Despite mixed results, state government use of targeted economic development programs has escalated. This study evaluates the impact of motion picture incentive programs, an array of tax incentives employed by over 40 states to entice film and television productions out of California and New York, on labor and economic conditions from 1998 through 2013. Results suggest that sales and lodging tax waivers had no effect on any of four different economic indicators. Transferable tax credits had a small, sustained effect on motion picture employment levels but no effect on wages. Refundable tax credits had no employment effect and only a temporary wage effect. Neither credit affected gross state product or motion picture industry concentration. Incentive spending also had no influence. These findings demonstrate the heterogeneous impacts of different incentives offered under a single program and should inform future economic development policy design.

Policy termination has received less scholarly attention than policy diffusion, and empirical state-level studies that examine the rise and fall of the same policy are mostly absent from the literature. This study assesses the factors that led more than 45 states to enact and some to later repeal Motion Picture Incentive programs, a collection of tax incentives aimed at facilitating job creation and economic diversification. We find program enactments were driven by rising unemployment and national but not bordering state imitation. Falling unemployment and national trends drove subsequent terminations, but in many states, their impact was overwhelmed by the influence of incentive spending, which greatly reduced termination likelihood. These results not only shed light on policy enactments and terminations in general, but also inform scholarship on state tax incentives and the role of competitive factors in their creation and repeal—or lack thereof.

This study analyzes the diffusion of public sector pension reforms across the American states between 1999 and 2012, a policy area notable for its fiscal implications as much as its recent political polarization. Previous enactment in other, non-contiguous states was the largest and most consistent driver of reform. Otherwise, empirical findings suggest that reform antecedents varied by reform type. Existing funding levels reduced the likelihood that states would cut benefits, change pension governance, or reduce cost of living allowances, but had no effect otherwise. Evidence for partisan legislative influence is weak, although Republican control had partial, positive effects on the enactment of pension governance reforms and increases to the retirement age. Across the board, other relevant factors such as constitutional pension protections, collective bargaining rights, and union membership density had no effect. That external contagion pressures have a more robust influence than endogenous conditions raises questions about the future efficacy of pension reform.

Policy makers allocate billions of dollars each year to tax incentives that increasingly favor creative industries. This study scrutinizes that approach by examining motion picture incentive programs used in over thirty states to encourage film and television production. It uses a quasi-experimental strategy to determine whether those programs have contributed to employment growth. Results mostly show no statistically significant effects. Results also indicate that domestic employment is unaffected by competing incentives offered outside the United States. These findings are robust to several alternative models and should lead policy makers to question the wisdom of targeted incentives conferred on creative industries.

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Recent confl icts over public sector defi ned benefi t pension funding have inspired polarized debates about the need for reform, including the utility of replacing pensions with defi ned contribution accounts, which are popular throughout the private sector. Between 1996 and 2011, 15 American states enacted legislation to implement either mandatory or optional defi ned contribution accounts for certain public employees. What drove this process? Th is article investigates the role of political, budgetary, and contagion infl uences on the diff usion of defi ned contribution accounts for general state employees. Empirical results suggest that enactments were infl uenced by Republican legislative, but not executive, partisanship. Gains in state indebtedness also increased the likelihood of enactment independent of political and other factors. Th ere is no evidence of policy learning based on neighboring state activity and no infl uence from two measures of organized labor power. Both quantitative and qualitative robustness checks largely reinforce these fi ndings.

This article presents an integrated approach to teaching a graduate-level public financial management course. It stresses the importance of fundamental budgeting proficiencies (e.g., cost allocation; forecasting; operating within constraints; and using Microsoft Excel) and additional skills that tend to receive less attention in financial management courses (e.g., cost–benefit analysis and analyzing audited financial reports). It also links financial management with broader issues in public administration (e.g., accountability and civic engagement). The course design makes use of both case studies and interactive simulation assignments. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest this approach is well-received by students. The article includes several options for modifying the course to fit diverse programmatic needs.

The purpose of this study was to examine paid sick leave (PSL) practices among large municipal governments in the United States. Results of a national survey suggest that over 90% of these governments offer PSL. Few reported making any post-recession changes, and in fact, most governments continue to allow employees to rollover unused sick leave from year to year, cash out unused sick leave upon termination, and/ or include unused sick leave in pension calculations despite the sometimes significant cost of such policies. Documentation is required in 70% of governments, but formal auditing of PSL occurs in less than one third of responding governments. Type of government, employee classification (e.g., public safety vs. general staff), collective bargaining, and whether the government requires public hearings for public employee benefit changes were significant factors in determining certain PSL practices.