A Brookings Institution Press and the National Academy of Public Administration publication America's complex system of multi-layered government faces new challenges as a result of rapidly changing economic, technological, and demographic trends. An aging population, economic globalization, and homeland security concerns are among the powerful factors testing the system's capacity and flexibility. Major policy challenges and responses are now overwhelmingly intergovernmental in nature, and as a result, the fortunes of all levels of government are more intertwined and interdependent than ever before. This volume, cosponsored by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), defines an agenda for improving the performance of America's intergovernmental system. The early chapters present the current state of practice in intergovernmental relations, including discussion of trends toward centralization, devolution, and other power-sharing arrangements. The fiscal underpinnings of the system are analyzed, along with the long-term implications of current trends in financing at all levels. The authors identify the principal tools used to define intergovernmental management–grants, mandates, preemptions—in discussing emerging models and best practices in the design and management of those tools. In tergovernmental Management for the 21st Century applies these crosscutting themes to critical policy areas where intergovernmental management and cooperation are essential, such as homeland security, education, welfare, health care, and the environment. It concludes with an authoritative assessment of the system's capacity to govern, oversee, and improve. Contributors include Jocelyn Johnston (American University), Shelley Metzenbaum (University of Maryland), Richard Nathan (SUNY at Albany), Barry Rabe (University of Michigan), Beryl Radin (American University), Alice Rivlin (Brookings Institution), Ray Sheppach (National Governors Association), Frank Shafroth (George Mason University), Troy Smith (BYU–Hawaii), Carl Stenberg (University of Nor

Introduction : politics, government, management across boundaries -- Federal framing of intergovernmental relations and intergovernmental management -- Integrating the federal system through law and politics -- Legally and politically based intergovernmental relations in practice -- Jurisdictional interdependence -- Managing interdependency -- Intergovernmental management partnerships with nongovernmental organizations -- Managing intergovernmental management partnerships -- The network era -- Organized intergovernmental management networks -- Conclusion : the past and future of intergovernmental management

The trend towards multi-level and intergovernmental governance arrangements has created a need for a new analytic language and for new frameworks of analysis. It has changed the nature of decision-making. This timely book combines perspective from public policy, public management and public finance and provides new insights into who governs the multi-level and intergovernmental polity and how it is governed, making it an essential addition to the literature. Steven Van de Walle, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands This innovative book presents a transatlantic comparison of governance and Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) policy, performance and management. By examining both analytical and empirical differences and similarities between the European Union and the United States, this comprehensive book provides a better understanding of (inter) governmental systems, settings and actors operating in the post New Public Management Era. The expert contributors consider processes of policy formulation and implementation from an intergovernmental point of view, examine issues of performance and accountability that rise in IGR settings and zoom in on the importance and implications of IGR for welfare. Taken together, these insights provide an important next step into the world of transatlantic research and comparison. This timely book will appeal to academics and researchers involved in IGR and Multi-Level Governance from the US and Europe as well as post-graduate students in public administration and public policy.

One of the major dilemmas facing the administrative state in the United States today is discerning how best to harness for public purposes the dynamism of markets, the passion and commitment of nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and the public-interest-oriented expertise of the career civil service. Researchers across a variety of disciplines, fields, and subfields have independently investigated aspects of the formidable challenges, choices, and opportunities this dilemma poses for governance, democratic constitutionalism, and theory building. This literature is vast, affords multiple and conflicting perspectives, is methodologically diverse, and is fragmented. The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy affords readers an uncommon overview and integration of this eclectic body of knowledge as adduced by many of its most respected researchers. Each of the chapters identifies major issues and trends, critically takes stock of the state of knowledge, and ponders where future research is most promising. Unprecedented in scope, methodological diversity, scholarly viewpoint, and substantive integration, this volume is invaluable for assessing where the study of American bureaucracy stands at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and where leading scholars think it should go in the future. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics: George C. Edwards III

Intergovernmental agreements are an important instrument in federal systems, establishing new social programs, regulating agricultural practices, and even changing constitutions. Despite their importance, there have only been limited attempts to understand agreements in a comparative context or to provide a theoretical framework for their study. This book addresses both of these deficiencies by comparing the use of agreements in six federations (Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States) and considering why certain federations form more agreements than others. Parker analyzes the data using an institutional framework that considers the effects of seven variables, including the constitutional division of powers, the system of intergovernmental transfers, the size of the welfare state and the nature of governing institutions. In addition, the study provides the first ever comparative database of national intergovernmental agreements — a new resource for future research. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Political Science, Federalism, Government, Political Institutions, Political Theory and Comparative Politics.

