Progress 03/01/23 to 02/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience:One target audience consists of the local, state, and national policymakers who address the challenges local governments face. We work closely with the International City County Management Association and state level local government associations to ensure our research is focused on issues of importance to local government and that our work is disseminated to these audiences. We reach these audiences through research collaborations, conferences, workshops, interviews, online meetings, issue briefs. We have developed close and ongoing engagement with professional organizational partners, most notably the International City / County Management Association, and the National Association of Counties. We also engaged state level chapters of these organizations. We present at conferences, participate in webinars, and write articles for the professional publications of these organizations. A second target audience is academics. We share our research with the broader academic community via journal articles, conference presentations, developing data sets, and conducting analysis that will be of use to academics who work on local government issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We work with a group of undergraduate and graduate students to help them understand the context of local policymaking with a focus on local government finance, service delivery. We achieve this through class assignments, workshop classes, masters and PhD projects, and online conference attendance and presentation opportunities. We also provide students with an introduction to research methods as well as opportunities to practice and critique research strategies. Students are engaged in data analysis and case studies and in the preparation of issue briefs and conference presentations. In 2023, the OSU team mentored one doctoral student, Dax Fisher-Garby. They plan to use the county longitudinal data for their dissertation research to analyze county governments' policies and capacity and their association with environmental well-being. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated to academic audiences, and many papers presented at conferences for academics, policy makers and practitioners. We presented at the Rural Sociological Society, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Urban Affairs Association. We presented at the Rockefeller Institute of Government on local government responses to the American Rescue Plan. We produced a number of extension oriented issue briefs which are available on Dr. Warner's Local Government Restructuring Lab website. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/local-government-restructuring-lab What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Cornell team will prepare the data under objective 1 for archiving on the Cornell Library website. We will continue to analyze the data and publish results under objective 2. The OSU team will complete papers under objective 3 on: the influence of county governments' institutional capacity and policies on disparities such as jail rates; the association of county government activities with poverty outcomes by race/ethnicity; and changes in county governments' activities over time. Under objective 4, the Cornell team will continue analysis of broadband, water and ARPA plans of local governments for publication.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Build a county area finance file that includes all jurisdictions in each county area for 2017. Completed - The files are being prepared to be stored for public use in Cornell University Research Data Management Archive. Objective 2: Build a longitudinal data set of county area finance files to assess shifts in expenditures. We are using the all comprehensive database constructed on county areas' finance in the U.S. from the 2002-2017 in Objective 1. We are assessing the composition of expenditures and the its impact on spatial inequality by region, metro status and across different expenditure categories: allocational, redistributive and developmental. Academic papers are under review. We find neither fiscal federalism nor austerity theory adequately explain shifts in US local government expenditure after the Great Recession. Spatial difference in local government expenditure composition is assessed using finance data from 2007-2017. While overall expenditure increased slightly, panel regressions of education, social and allocational expenditures show local expenditure composition shifted. Decentralization is associated with more redistributive expenditure at the local level - not less, as fiscal federalism and austerity theory claim. Local expenditure composition is affected by state decentralization, state aid and local need. State aid relieves local social expenditure, but not in states with historically high social welfare commitments. Educational expenditure is lower in more decentralized states, but state aid has a complementary effect, thus privileging suburbs. Local governments balance need with fiscal resources as pragmatic municipalism claims, but in states with historically higher social welfare commitments, this places extra pressure on local governments, as seen by austerity scholars in places like the US Midwest. Objective 3: Build a longitudinal file of county government policies The Ohio State team is responsible for Objective 3 of the project. This project objective is to produce a longitudinal and panel data set on county governments' activities. The dataset produced forms the major data set used through the life of the project to address the research questions outlined in the project proposal. In 2023, we used the project county government data set to conduct a series of analyses on urban-rural differences and to analyze new dependent variables on the outcomes of county government characteristics.We also performed analyses based on external reviewers' requests for an article under review with City & Community. The paper was accepted by the journal and is forthcoming. In this paper, we used the 2018/2019 data wave of the project to examine rural-urban differences in the characteristics of county governments and how these characteristics are associated with cutback policies such as layoffs and hiring freeze. Based on our analyses, economic, political, and county-government institutional variables are associated with the use of more cutback policies with little difference in the effects of these determinants between urban and rural counties.In 2023, we also continued to analyze new dependent variables that are associated with county governments with a focus on jail incarceration rates.Among our findings is that counties providing a greater range of public services have lower jail incarceration rates.We are completing a paper on this topic for a submission to a journal in 2024. Objective 4: Build state policy data base to assess impact on broadband access and labor