In the aftermath of the Great Recession, states and localities were forced to make stark choices over funding and public services as they battled to balance their budgets. While the worst of the economic hardships have passed, federal stimulus money has run dry and federal–state relations are more contentious than ever. So what’s next?
Smith and Greenblatt chart the future for states and localities as they deal with new federal regulations, a decrease in public sector employment, the consolidation of agencies, and the weakening of labor unions’ political clout. The fourth edition of Governing States and Localities continues what has always set this introductory text apart: its expert blend of the latest scholarship with engaging journalistic writing. Along with their crisp storytelling, the authors employ a comparative approach to explain how and why states and localities are both similar and different in institutional structure, culture, history, economy, geography, and demographics.
State Stats: Reliable, easy-to-use data from more than 80 different sources.
Have you seen State Stats? A new and powerful data product from CQ Press, State Stats gives students the ability to investigate reliable, easy-to-use data from more than 80 different sources, covering such areas as health care, crime, and education. Access is FREE with purchase of a new book. Intuitive mapping and graphing tools, along with a set of exercises in each chapter, are sure to get students comparing states through data visualization.
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
- A survey of voting rights issues, outlining how the long trend toward making access to the ballot easier is giving way to long lines and new identification requirements.
- State Stats, a new way to research key information and trends on the states, allows students to investigate reliable, easy-to-use data from more than 80 different sources, covering such areas as health care, crime, and education. Intuitive mapping and graphing tools get students comparing states through data visualization. A set of exercises in each chapter challenges students to apply what they’ve learned, exploring what they find interesting about a particular state.
- Updated coverage in every chapter, with particular attention to the economy, intergovernmental relations, and the impact of health care reform.
- The Finance chapter provides fresh assessment of revenue and spending challenges, with state and federal governments helping to ease the funding gap for school districts, North Dakota’s economy booming from mining its natural resources, and new concerns over how the Affordable Care Act will affect states’ bottom lines.
- The Political Attitudes and Participation chapter contains new discussion on vote-counting improvements and considers voter identification laws.
- New examples in the Legislatures chapter note recent legislative efforts, including legalization of same-sex marriage, the South Carolina executive’s repeated efforts to restructure the state government, and apportionment changes in Texas.
- The Bureaucracy chapter looks at efforts to rein in spending, including Wisconsin and Ohio trying to curtail the power of public unions.
- The impact of the Citizens United ruling is explored in the Courts chapter, particularly on judicial campaigns.
- The position states are in after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act is covered in the Health and Welfare chapter, including considerations for expanding Medicaid.
- The Latest Research boxes offer a window into cutting-edge scholarship, providing context as to the state of research on a chapter topic as well as highlighting and annotating recent journal articles and book publications, so students benefit from a deeper understanding of the social scientific study of states and localities.
- A streamlined graphics program now displays the most effective and illuminating data.
- A revamped full-color design brings renewed life to nearly thirty maps, a vivid selection of photographs, and updated tables and figures.
KEY FEATURES:
- A Difference that Makes a Difference boxes provide clear examples of how variation among states and localities can be used to explain a wide range of political and policy phenomena.
- Local Focus boxes spotlight how localities function independently of states and show how they are both constrained and empowered by intergovernmental ties.
- Policy in Practice boxes demonstrate how different states and localities interpret and implement legislation.
- States under Stress boxes underscore how budgetary constraints are reshaping how state and local governments operate.
- Nearly thirty full-color 50-state maps provide an intuitively easy way for students to grasp the differences among states and localities.
- More than 45 tables and figures feature up-to-date comparative data as well as show patterns and trends over time.
- Chapter-opening, comparative questions prompt students to look systematically for answers using the comparative method.
- Chapter-opening vignettes grab students’ interest by relating a compelling story that segues naturally into the broader themes of the chapter. Many of these vignettes (as well as many of the feature boxes) represent original reporting.
- A marginal glossary defines key concepts as they are introduced.