Energy and Land Use

In an era of federal deficits and struggling municipalities, the states have emerged as the most significant governmental actors of the 1990s. But state governments face a major challenge of fiscal planning in the midst of economic change.

Bahl and Duncombe tackle this challenge head-on. Using New York as a case in point, they identify looming dangers for state revenue and expenditure planning created by the economic shifts of the 1980s.

The authors offer invaluable lessons for the 1990s. They question forcing a "1960s tax policy through a 1990s economy,' and they seek long-range fiscal planning In place of the "mad scramble for eleventh-hour solutions" to annual budget crises.

The book is thought-provoking, exhaustively researched, and sensibly written—a glimmer of sanity in an uncertain time. Its lessons are applicable everywhere and should be read by all those seeking a route through the tangled thickets of government policy for economic growth.

Robert W. Burchell is professor II at Rutgers University and co-director at the Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University. An expert on fiscal impact analysis, land-use development and regulation, and housing policy, Burchell co-authored the Development Impact Assessment Handbook for the Urban Land Institute. His other publications include The Fiscal Impact Handbook, The Practitioner’s Guide to Fiscal Impact Analysis, The Adaptive Reuse Handbook, and the Environmental Impact Handbook.

David Listokin is professor and co-director of the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University. He is a leading authority on community and fiscal impact analysis, housing policy, land-use regulation, and historic preservation. In addition he has served as a principal investigator for numerous organizations, such as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of State, and the Fannie Mae Foundation.