How States Shaped Postwar America by
The history of public policy in postwar America tends to fixate on developments at the national level, overlooking the crucial work done by individual states in the 1960s and ’70s. In this book, Nicholas Dagen Bloom demonstrates the significant and enduring impact of activist states in five areas: urban planning and redevelopment, mass transit and highways, higher education, subsidized housing, and the environment. Bloom centers his story on the example set by New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, whose aggressive initiatives on the pressing issues in that period inspired others and led to the establishment of long-lived state polices in an age of decreasing federal power. Metropolitan areas, for both better and worse, changed and operated differently because of sustained state action—How States Shaped Postwar America uncovers the scope of this largely untold story.
State Legislatures Today: Politics Under the Dome by
A concise and provocative introduction to state legislative politics, State Legislatures Today is designed as a supplement for state and local government courses and upper level courses on legislative politics. The book examines state legislatures and state lawmakers, putting them in historical context, showing how they have evolved over the years, and differentiating them from Congress. It covers state legislative elections (including the impact of redistricting, candidate recruitment, etc.), the changing job description of state legislators, legislatures as organizations, the process by which legislation gets produced, and the influences upon legislators.
Why States Matter: An Introduction to State Politics by
When it comes to voting, taxes, environmental regulations, social services, education, criminal justice, political parties, property rights, gun control, marriage and a whole host of other modern American issues, the state in which a citizen resides makes a difference. The idea that states matter is the fundamental concept explored in this book - by accomplished scholars and authors Gary Moncrief and Peverill Squire - and has been an essential truth embedded within America's governing philosophy since the Colonial Era. Considerably less attention is paid to the gritty but essential political battles fought at the level of America's states than to the endless and infamous turmoil inside the beltway, but the political decisions made by those in state-level offices are of tremendous importance to the lives of people whose states they govern. This book introduces students to the very tangible and constantly evolving implications, limitations, and foundations of America's state political institutions, and accessibly explains the ways that the political powers of the states manifest themselves in the cultures, economies, and lives of everyday Americans, and always will. -- Publisher website.
Pennsylvania Politics and Policy by
"The activities of state governments have always been important in the American federal system. However, recent partisan gridlock in Washington, DC has placed states at the forefront of policymaking as the national government maintains the status quo. Pennsylvania Politics and Policy, Volume 1 is designed to showcase current issues of interest to Pennsylvanians. This reader contains updated chapters from recent issues of Commonwealth: A Journal of Pennsylvania Politics and Policy on education, health care, public finance, tax policy, environmental policy, alcohol policy and more. Each chapter is supplemented by forums with arguments in support of or opposed to contested elements of state policy, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading. In addition, Pennsylvania Politics and Policy, Volume 1 includes a comprehensive guide to researching state government and policy online. It is designed as a text or supplement for college or advanced high school classes in American government, state and local politics, public policy, and public administration. Contributors include: David G. Argall, Tom Baldino, Michele Deegan, Michael Dimino, George Hale, Rachel L. Hampton , Paula Duda Holoviak Jon Hopcraft, Vera Krekanova, Maureen W. McClure, Barry G. Rabe, Marguerite Roza, Lanethea Mathews Shultz, Jennie Sweet-Cushman,Amanda Warco, and the editors"-- Provided by publisher.
The Rise of the States: Evolution of American State Government by
In The Rise of the States, noted urban historian Jon C. Teaford explores the development of state government in the United States from the end of the nineteenth century to the so-called renaissance of states at the end of the twentieth. Arguing that state governments were not lethargic backwaters that suddenly stirred to life in the 1980s, Teaford shows instead how state governments were continually adapting and expanding throughout the past century. While previous historical scholarship focused on the states, if at all, as retrograde relics of simpler times, Teaford describes how states actively assumed new responsibilities, developed new sources of revenue, and created new institutions. Teaford examines the evolution of the structure, function, and finances of state government during the Progressive Era, the 1920s, the Great Depression, the post-World War II years, and the post-reapportionment era beginning in the late 1960s. State governments, he explains, played an active role not only in the creation, governance, and management of the political units that made up the state but also in dealing with the growth of business, industries, and education. Not all states chose the same solutions to common problems. For Teaford, the diversity of responses points to the growing vitality and maturity of state governments as the twentieth century unfolded.
When States Go Broke: The origins, context, and solutions for the American states in fiscal crisis by
When States Go Broke collects insights and analysis from leading academics and practitioners that discuss the ongoing fiscal crisis among the American states. No one disagrees with the idea that the states face enormous political and fiscal challenges. There is, however, little consensus on how to fix the perennial problems associated with these challenges. This volume fills an important gap in the dialogue by offering an academic analysis of the many issues broached by these debates. Leading scholars in bankruptcy, constitutional law, labor law, history, political science and economics have individually contributed their assessments of the origins, context and potential solutions for the states in crisis. It presents readers - academics, policy makers and concerned citizens alike - with the resources to begin and continue that important, solution-oriented conversation.