protections on equitable regional economy growth. In 2023-24 we collected data on state-level policies and politics (N=50) related to state preemption of local authority in health care emergency declarations. This is a continuation of work related to COVID-19 impacts. We also began developing models on factors that differentiate states with more preemption. We find more professional state legislatures are less likely to preempt emergency health authority. This was published in International Journal of Health Planning and Management. We followed this with case studies on local community response. We organized a panel at the Urban Affairs Association conference on Broadband and Digital Equity: Challenges and Opportunities. We published a paper with Pew Charitable Trusts analyzing state broadband policy and impacts on rural communities. We find states are prioritizing lower density places, but rural places with lower education, more minorities and more poverty are not as likely to get grants. This has implications for new federal policy to ensure that funds reach the communities with the greatest need. We also find states prioritize traditional broadband providers rather than new providers, such as municipalities and coops. We analyzed American Rescue Plan spending patterns of local governments with a particular focus on rural governments and found that capacity, regional collaboration and planning helped differentiate communities with more equity-focused projects. This work was published in Journal of Rural Studies, Local Government Studies and Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. Case studies on water, broadband, housing are under review at Journal of Urban Affairs. We also studied the emergence of fair market valuation for municipal water systems, the drivers of this policy change and its impacts of municipal sale of water systems and water rates. An article is under review.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Linda Lobao and Paige Kelly. Urban Austerity Theory, Politicizing Space, and Cutback Policies across Urban and Rural Communities. City & Community (forthcoming).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Warner, Mildred E. and Paige M. Kelly, 2024. Proceed with Caution: US Local Governments and the American Rescue Plan, Local Government Studies, forthcoming.
10.1080/03003930.2023.2288708
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Mildred E. Warner and Austin M. Aldag. 2024. Pandemic Relief Spending by New York Local Governments, Journal of Rural Studies, forthcoming. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103157
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Aldag, A.M. and M.E. Warner (2023). Intermunicipal Cooperation and Agreement Formalization. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, forthcoming.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17487870.2023.2244628
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Zhang, Xue, Mildred E. Warner and Gen Meredith (2023). Factors Limiting US Public Health Emergency Authority during COVID-19, International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 38(5): 1569-1582. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3694
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Warner, M.E. (2023). Pragmatic Municipalism: Privatization and Remunicipalization in the US, Local Government Studies, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2022.2162884
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Warner, M.E. and Zhang, X. (2023). Joint Use between Communities and Schools: Unpacking Dimensions of Power, Community Development, 54(4): 496-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2022.2124529 .
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Reece, Jason, Warner, Mildred E. and Zhang, Xue. 2023. Broadening the Paradigm: Community Development, Schools and the Dimensions of Power, Community Development. 54(4): 468-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2023.2217881
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Warner, Mildred E. and Zhang, Xue. 2023. Representative bureaucracy, age-friendly planning, and the role of gender, public engagement, and professional management, Administration and Society. 55(9): 17381757. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231183000
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Zhang, X., Warner, M.E., & Meredith, G., (2023). COVID-19 Mortality Rates were Higher in States that Limited Governments from Enacting Public Health Emergency Orders. Syracuse University Center for Policy Research, Policy Brief Series. Brief #6. Accessed at https://surface.syr.edu/cpr475
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Bravo, N. and M.E. Warner, 2023. Closing the Broadband Infrastructure Gap: State Grant Funds and the Digital Divide. Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/node/880
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kerry Ard. 2023. (Invited Speaker). The Role of Spatial Segregation in Explaining Environmental and Health Disparities in a US Context. University of Oregon Sociology Colloquium. March Eugene, OR.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Sarah Walton and Linda Lobao. 2023. Punishment and the Local State: County Governments, Local Politics, and Jail Incarceration across the United States. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, Burlington VT, August.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Sarah Walton and Linda Lobao. 2023. The Punitive Local State: County Governments, the Social Safety Net, Politics and Jail Incarceration. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, August.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Linda Lobao and Paige Kelly. 2023. Cutting Back Government: Urban Austerity Policies Across the United States. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, August.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
TJ McKiernan and ME Warner, 2023. Fair Market Value and the future of US Public Drinking Water Systems, Assoc. of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference (ACSP), Chicago, IL Oct 18-21, 2023.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Paula Diaz and Mildred Warner (2023) A Policy Window for Equity? The American Rescue Plan and Local Government Response, Assoc of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference (ACSP), Chicago, IL Oct 18-21, 2023.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Austin Aldag and Mildred Warner, 2023. The Costs of Intermunicipal Cooperation: Agreement Formalization, Duration, and Service Characteristics. Urban Affairs Association conference, April 26-29, 2023. Nashville, TN.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Natassia Bravo, Mildred E. Warner, Austin M. Aldag, Xue Zhang, Cornell University, 2023, Closing the Broadband Infrastructure Gap: How States Are Allocating Grant Funds to Support Deployment, April 2023. Urban Affairs Association conference.