State and local government fiscal systems have increasingly become vulnerable to economic changes. Over the past three decades, state and local deficits during economic recession have been larger and deeper each time. The impact of the Great Recession and its aftermath of feeble growth and lingering high unemployment has been dramatic both in scope and intensity. Before the crisis, long-term structural deficits were persistent for both individual governments and the entire sector as spending plans and patterns outpaced governments' revenue-generating capacity. The revenue systems of these governments eroded while the workloads and scope on the expenditure side of the state and local system budget continued to grow. This handbook evaluates the persistent problems in the fiscal systems of state and local governments and what can be done to solve them. It contains 35 chapters authored by 60 practitioners and academics who are renowned scholars in state and local finance. Each chapter provides a description of the discipline area, examines major developments in policy, practices and research, and opines on future prospects. The chapters are divided into four sections. Section I is a systematic discussion of the institutional, economic, and political framework that provides a background for understanding the structure and financial performance of the state and local sector. The chapters in Section II provide an overview of the various components of state and local revenue systems and how they reacted to the Great Recession. They analyze the diverse forms of taxes and charges in detail, prescribe remedies and alternatives, and examine the implications for future revenue performance. Chapters in Section III turn to spending, borrowing and financial management in the state and local sector. The focus is on the big six service delivery sectors: education, health care, human services, transportation, pensions, and housing. Section IV is a set of chapters that look ahead and speculate about how the state and local government sector's money-raising, spending, and service delivery structures will adjust to the new circumstances.

This popular text mixes the best classic theory and research on urban politics with the most recent developments in urban and metropolitan affairs. Its very balanced and realistic approach helps students to understand the nature of urban politics and the difficulty of finding effective solutions in a suburban and global age. The eighth edition provides a comprehensive review and analysis of urban policy under the Obama administration and brand new coverage of sustainable urban development. A new chapter on globalization and its impact on cities brings the history of urban development up to date, and a focus on the politics of local economic development underscores how questions of economic development have come to dominate the local arena. The eighth edition is significantly shorter than previous editions, and the entire text has been thoroughly rewritten to engage students. Boxed case studies of prominent recent and current urban development efforts provide material for class discussion, and concluding material demonstrates the tradeoff between more ideal and more pragmatic urban politics.

Territorial autonomy in Spain has reached a crossroads. After over thirty years of development, the consensus regarding its appropriateness has started to crumble. The transformation project embodied by the reform of Statute of Catalonia (2006) has failed to achieve its most significant demands. Although the concept of Spain as a Federation is disputed -more within the country than beyond-, the evolution of the Spanish system needs to follow a markedly federalist path. In this perspective, reference models assume critical importance. This edition gathers the works of a broad group of European, American and Spanish experts who analyse the present-day challenges of their respective systems. The objective, thus, is to contribute ideas which might help to address the evolution of the Spanish system in the light of the experience of more established Federations. This second volume focuses its attention on the difficulties and challenges faced in two particular fields. On the one hand, the field of intergovernmental relations and, on the other, questions related to the integration and acknowledgement of diversity and of Fundamental Rights, with special reference to the cases of Canada and Spain. Finally, there is analysis of other specific aspects of the system of territorial autonomy in Spain.

American Federal Systems and COVID-19 analyzes five American federations – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States – and how they have responded to a complex intergovernmental problem (CIP) such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Managing Urban America, Eighth Edition, the authors guide students through the politics of urban management—doing less with more while managing conflict, delivering goods and services, responding to federal and state mandates, adapting to changing demographics, and coping with economic and budgetary challenges. This revision: highlights the difficulties cities confront as they deal with the lingering economic challenges of the 2008 Recession evaluates the concept of e-government, and offers numerous examples in both theory and practice considers environmental issues and the implications for urban government management includes new case studies, including some with a global perspective as the authors examine the management of international cities thoroughly updates all data and scholarship.