, its financial position often reflects that of the whole municipality. Results indicate that transfers are used to manage the general fund toward zero. In particular, the tendency to use transfers to manage the general fund does not differ between general funds that had a positive and negative pre-managed change in fund balance, suggesting the incentive to report neither surplus nor deficit exists. Results also reveal that the practice of using transfers to manage the general fund toward zero is more substantial in municipalities with greater external oversight from citizens, creditors, state and federal granting agencies, and employees, as well as in municipalities with a strong-mayor form of government. JEL Classifications: H71; H72; M48; M41; G39

Local option sales taxes and county rainy day funds

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helisse Levine ◽  
Marc Fudge ◽  
Geoffrey Propheter
Keyword(s):  
Selection Bias ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Stress ◽  
General Fund ◽  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
Correction Technique ◽  
Local Option ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Positive Effect

Rainy day stabilization funds (RDSFs) and local option sales taxes (LOSTs) are two strategies local governments deploy to combat fiscal stress. While the literature on both is robust, it has thus far failed to consider empirically that the two may be connected. One way the marginal LOST dollar could be spent is by saving it for future use. We test the connection with a sample of 414 counties and correct for selection bias with the Heckman correction technique. We find that each $10 increase in LOST revenue per capita is associated with a $0.10 increase in undesignated general fund balance. Though small, the positive effect size supports the theory that LOSTs contribute to a greater propensity to save.

New Faces in American Cities: The Cuban Exiles

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose I. Lasaga ◽  
Malcolm Kushner
Keyword(s):  
Cuban Exiles ◽  
American Cities

URBAN DISPLACEMENT AND LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF THE AMERICAN CITY FROM THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 06 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Knight ◽  
Mohammad Gharipour
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Redevelopment ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Cultural Connections ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

How can urban redevelopment benefit existing low-income communities? The history of urban redevelopment is one of disruption of poor communities. Renewal historically offered benefits to the place while pushing out the people. In some cases, displacement is intentional, in others it is unintentional. Often, it is the byproduct of the quest for profits. Regardless of motives, traditional communities, defined by cultural connections, are often disrupted. Disadvantaged neighborhoods include vacant units, which diminish the community and hold back investment. In the postwar period, American cities entered into a program of urban renewal. While this program cleared blight, it also drove displacement among the cities’ poorest and was particularly hard on minority populations clustered in downtown slums. The consequences of these decisions continue to play out today. Concentration of poverty is increasing and American cities are becoming more segregated. As neighborhoods improve, poorer residents are uprooted and forced into even more distressed conditions, elsewhere. This paper examines the history of events impacting urban communities. It further reviews the successes and failures of efforts to benefit low-income communities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document