|
Progress 03/01/22 to 02/28/23
Outputs
Target Audience:One target audience consists of the local, state, and national policymakers who address the challenges local governments face. We work closely with the International City County Management Association and state level local government associations to ensure our research is focused on issues of importance to local government and that our work is disseminated to these audiences. We reach these audiences through research collaborations, conferences, workshops, interviews, online meetings, issue briefs. We have developed close and ongoing engagement with professional organizational partners, most notably the International City / County Management Association, and the National Association of Counties. We also engaged state level chapters of these organizations. We present at conferences, participate in webinars, and write articles for the professional publications of these organizations. A second target audience is the group of undergraduate and graduate students with which we work. We seek to help students understand the context of local policymaking with a focus on local government finance, service delivery. We achieve this through class assignments, workshop classes, masters and PhD projects, and online conference attendance and presentation opportunities. We also provide students with an introduction to research methods as well as opportunities to practice and critique research strategies. Students are engaged in data analysis and case studies and in the preparation of issue briefs and conference presentations. A third target audience is academics. We share our research with the broader academic community via journal articles, conference presentations, developing data sets, and conducting analysis that will be of use to academics who work on local government issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In 2022, Dr. Paige Kelly was trained as a Post Doctoral Associate at Cornell. She conducted research both on the county data and on how local governments were using their Am. Rescue Plan Act funds. Dr. Yuanshuo Xu, of Zhejiang University worked with Dr. Mildred Warner on analysis of the county area finance data. This is a continuation of the work he conducted on this project as a doctoral student at Cornell. A number of masters students, working on case studies, developed research and outreach skills as part of this project. The OSU team mentored two doctoral students. One student (Sarah Walton) completed her dissertation using county government survey project data. Dr. Walton's focus is on counties' institutional characteristics such as administrative capacity and their social service provisions and the impact of these factors on rates of county jail incarceration. The focus of her dissertation was directly important in her securing a tenure track assistant professor position in the Department of Sociology, University of Maine, Orono which she joined in August 2022. The second doctoral student (Dax Fisher-Gariby) joined the project in January 2023. Fisher-Gariby is being mentored to access and utilize the county longitudinal data for their dissertation research which focuses on county governments' policies and capacity and their association with environmental well-being. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated to academic audiences with one dissertation completed (OSU), and many papers presented at conferences for academics, policy makers and practitioners. We presented at the Rural Sociological Society, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and an international workshop on local government service delivery in Barcelona, Spain. For practitioners and policy makers we organized a webinar with eCornell on drinking water. We presented at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the American Planning Association on local government responses to the American Rescue Plan. We produced a number of extension oriented issue briefs which are available on Dr. Warner's Local Government Restructuring Lab website. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/local-government-restructuring-lab What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work under Objective 1 is complete. Work under Objective 2 is continuing with analysis and papers being developed on local government expenditure. We are especially interested in looking at changes in composition over time as relates to redistributive, allocational and developmental expenditures. Under Objective 3, the OSU team plans to complete papers for which they conducted statistical analyses this year: how are county governments' institutional capacity and policies related to disparities such as jail rates; how are urban-rural variations in counties' institutional capacity and other factors related to the use of cutback policies; and how are inequalities (e.g., by race/ethnicity, gender, nativity) affected by county governments' activities? Under Objective 4 we will continue our exploration of the role of state policies on local action especially in the areas of broadband and drinking water as they have received additional funding with the American Rescue Plan. This work involves comparative state analysis and case studies.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(Objective 1): Build a county area finance file that includes all jurisdictions in each county area for 2017. Major activities and data collected: In 2021-2022, we completed our work in building the county area finance file from the 2017 Census of Governments. We then merged these with previous files from 2002-2012 to construct a comprehensive government finance database for all U.S. state and local governments and special districts (N=88,816) at the scale of the county area (N=3100). We analyzed the data base we developed on local government finances to track changes in revenue composition, from federal aid, state aid, local sources (e.g., property taxes, sales taxes), and expenditures on capital investments and current expenditures in education, infrastructure, social welfare, public safety, etc. Discussion of results: We find that the spatial differentiation of local revenue composition and expenditures show rural areas are facing challenges in revenue diversification, state-aid, expenditure maintenance, and investment for community development. