Centralization in State-Local Fiscal Relationships

State Mandating of Local Government Activities: An Exploration

“…The data indicate that a better way to urxJerstand variables relevant to statelocal relations may be to consider pditical variables and administrative variables as elements of a larger set of "governmental" variables (Morgan and England, 1984). Making this distinction, one can consider the states as being more or iess centralized on either or both a pditicai dimension and an administrative dimension (Stonecash, 1981a(Stonecash, , 1981b. Conceming the latter dimension, the firxlings may suggest that the administrative "exchanges" t)etween bureaucratic officials are more important than previously recognized.…”

“…That the reiationship between mandating and formal division of labor is negative (Stonecash, 1981a) also may be suggestive, it may be that "exchange" relationships are something of a substitute for formal centralization. It may also suggest another manifestation of the tension between idedogies of "diversity" and "order" which Stever (1980) contends is central to understanding state-iocai relations.…”

“…The research of Stonecash (1981aStonecash ( , 1981b, which focuses on the somewhat different issues of state-local fiscal relationships, is also relevant here. Stonecash (1981a) has argued that there are different "dimensions" of state-local fiscal relationships.…”

“…The research of Stonecash (1981aStonecash ( , 1981b, which focuses on the somewhat different issues of state-local fiscal relationships, is also relevant here. Stonecash (1981a) has argued that there are different "dimensions" of state-local fiscal relationships. Most research has focused on the "division of labor," or the extent to which activities such as services and revenue raising are handled by the state govemment relative to local governments.…”

Paths of Fiscal Centralization in the American States

“…The level of centraUzation in a state is best determined by assessing both forms of change simultaneously (Stonecash, 1981). A state may be relatively centralized by having the state directly deliver a high proportion of services.…”