The Oxford Handbook of New York State Government and Politics by
The articles in The Oxford Handbook of New York State Politics assemble new scholarship in key areas of governance in New York, document the state's record in comparison to other US states, and identify directions for future research. Following the introduction, the articles are organized in five sections that look at the state constitution, state political processes, state governmental institutions, intergovernmental relations, and management and policy areas. Articles address a wide array of topics including political parties, campaign finance policy, public opinion polling, elections and election management, lobbying and interest group systems, the state legislature, the governorship, the judiciary, the state's “foreign policy,” education, health care policy, public safety, economic development, transportation policy, energy policy, and more. A final article consists of an annotated bibliography of resources on state history, state political history, the state constitution, and state political processes.
Guide to State Politics and Policy by
No previous book has pulled together into one place a single, comprehensive volume that provides up-to-date coverage of state government and politics, along with the states'current and future public policies. This new book does just that, offering students, scholars, citizens, policy advocates, and state specialists accessible information on state politics and policy in 34 topical chapters written by experts in the field. The guide provides contemporary analysis of state institutions, processes, and public policies, along with both historical and theoretical perspectives that help readers develop a comprehensive understanding of the 50 U.S. states'complex and changing political spheres. Those who use this volume—from experienced scholars to neophytes—can rely upon the guide to provide: Basic factual information on state politics and policy Core explanatory frameworks and competing arguments Insightful coverage of major policy areas as they have played out in the states.
The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government by
This book is an historic undertaking. It contains a wide range of essays that define the important questions in the field, evaluate where we are in answering them, and set the direction and terms of discourse for future work. The 'Handbook' will have a substantial influence in defining the field for years to come. The chapters critically assess both the key works of state and local politics literature and the ways in which the sub-field has developed. It covers the main areas of study in subnational politics by exploring the central contributions to the comparative study of institutions, behavior, and policy in the American context. Each chapter outlines an agenda for future research.
Does Local Government Matter?: How Urban Policies Shape Civic Engagement by
Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, improve air quality levels, lower drunk-driving rates, or achieve any of the other goals that government programs are ostensibly created to do. Whether or not such programs also have consequences with respect to future demands for government action and whether government programs can heighten—or dampen—citizen involvement in civic activities are questions that are typically overlooked. This book applies such questions to local government. Employing policy feedback theory to a series of local government programs, Elaine B. Sharp shows that these programs do have consequences with respect to citizens’ political participation. Unlike other feedback theory investigations, which tend to focus on federal government programs, Sharp’s looks at a broad range of policy at the local level, including community policing programs, economic development for businesses, and neighborhood empowerment programs. With this clear-eyed analysis, Sharp finds that local governments’ social program activities actually dampen participation of the have-nots, while cities’ development programs reinforce the political involvement of already-privileged business interests. Meanwhile, iconic urban programs such as community policing and broader programs of neighborhood empowerment fail to enhance civic engagement or build social capital at the neighborhood level; at worst, they have the potential to deepen divisions—especially racial divisions—that undercut urban neighborhoods.
Local Government and the States: Autonomy, Politics and Policy by
This book offers an overview of the legal, political, and broad intergovernmental environment in which relations between local and state units of government take place, the historical roots of the conflict among them, and an analysis of contemporary problems concerning local authority, local revenues, state interventions and takeovers, and the restructuring of local governments. The author pays special attention to local governmental autonomy and the goals and activities of local officials as they seek to secure resources, fend off regulations and interventions, and fight for survival as independent units. He looks at the intergovernmental struggle from the bottom up, but in the process examines a variety of political activities at the state level and the development and effects of several state policies. Berman finds considerable reason to be concerned about the viability and future of meaningful local government.
Local Government Management: Current Issues and Best Practices by
Some of the very best writings on issues involving local government can be found in journals published by the American Society for Public Administration or journals with which ASPA is associated. This volume includes thirty of the most outstanding articles that have been published over the past sixty years in these journals. Local Government Management is an ideal supplement for any course in local management and administration, whether the audience is students or practicing professionals.
How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy by
Focusing on five Los Angeles environmental policy debates between 1920 and 1950, Sarah Elkind investigates how practices in American municipal government gave business groups political legitimacy at the local level as well as unanticipated influence over federal politics.Los Angeles's struggles with oil drilling, air pollution, flooding, and water and power supplies expose the clout business has had over government. Revealing the huge disparities between big business groups and individual community members in power, influence, and the ability to participate in policy debates, Elkind shows that business groups secured their political power by providing Los Angeles authorities with much-needed services, including studying emerging problems and framing public debates. As a result, government officials came to view business interests as the public interest. When federal agencies looked to local powerbrokers for project ideas and political support, local business interests influence
The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government by
This book is an historic undertaking. It contains a wide range of essays that define the important questions in the field, evaluate where we are in answering them, and set the direction and terms of discourse for future work. The 'Handbook' will have a substantial influence in defining the field for years to come. The chapters critically assess both the key works of state and local politics literature and the ways in which the sub-field has developed. It covers the main areas of study in subnational politics by exploring the central contributions to the comparative study of institutions, behavior, and policy in the American context. Each chapter outlines an agenda for future research.