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized: New knowledge generated by these data will enable scholars to become more knowledgeable about local government finances and how to balance changes in revenue (e.g., state or federal aid) with on-going and new expenditures. (Objective 2): Build a longitudinal data set of county area finance files to assess shifts in expenditures. In 2021-2022, we collected data on state decentralization and state aid policies for all county areas in the U.S. from the 2002-2017 comprehensive database constructed in Objective 1. We used this information to assess the composition of expenditures and the its impact on spatial inequality. This information provides unique cross-time financial data. We have been exploring this by region, by metro status and specifically comparing allocational, redistributive and developmental focused expenditures. Academic papers are under development. This will enable scholars to be more knowledgeable about local government finances and the challenges they face from shifting state policies. (Objective 3): Build a longitudinal file of county government policies. The Ohio State team is responsible for Objective 3 of the project. This project objective is to produce a longitudinal and panel data set on county governments' activities. The dataset produced forms the major data set used through the life of the project to address the research questions outlined in the project proposal. In 2022, we conducted comparative rural-urban analyses for the most recent 2018/2019 data wave of the project.In these analyses, we examined rural-urban differences along a range of county government variables that are associated with the use of cutback policies such as hiring freezes, layoffs, and selling assets.We found that economic, political, and county-government institutional variables are associated with the use of cutback policies and overall similar determinants for both urban and rural counties. We presented these results at the 2022 Rural Sociological Society meetings and at a conference in France. An article is under review from this work. We also expanded our focus on county populations' socioeconomic well-being by examining jail incarceration rates across counties. We find that county governments that provide a greater range of social services have lower jail incarceration rates. A doctoral dissertation was produced from this work. (Objective 4): Build state policy data base to assess impact on broadband access and labor protections on equitable regional economy growth. Major activities and data collected: During 2022-23, We also studied local governments' responses to COVID-19 American Rescue Plan funds with specific interest on investments in water infrastructure and broadband. Case studies were developed, presented in NYS and at the national American Planning Association conference. Discussion of results: We found local government are pursuing equity-focused agenda with their ARPA funds. A paper on this was published in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized: While preemption raises concerns for local activity, extra funds provided by the American Rescue Plan are enabling local governments to address pressing local needs.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Warner, M.E., Kelly, P. M. and Zhang, X. (2023). Challenging Austerity under the Covid-19 State," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, special issue on The State and the Covid Crisis, 16(1): 197209. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsac032
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Zhang, X., Gonzalez Rivas, M., Warner, ME and Grant M. 2022. Water Pricing and Affordability in the US: Public vs Private Ownership, Water Policy, 24 (3): 500516. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.283
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Walton, Sarah. 2022. The Gateway to Mass Incarceration: A County-Level Analysis of Jails in the United States. The Ohio State University. August 2022.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Warner, M.E. (2022). Advancing Equity: Local Government Responses in the Time of COVID-19. Issue brief. Local Government Restructuring Lab, Cornell University.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Hannah Faulwell, Austin Ford, Edward Guo, Muhammad Kamaruzuki (2022). Broadband for All: Harnessing ARPA for Effective Broadband Expansion. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/node/689
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Yeon Joo Kang, Lohita Turlapati, Jack Schwab, Junbo Huang (2022). Water and Sewer Infrastructure: Correcting Underinvestment with Smart Spending
https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/node/690
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Crispin, P., Ewing, G., Higo, J., Keskar, I., Marquez, A., Perras, J., Selby, J. & Suvarna, S. (2022). ARPA Housing Funds: Case Studies of Innovative Use Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/node/773
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Chen, M., Guo, E., Maduakolam, D., Shen, D., Bowman Brady, J., Olafare Olagbaju, S. (2022). Access, Range, Partnerships, Adoption: Case Studies of U.S. Broadband Expansion Projects. https://labs.aap.cornell.edu/node/774
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Challenging Austerity under the COVID-19 State, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Toronto, CA, Nov 5, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
US Agriculture Information Network, Social Issues and Rural Information IG: Discussion of Research into Inequalities in Rural Communities. April 7, 2022. On line.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
