Irene Rubin

The Politics of Retrenchment: How Local Governments Manage Fiscal Stress.

Levine, Rubin, and Wolohojians study is an important addition to the urban politics and administration literature...The book fulfills its purpose; it is valuable for both urban administrators and students of urban administration. -- Perspective, March 1983 ...provides valuable insights for urban theorists with a sociological interest in the political economy of retrenchment. -- Contemporary Sociology, Vol 12 No 6, November 1983

Fiscal stress and public policy

Provides some of the most current thinking on various aspects of fiscal stress in the public sector and its implications for public management. It lays out the background of financial stress at the federal, state, and local levels, suggesting how various public bodies have responded or might respond to fiscal stress. Fiscal Stress and Public Policy is an excellent collection of articles. They are provocative, readable, and of enduring value of academicians, scholars and students of public policy. Indeed, individual contributions are overshadowed only by the overall quality of the volume. -- Quality and Quantity, Vol 17, 1983 This is an excellent collection of essays. They coalesce around an extremely important theme, and offer a good variety of approaches and applications. All are well written. The volume is a useful addition to a much needed literature on the processes and consequences of negative changes. -- Evaluation and Program Planning, Vol 6, 1983

Balancing the federal budget : eating the seed corn or trimming the herds?

1. 1981-1998: Balancing the Budget: What Have We Learned?: Why Balance the Budget: Defining the Problem. Learning How to Balance the Budget. Design of the Study. Organization of the Book. References. 2. What Happened and What Was Learned: What Have We Learned: The Lessons of the late 1970s and Early 1980s. Avoid Reductions in Force to Slim the Workforce. Finding a Budget Process that Discourages Deficits. Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Conclusion. 3. Information Agencies: Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of the Census: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conclusions. 4. Budget Offices: Congressional Budget Office. OMB. 5. The General Accounting Office: Vulnerability. Criticisms of the agencys performance. Budget History. Agency Responses. Agency Strategies. Summary and Conclusions. 6. The Departments Response: Agriculture: Overview of Themes. The USDA. Conclusions. 7. Department of Commerce: Introduction and Background. Budget Cuts, Threats of Termination, and Response. Department wide responses. Resistance and Triage. Winning Support. EDA: Cuts, Threats of Termination, and Adaptation. The PTO, User Fees and Deficit Reduction. NOAA. Conclusions. 8. The Department of Housing and Urban Development: Introduction. The Reagan Years. The Scandals. Clinton Administration. Consequences. Earmarking and Boutique Programs. Monitoring and Evaluation. Constituencies and advocacy. Conclusions. 9. Office of Personnel Management: Introduction. The Reagan Years. The National Performance Review: Phases One and Two. Reorganization. Assessment. Themes. 10. Eating the Seed Corn and Trimming the Herds: Budget Process and Tradeoffs. Defining Core Functions. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Census Bureau. Office of Personnel Management. HUD. Responding to Staffing Reductions: Increased Efficiency and Contracting Out. Duration. Strategies. Learning.