State and Local Governance Initiative | Hoover Institution

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The State and Local Governance Initiative at the Hoover Institution generates high-quality publishable research with the goal of impacting state and local government policy. Our team specializes in partnering with policymakers at the state and local level to provide evidence-based analysis and policy recommendations using administrative government data.

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Hoover Institution Pairs US Policy Officials with Leading Scholars at Inaugural Conference Focused on State and Local Policy Research

Hoover Institution Pairs US Policy Officials with Leading Scholars at Inaugural Conference Focused on State and Local Policy Research

Civil servants and policy scholars from across the United States speak at the 2024 Conference on Collaborative State and Local Policy Research on January 22, 2024, in Hoover’s Stauffer Auditorium.

Feb 7, 2024

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The Trillion Dollar Pension Problem

Policy Stories

The Trillion Dollar Pension Problem

Can alternatives to government pension plans provide states an off-ramp from the $6.5 trillion in unfunded liabilities they face, and thereby narrowly avoid impending economic and fiscal crises?

Apr 26, 2024

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By: Seamus H. Duffy, Oliver Giesecke

Pension Reform: Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges

Underfunded pensions are the largest liability for state and local governments nationwide. With increasing recognition of the associated risks, recent mandates have led to sharp increases in required contributions, threatening city services and employee bases. Pension reform offers a viable tool for prudent economic policy. This paper offers five general principles to guide pension reform and illustrates their application in the context of several local governments.

Jun 15, 2023

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By: Joshua D. Rauh, Jillian Ludwig

The California State Budget And Revenue Volatility: Fiscal Health In A Deficit Context

California is expected to face a $31 billion budget deficit in 2023–24. This comes as no surprise considering that the state budget relies primarily on notoriously volatile sources like a graduated personal income tax with high rates for high earners, including on capital gains.

Mar 29, 2023

RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS

Tax and Fiscal Policy

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Behavioral Responses To State Income Taxation Of High Earners: Evidence From California

May 5, 2022 By Joshua D. Rauh

via AEJ Economic Policy

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Local Governments' Response to Fiscal Shocks: Evidence from Connecticut

August 8, 2022 By Oliver Giesecke , Haaris Mateen

via SSRN

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State Taxation and the Reallocation of Business Activity: Evidence from Establishment-Level Data

February 1, 2016 By Xavier Giroud , Joshua D. Rauh

via Economics Working Papers

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Taxes and Net Migration in California

March 28, 2022 By Joshua D. Rauh

via SSRN

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The California State Budget And Revenue Volatility: Fiscal Health In A Deficit Context

March 29, 2023 By Joshua D. Rauh , Jillian Ludwig

via Hoover Institution Press

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Pensions and Debt

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State Government Debt Structure

December 28, 2023 By Oliver Giesecke

via SSRN

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Trends In State And Local Pension Funds

October 31, 2022 By Oliver Giesecke , Joshua D. Rauh

via Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper

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How Much Do Public Employees Value Defined Benefit Versus Defined Contribution Retirement Benefits?

December 28, 2022 By Oliver Giesecke , Joshua D. Rauh

via Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper

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Local Government Valuation

July 12, 2022 By Oliver Giesecke , Haaris Mateen , Marcelo Jardim Sena

via SSRN

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Pension Reform: Conceptual Foundations And Practical Challenges

June 15, 2023 By Seamus H. Duffy , Oliver Giesecke

via Hoover Institution Press

Piggy Bank Saving

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The Return Expectations of Public Pension Funds

October 2, 2021 By Joshua D. Rauh , Aleksandar Andonov

Business Tax Incentives And Economic Development

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What determines where opportunity knocks? Political affiliation in the selection of Opportunity Zones

January 25, 2022 By Rebecca Lester , Mary Margaret Frank , Jeffrey L. Hoopes

via Journal of Public Economics

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Tax Subsidy Information and Local Economic Effects

September 14, 2022 By Rebecca Lester , Lisa De Simone , Aneesh Raghunandan

via SSRN

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Innovative Alabama: A Report by the Hoover Institution

October 19, 2021

via Hoover Institution Press

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Hoover Institution’s State and Local Governance Initiative Applauds Alabama’s Transparency in Incentives Act

April 24, 2023 featuring Joshua D. Rauh

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Financial Challenges Facing US Cities: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

June 22, 2023

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Infrastructure and Electricity

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The Shifting Finance of Electricity Generation

July 6, 2023 By Joshua D. Rauh , Aleksandar Andonov

via Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper

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Scaling Auctions As Insurance: A Case Study In Infrastructure Procurement

July 31, 2023 By Valentin Bolotnyy , Shoshana Vasserman

via Econometrica

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Institutional Investors and Infrastructure Investing

March 28, 2022 By Roman Kräussl , Joshua D. Rauh , Aleksandar Andonov

via The Review of Financial Studies

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Private Investigations: Can Institutional Investors Fill The Infrastructure Gap?

October 29, 2021 By Joshua D. Rauh , Aleksandar Andonov , Mels de Zeeuw

via Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)

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Financial Challenges Facing US Cities: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

June 22, 2023

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Other Topics

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Homelessness in California: Practical Solutions for a Complex Problem

June 17, 2022 By Joshua D. Rauh , Jillian Ludwig

via Hoover Institution Press

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Heat and Law Enforcement

July 1, 2023 By Valentin Bolotnyy , A. Patrick Behrer

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Why Do Women Earn Less Than Men? Evidence From Bus And Train Operators

June 9, 2021 By Valentin Bolotnyy , Natalia Emanuel

via University of Chicago Press Journal

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