State Preemption, Labor Power, Local Government and Inequality, Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality, March 15, 2022. https://vod.video.cornell.edu/media/March+15+IDG+-+Mildred+Warner/1_db7ga45e
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
The Price of Water, Sustainable Solutions Through Advocacy, eCornell Keynote,Wednesday, July 27, 2022. https://ecornell.cornell.edu/keynotes/overview/K072722/ 1000 participants
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2022. Racial Inequality in Poverty and the Local Welfare State. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of Population Association of America: Poverty, Space, and Place Session, Atlanta, GA. April.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2022. Invited Panel Presenter, Transformational Research Challenge Young Scientific Roundtable. World Food Forum, Virtual. May
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Linda Lobao, 2022. Keynote Speaker, Changes in the State and the COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of the United States. Regional Studies Association, Closing Plenary Session on A New State Capitalism: Debates and Directions. April 1, 2022, Sussex, UK. (virtual due to COVID-19).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Mildred Warner, Intermunicipal Cooperation and Remunicipalization of Public Services, University of Barcelona, Nov 11, 2022.
|
Progress 03/01/21 to 02/28/22
Outputs
Target Audience:One target audience consists of the local, state, and national policymakers who address the challenges local governments face. We work closely with the International City County Management Association and state level local government associations to ensure our research is focused on issues of importance to local government and that our work is disseminated to these audiences. We reach these audiences through research collaborations, conferences, workshops, interviews, online meetings, issue briefs. We have developed close and ongoing engagement with professional organizational partners, most notably the International City / County Management Association, and the National Association of Counties. We also engaged state level chapters of these organizations. We present at conferences, participate in webinars, and write articles for the professional publications of these organizations. A second target audience is the group of undergraduate and graduate students with which we work. We seek to help students understand the context of local policymaking with a focus on local government finance, service delivery. We achieve this through class assignments, workshop classes, masters and PhD projects, and online conference attendance and presentation opportunities. We also provide students with an introduction to research methods as well as opportunities to practice and critique research strategies. Students are engaged in data analysis and case studies and in the preparation of issue briefs and conference presentations. A third target audience is academics. We share our research with the broader academic community via journal articles, conference presentations, developing data sets, and conducting analysis that will be of use to academics who work on local government issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In 2021, the Cornell team mentored one doctoral student (Natassia Bravo) who is contributing to Objective 4 research related to state pre-emption of local authority to invest in municipal broadband. Several undergraduate and graduate students were trained and mentored through workshop classes under Dr. Mildred Warner. In 2021, the OSU team mentored one doctoral student (Paige Kelly) who has participated in all its phases and published and presented papers with the investigators. She gained particular expertise in primary data collection and quantitative analysis of survey data and census data. In 2021, she completed her dissertation using the data collected from this project. Participation in the project further provided experience to help Dr. Kelly obtain a post-doctoral position at Cornell University. Currently, Dr. Kelly is a post-doctoral associate on this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been presented and disseminated to policy-makers, government officials, and academic audiences. Numerous journal articles have been published, including a book chapter for a volume produced by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Results were disseminated to academic audiences and policymakers through domestic and international conferences. Special paper sessions were organized on governance shifts in rural America with three papers from the project presented at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, and one session on new ways of conceptualizing local government activity, as pragmatic municipalism, presented at the American Association of Geographers. We also presented to the United States Agriculture Information Network conference on understanding diversity across rural communities in government service delivery and finance, broadband access and planning. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Under Objective 1 The Cornell team has completed this work. Under Objective 2 The Cornell team will conduct additional analysis of expenditure composition over time to continue to explore the theoretical challenges raised to traditional conceptions of fiscal federalism. Under Objective 3 The Ohio team will conduct statistical analyses of the county government longitudinal data set to address the research questions: how are county governments' institutional capacity and policies related to socioeconomic disparities; and how are inequalities (e.g., by race/ethnicity, gender, nativity) affected by county governments' activities? Under Objective 4 The Cornell team will continue to build out the state policy data base and use the data already collected in subsequent analyses. We will develop a data base of state broadband policy and assess its impact on grants to local government broadband investments.