Divided Government and Deficits in the States

在经历了长期的相对繁荣之后， 各国政府最近经历了重大的财政危机， 困难 10个州在1992年财政年度开始时没有 预算，包括纽约，这创下了纪录，超过三个 在通过预算之前，已经过了4月1日的最后期限， 缅因州和康涅狄格州，暂时关闭了所有，但 基本公共服务。 一些观察家将这种模式归咎于 20世纪80年代，州政府过度支出，而其他人则 认为“新联邦主义”是罪魁祸首，通过增加国家 同时减少联邦税收贡献。 调查人员认为，还有一个政治原因： 1992年初没有预算的10个州 财政年度，目前有九个分裂的政府，这意味着， 同一个政党没有控制行政和两院， 立法机关 该项目的调查人员认为， 这也是一个宪法原因：法律允许轻松 赤字结转比其他债务积累得更快。 调查人员将使用政治和经济模型来解释 美国的财政失衡是如何由这种政治和 法律的原因。 他们将检验美国的政党是否真的 在国家一级的财政政策上存在系统性差异， 民主党人增加税收和支出。 如果是这样，他们也将测试 没有结转的民主党州是否符合宪法 规定的行为像共和党州，而民主党州， 如果没有这些规定，就会积累大量累积赤字。 大部分 总之，研究人员试图解释分裂的政府 在经济衰退中加剧预算赤字。 这项研究有望增强我们对 政治和经济因素造成的政府分裂。

After a long period of relative prosperity, American state governments have recently been experiencing significant fiscal difficulties. Ten states began their 1992 fiscal year without a budget, including New York, which set a record by going over three months past its April 1 deadline before adopting a budget, and Maine and Connecticut, which temporarily shut down all but essential public services. Some observers blame this pattern on excessive spending by state governments in the 1980s, while others argue that the "new federalism" is to blame, by increasing state responsibilities while decreasing federal revenue contributions. The investigators believe there is also a political cause: of the ten states that lacked a budget at the beginning of their 1992 fiscal year, nine currently had divided government, meaning that the same party did not control the executive and both houses of the legislature. The investigators of this project contend there is also a constitutional cause: states whose laws allow easy carryover of deficits accumulate debt faster than others. The investigators will use political and economic models to explain how fiscal imbalance in the states results from such political and legal causes. They will test whether America's parties really differ systematically in fiscal policy at the state level, with Democrats taxing and spending more. If so, they will also test whether Democratic states with no-carryover constitutional provisions act like Republican states, while Democratic states without such provisions amass large cumulative deficits. Most of all, the researchers seek to explain how divided government exacerbates budget deficits in recessions. This research promises to enhance our understanding of the impact of divided government on political and economic factors.