Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Economics Dept.
Advisor(s)
Guillermo Vuletin
Abstract
This paper disentangles the effect of political ideology and budget rules on fiscal cyclicality across the U.S. states. Using panel data from 1963 to 2006, liberal states are found to be significantly less procyclical than conservative ones. The impact of balanced budget constraints is contingent on the ideological orientation of the state in which they are imposed. Tight balanced budget rules are not binding on conservative states, but are binding on liberal ones. Where they are binding, budget rules mediate the link between voter preferences and policy outcomes skewing them toward greater procyclicality.
Keywords
State Cyclicality, Budget Institutions, Balanced Budget Rules, State Fiscal Policy, Politics and State Bugeting
Recommended Citation
Cummins, Ian W., "Cyclicality of State Budgeting: A Political-Economy Analysis." (2009). Honors Theses. Paper 558.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/558
Copyright
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Included in
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