The Fiscal Crisis and the Local State: Examination of the Structuralist Concept

Abstract

Neo-Marxist theory has been widely used by urban scientists to explain patterns of fiscal stress among US cities during the 1970s. Despite its popularity, strict empirical tests are rare, and few attempts have been made to account for theoretical and empirical criticism and recent changes in the fiscal behavior of cities. A causal model is developed and tested for long-term debt of large US cities in 1975 and extended through 1985. The results contradict hypotheses of the neo-Marxist theory and show that it ignores the relevance of changes in urban fiscal strategies and underestimates the political flexibility of city managers.

The Decline of the Political Consensus for Urban Growth: Evidence from Los Angeles

“…Similarly, many of the same problems that plague local government in Los Angeles are present in other cities. The fiscal crisis brought on by the decrease in federal government funds, suburbanization, and post-1970 economic restructuring has affected many American cities (Kamer, 1983;Ladd & Yinger, 1989;Muller & Rohr-Zanker, 1989;Tabb, 1984). Furthermore, the declining voter turnout in Los Angeles is mirrored in other cities (such as Louisville, San Francisco, Miami, Milwaukee, and Boston) suggesting local government's loss of legitimacy is widespread (Branch, 1998;Chacon, 1996;Cole, 1999;Cross, 1998;Tansey, 1998;).…”