Pew's States' Fiscal Health initiative provides data, analysis, and guidance to help states navigate their fiscal challenges and identify and understand potential policy approaches. We examine key issues and promising approaches on both sides of the ledger—revenues and expenditures.
Why Understanding States' Fiscal Health Matters
States are emerging slowly from the Great Recession. In many states, revenues are gradually recovering but have not yet returned to pre-recession levels, and rising health care, education, and infrastructure costs are outpacing their growth. States’ fiscal health is critical to the nation’s economic recovery.
How We Conduct Our Work
Pew illuminates states’ fiscal challenges on both sides of the ledger—revenues and expenditures—and helps lawmakers, key stakeholders, and the media identify and understand potential policy options. We produce original research, including comprehensive 50-state assessments that compare and contrast states’ experiences and highlight promising approaches. And we convene policy leaders and experts in the field to discuss common challenges and learn from each other.
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The LATEST from the Project
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- Media Coverage
- States' Fiscal Health
Pew Center Report on State Tax Incentives
The Pew Center on the States on Thursday released a report critical of the efforts by most states and Washington, D.C., to track the performance of corporate tax subsidies. Pew researchers found that no state was doing it all it could, but broke the states up into three broad groups based on their efforts. more
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- Data Visualizations
- States' Fiscal Health
Evidence Counts
Policy makers spend billions of dollars annually on tax incentives for economic development, but no state ensures that policy makers rely on good evidence about whether these investments deliver a strong return.
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- Media Coverage
- States' Fiscal Health
Retirement: Public Pensions Get an Overhaul
In the words of some politicians and pundits, public-pension reform isn't a liberal or conservative issue -- it's a reality issue. The money's just not there to fund the kind of retirement that state workers have come to expect. Reality checks led to a record number of pension-plan changes in 41 states in 2010 and 2011, as lawmakers tried to patch the cracks in the public nest egg.
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- Media Coverage
- States' Fiscal Health
States' Fiscal Future Starts To Look A Bit Brighter
As the U.S. economy struggled to get back on its feet over the past few years, a lot of states found themselves contending with big budget deficits. They responded by firing workers, raising taxes and cutting spending. Now the fiscal picture for a lot of states is brightening a bit—but many still face enormous challenges.
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- Media Coverage
- States' Fiscal Health
As U.S., Europe Hack At Budgets, Pensions Get Sliced
Despite boasting one of the highest per capita incomes in the country, San Jose, Calif., is running large and growing deficits. The main reason is pensions and other benefits for retired city workers, such as health insurance. San Jose's problems are severe, but hardly unique. In recent years, pension costs have become a central concern both in the U.S. and in Europe.
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- Analysis
- States' Fiscal Health
Rhode Island Plan Enacts New Approach to States’ Pension Woes
Faced with rising pension costs, Rhode Island passed a set of reforms to its public sector retirement system that go further than what any other state has done. The bill is unprecedented, both in terms of the employees it will affect and the scope and scale of changes to their benefits.
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- Data Visualizations
- States' Fiscal Health
Rhode Island Overhauls Public Pensions
Faced with rising pension costs, Rhode Island passed changes to its public sector retirement system that go further than the reforms of any other state. more
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- Media Coverage
- States' Fiscal Health
Rhode Island Struggles With Pension Overhaul
Rhode Island has dug its pension system into a big hole: It's $9 billion in the red. The nation's smallest state doesn't even have half of the money it needs to pay future retirees.
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- Infographic
- States' Fiscal Health
How States Estimate Revenue
A number of states have seen tax collections come in below forecasts in recent months as the nation continues to struggle with a weakening economic outlook. more
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- Data Visualizations
- States' Fiscal Health
Harrisburg and a Brief History of Municipal Bankruptcies
Harrisburg, PA, recently filed for bankruptcy, raising fears that other cities and towns may follow suit. Pennsylvania's capital provides an example of the structural problems, political gridlock, and unfortunate events that, over time, can push a city into an extraordinary crisis. more