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(Objective 1): Build a county area finance file that includes all jurisdictions in each county area for 2017. Major activities and data collected: In 2021-2022, we completed work to build the county area finance file from the 2017 Census of Governments. County areas include all jurisdictions within a county (city, town, village, special districts, including schools). The county areas file provide a comprehensive picture of local government finance for all U.S. state and local governments and special districts (N=88,816) at the scale of the county area (N=3100). The Census of Governments stopped producing county area files after the 2012 census. The data we produce will provide valuable information for planners, policy-makers, and local government associations and officials. (Objective 2): Build a longitudinal data set of county area finance files to assess shifts in expenditures. Major activities and data collected: In 2021-2022, we collected data on state decentralization and state aid policies for all county areas in the U.S.. We used this information to assess the composition of expenditures for county areas (N=3100) and the impact on spatial inequality. We constructed measures of state decentralization of expenditures across policy areas (e.g., education, infrastructure, social welfare). Discussion of results: Expenditure composition is relatively stable over time, but we are seeing shifts toward more redistributive expenditures at the local level and this leads to less developmental expenditures. We have begun analysis of expenditure composition and found the potential for crowd out of local capital expenditure by current expenditure. This has implications for the developmental role of local government. This work was published in Environment and Planning A. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized: These data permit analysis of shifts in expenditure composition between functional areas and over time. This will enable scholars to be more knowledgeable about local government finances and the challenges they face from shifting state policies. Knowledge generated by this analysis raises questions about fiscal federalism theory and the developmental role for local government. We call this "broken" fiscal federalism. (Objective 3): Build a longitudinal file of county government policies. Major activities and data collected: In 2021-2022, the Ohio team produced a nationally generalizable longitudinal (cross-time for all counties) and panel (cross-time for the same counties) database. The dataset is composed of both primary and secondary data on county governments across the U.S. To produce the dataset, we compiled primary data on county government activities from the National Association of Counties (NACo) survey in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2018/2019 (funded by USDA). These data capture county government activities, social and economic development policies, finances, and other institutional attributes. We combined this with secondary data from sources such as the Equality of Opportunity Project, the American Community Survey, and the Census of Governments. These data will be used in years 2 and 3 to assess factors related to county government activities. Discussion of results: we completed urban-rural analyses for the most recent 2018/2019 wave of the project. In these analyses, we found current rural-urban gaps in governmental factors that affect rural development: rural counties lack capacity in key areas such as grant writers and other staff and they provide fewer business development programs and public services. Due to these barriers, rural counties are likely to be less effective in inducing economic growth and reducing poverty. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized: The Ohio State data set is the first nationally generalizable, longitudinal (2001, 2004, 2008, 2018/2019) database on the policies and programs of county governments, a database which allows for monitoring changes in rural and urban governments over two decades. The data provide valuable information for planners, policy-makers, scholarly research, and county officials. Little research exists on rural counties; longitudinal information is critical for rural economic development and to close rural-urban gaps. New knowledge generated by these data will allow us to document rural-urban gaps in governmental factors that affect rural development. Our research led to an invitation from economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Federal Reserve Board to produce a book chapter that incorporates our results into a new volume on rural development. (Objective 4): Build state policy data base to assess impact on broadband access and labor protections. Major activities and data collected: We collected data on state-level policies and politics (N=50) related to state labor policies as well as state preemption of local authority to invest in municipal broadband and raise revenue. We gave special attention to response to COVID-19, looking at state social safety net policies. Two state level data bases were developed and posted in the permanent online open access repository at the Cornell University Library. The social safety net index includes: minimum wage, paid sick leave, Medicaid expansion, and average monthly TANF benefit for a family of three. The tax and expenditure limitations (TEL) data base develops a restrictiveness score of TELs for counties, cities and school districts in each state. Discussion of results: We found that states with higher social safety nets, pre-pandemic, engaged in more timely public health responses (earlier shut down and later reopening) in response to the COVID pandemic. This work was published as part of a special issue on COVID-19 response in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. With respect to labor policy, we found that preemption of local authority and lower unionization rates help explain productivity divergence between returns to capital and returns to labor. Localities in states with more preemption and less unionization have lower returns to labor but do not have higher returns to capital. This suggests that one key to more inclusive growth is to strengthen local government policy authority and promote labor organization. This work was published as part of a special issue of the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society on inclusive growth. