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Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Strengthening the Economy by Rethinking the Role of Federal and State Governments

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  • Alice M. Rivlin

Abstract

This lecture brings together two subjects that are not often discussed together: national economic policy and the structure of American federalism. My thesis is that the policies needed to improve the health of the U.S. economy over the next decade or two require a new look at the division of responsibilities between the federal government and the states. In particular, I will argue that the states should have much clearer responsibility for most kinds of public investment, especially for improving the skills of the labor force and upgrading public infrastructure. The federal government should concentrate on a different set of missions, including interaction with the rest of the world, strengthening social insurance, and contributing to national saving by running a surplus in the unified federal budget.

Suggested Citation

  • Alice M. Rivlin, 1991. "Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Strengthening the Economy by Rethinking the Role of Federal and State Governments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 3-14, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:5:y:1991:i:2:p:3-14
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.5.2.3
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    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.5.2.3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Marlow, 1992. "Intergovernmental competition, voice and exit options and the design of fiscal structure," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 73-88, December.
    2. Richard Scheffler & Richard Smith, 2006. "The impact of government decentralization on county health spending for the uninsured in California," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 237-258, September.
    3. David E. Wildasin, 1993. "State income taxation with mobile labor," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(1), pages 51-75.
    4. Joe P. Mattey & Mark M. Spiegel, 1995. "Is state and local competition for firms harmful?," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue aug4.
    5. Melle Marco C., 2014. "Eine europäische Bemessungsgrundlage für die Körperschaftsteuer? Konzeption und ordnungsökonomische Analyse / Conceptual design and constitutional economics analysis of a European tax base for corpora," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 133-156, January.
    6. Samuel Staley & John Blair, 1995. "Institutions, quality competition and public service provision: The case of public education," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 21-33, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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