Measuring Transportation Investments

This report will help policymakers prepare for the next economic downturn by explaining the ways states can design their rainy day funds to harness fluctuations in revenue.

This report is the first in a series that will offer policymakers strategies to improve their states' long-term fiscal health and manage budget uncertainty. Looking at revenue volatility across the 50 states between 1994 and 2012, the report examines the factors that drive volatility, including state-specific patterns of economic growth and contraction and their interaction with state taxes, and recommends the best ways to respond to these conditions.

iStock Note: In April 2016, this report was updated to include revised information about Louisiana’s intervention practices and to improve the clarity of citations. What role, if any, should states play in helping cities, towns, and counties recover from serious financial trouble, what officials generically call “intervention?” The Pew Charitable Trusts conducted a study examining the range of state involvement in local government finances that drew on current literature, statutes, a survey of state officials, and interviews with government finance analysts. "The State Role in Local Government Financial Distress" examines various intervention practices, identifies challenges, and elaborates on three key policy guidelines. The analysis and state profiles can help inform state decision making about whether, when, and how to assist municipalities facing fiscal stress, the likely outcomes of various approaches, and the implications for cities, counties, states, and taxpayers.