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized: The two data bases were published on line and provide state comparative data for use by other scholars. Two journal articles published. Data Bases: Wen, C and Warner, M. (2022). Tax and Expenditure Limits (TEL) Restrictiveness Index. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/110926 Zhang, X., and Warner M. (2022).Social Safety Net Index. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/111211
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Mildred Warner. Roundtable: The ICMA Alternative Service Delivery Survey and the Future of Local Government Service Delivery Research, Southern Political Science Assoc. San Antonio, TX and virtual, Jan 15, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Linda Lobao 2021. Invited Panel Presentation. Sites of Austerity: Bodies, Everyday Life and the State. Cambridge Geographical Society, U.K.: Cambridge University, March 4 (virtual due to COVID-19).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Linda Lobao. 2021. Keynote Speaker, The Rural Studies Student Conference, Spatial Inequality, Local Governments, and Community Well-Being across Rural and Urban America. The Pennsylvania State University, October 22 (virtual)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Paige Kelly and Linda Lobao. 2021. Local Governments and Market-Oriented Neoliberal Policies: Privatization, Business Incentives, and Social Service Shifts in the Present Era. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, June. Presented online due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Gregory Hooks, Linda Lobao, Victor Iturra, and Mark Partridge. 2021. Hidden in Plain Sight: Contributions of Public Employment to Reducing Poverty and Inequality and to Boosting Income. Paper presented (online) at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, August.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2021. Invited Speaker, Public Policy, Places, and Inequality across the U.S. Martin School of Public Policy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. October.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2021. Invited Speaker, Public Policy, Places, and Rural-Urban Inequality across the U.S. Auburn University, Auburn, AL. November
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2022. Invited Speaker, Public Policy, Place, and Spatial Inequality across the U.S. Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. March.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Xu, Yuanshuo and Warner, Mildred E. 2022. Crowding Out Development: Fiscal Federalism after the Great Recession," Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 54(2), 311-329. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X211053643
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Warner, Mildred E, Yuanshuo Xu 2021. Productivity Divergence: State Policy, Corporate Capture and Labor Power, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society for special issue on Rethinking the Political Economy of Place. 14(1): 51-68. 10.1093/cjres/rsaa040
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Warner, Mildred E. and Xue Zhang. 2021. Social Safety Nets and COVID-19 Stay Home Orders across US States: A Comparative Policy Analysis, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 23(2): 176-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2021.1874243.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Linda Lobao and Paige Kelly. 2021. Local Governments across Rural America: Status, Challenges, and Positioning for the Future. Pp. 81-91 in Daniel Paul Davis and Andrew Dumont (editors) Investing in Rural Prosperity. St. Louis MO and Washington DC. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Paige Kelly. 2021. Status-Based Inequalities and Changes in the Welfare State: An Empirical Study of U.S. County Governments. Doctoral Dissertation: The Ohio State University, Columbus OH. NIFA credited.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Paige Kelly and Linda Lobao. 2021. Whose Needs Matter?: The Local Welfare State, Poverty, and Variation in US Counties Social Service Provisioning. Social Currents 8 (6):566-590.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Zhang, X., Gonzalez Rivas, M., Warner, ME and Grant M. 2022. Water Pricing and Affordability in the US: Public vs Private Ownership, Water Policy, 24 (3): 500516. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.283
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mildred Warner. Municipal Governance and Finance: Before and After the Pandemic, Session II, American Association of Geographers Conference, April 8, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mildred Warner. Productivity Divergence: State Policy, Corporate Capture and Labor Power , Rural Sociological Society, June 1, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mildred Warner. US Local Government Response to Fiscal Crisis: Austerity Urbanism or Pragmatic Municipalism? Section on Chinese Public Administration (SCPA) of American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), July 6, 2021. 354 participants. https://youtu.be/uL1MGA5dBz4
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mildred Warner. Pragmatic Municipalism: Understanding Trends in US Local Government Service Delivery, Unwinding Privatization: (Re)municipalism and the Public Interest, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago,
December 10, 2021
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