City Money. Political Processes, Fiscal Strain, and Retrenchment

Clark, Terry Nichols; Ferguson, Lorna

doi:10.7312/clar90656

Cited by 129 publications

(87 citation statements)

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“…Two studies suggest this is not the case. In contrast to the findings on infrastructural expansion reviewed above, Clark & Ferguson (1983) found that business "influence," a measure based primarily on perceptions of the level and success of business elite participation, had no effect on municipal spending and tax patterns. And in contrast to the findings on redistribution, Williams & Zimmerman (unpub lished paper, 1979) found that business elites often have more liberal redis tributive preferences than the residents of local communities.…”

Section: The Power Of Dominance and Exitcontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…Thus, they neglect the origination and implementation stages of the policy process in which business interests participate more frequently and successfully (Stone 1976). Elected officials, in contrast, have their greatest impact at the official disposi tion stage, particularly when there is uncertainty about citizen preferences (Clark & Ferguson 1983). Thus, pluralists tend to emphasize the role of elected officials and the countervailing electoral power of diverse interest groups.…”

Section: Pluralists and The Decisional Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Friedland¹,

Palmer²

1984

Annu. Rev. Sociol.

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This chapter reviews research on business power in cities. The first part is a critical discussion of research on business participation in urban policymaking. We argue that the pluralist approach fails to distinguish between types of public policies. Nor does it take into account either the process by which policies surface or the interconnections among the different segments of the business community that have interests at stake. We then show how elite theorists, who adopt an expanded decisional, reputational, or network methodology, substan tially correct for these weaknesses. A flaw in the elite framework, however, is that it does not specify the organizational or class interests that lead distinct business groups to participate in the making of specific policies. One framework that attempts to cope with this problem-the growth machine approach-is considered.We conclude, however, that all three approaches suffer from a lack of attention to sources of business power that are not tied to participation. The second part of the chapter begins by outlining a framework that emphasizes economic dominance and the capacity to exit as alternative sources of power. Then we review evidence pertaining to this framework. Finally, we speculate about the relationship between these sources of power and the use of participa tion by different business interests.

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Section: The Power Of Dominance and Exitcontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Pluralists and The Decisional Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Friedland¹,

Palmer²

1984

Annu. Rev. Sociol.

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“…7 Survey data generally show that nonwhites are more supportive of redistribution than are whites (e.g., Clark and Ferguson, 1983;Greenstone and Peterson, 1976). 8 This measure more truly reflects the stream of resources politically available to local governments than would a measure weighted more heavily to tax base (Ladd and Yinger, 1989).…”

Section: The Expenditure Modelsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Overcoming City Limits: Vertical and Horizontal Models of Local Redistributive Policy Making^*

Craw

2006

Social Science Quarterly

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Objectives. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Census data show a substantial local role in providing health, housing, and public welfare services. I evaluate two models to explain local social welfare: an intergovernmental model, based on federal and state funds, and an interjurisdictional model, based on measures of local monopoly power. Methods. I estimate a panel data model of local redistributive expenditures from 1992–2002 to test between these alternative explanations for local redistribution. Results. I find that vertical arrangements tend to drive local redistributive spending. Conclusions. Intergovernmental factors drive local social welfare policy and suppress the local welfare race to the bottom.

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“…As Clark and Ferguson (1983) point out, population decline may produce a variety of results. It entails fiscal strain only if it brings with it both decline in revenues and an inability to reduce expenditures correspondingly.…”

Section: Slow Growth As Malaisementioning

confidence: 98%

Slow Growth and Urban Development Policy

Leo

Brown

2000

Journal of Urban Affairs

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This article distinguishes between cities experiencing high rates of growth and those growing more slowly and argues that 1) widely held North American assumptions to the contrary, slow growth is not a pathology; and 2) because we do tend to view it as a pathology, we fail to plan for it and instead follow policies more appropriate to rapidly growing centers. Using Winnipeg as the primary example of a slowly growing city, but drawing on a wide range of data, the article considers the following policy areas: housing, management of infrastructure, economic development, and immigration. In each of these areas the argument is that policies that may be defensible in rapidly growing centers are inappropriately followed in slowly growing cities where different lines of policy would be more beneficial. Appropriate policies for slowly growing cities are suggested and their merits evaluated.

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City Money. Political Processes, Fiscal Strain, and Retrenchment

Cited by 129 publications

References 0 publications

Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Overcoming City Limits: Vertical and Horizontal Models of Local Redistributive Policy Making^*

Slow Growth and Urban Development Policy

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City Money. Political Processes, Fiscal Strain, and Retrenchment

Cited by 129 publications

References 0 publications

Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Park Place and Main Street: Business and the Urban Power Structure

Overcoming City Limits: Vertical and Horizontal Models of Local Redistributive Policy Making*

Slow Growth and Urban Development Policy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Overcoming City Limits: Vertical and Horizontal Models of Local Redistributive Policy Making^*