Debt Wish: Entrepreneurial Cities, U.S. Federalism, and Economic Development

by Alberta M. Sbragia

Overview

Albert Sbragia considers American urban government as an investor whether for building infrastructure or supporting economic development.  Over time, such investment has become disconnected from the normal political and administrative processes of local policymaking through the use of special public spending authorities like water and sewer commissions and port, turnpike, and public power authorities.

Sbragia explores how this entrepreneurial activity developed and how federal and state policies facilitated or limited it.  She also analyzes the implications of cities creating innovative, special-purpose quasi-governments to circumvent and dilute state control over city finances, diluting their own authority in the process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822955993
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication date:	04/25/1996
Series:	Policy and Institutional Science Series
Edition description:	1
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Alberta M. Sbragia has written on both American and European urban affairs. A Fulbright Scholar, she has been a visiting associate professor at the Harvard Business School, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, and chair of the European Community Studies Association. She is professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Center for West European Studies.

Editorial Reviews

[A] brilliant synthesis of the literature on public investment. . . . An impressive scholarly work demonstrating command of diverse literatures. It is a must read for everyone interested in local public finance.”
—Political Science Quarterly

From the Publisher