Author Description

"This book looks at states within five industrialized federations - Canadian provinces, Swiss cantons, Belgian regions, German lander, and American states - as case studies of variation in budget balances since 1980. The work's conclusion compares deficit levels between the federations and sheds new light on the roles of such factors as spending, taxation levels, and electoral and partisan cycles within the budget balancing process. Neatly written and theoretically grounded, this volume contributes greatly to our understanding of public finance and public administration."--BOOK JACKET.