مالیه عمومی محلی در عواقب بعد از 11 سپتامبر

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, present significant challenges for policymakers at all levels of government. Since terrorism seems to present particularly acute risks for core urban areas, it may influence economic and policy decisions in ways that affect the spatial distribution of population and economic activity. These impacts, however, will depend importantly on the assignment of responsibilities among federal, state, and local governments for dealing with terrorism and on the distribution of the costs of these responsibilities. The policy interactions among different levels of government, and between the private and the public sectors, should provide students of political economy with much insight into the nature of the policy process in the American federation.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, present significant challenges for policymakers at all levels of government. Since terrorism seems to present particularly acute risks for core urban areas, it may influence economic and policy decisions in ways that affect the spatial distribution of population and economic activity. These impacts, however, will depend importantly on the assignment of responsibilities among federal, state, and local governments for dealing with terrorism and on the distribution of the costs of these responsibilities. The policy interactions among different levels of government, and between the private and the public sectors, should provide students of political economy with much insight into the nature of the policy process in the American federation.

The September 11 attacks struck at the heart of the nation’s leading city,the world’s leading financial center. It is impossible to know whether these attacks will prove to be an isolated,one-time event or the first of a series of assaults on urban areas in the U.S. and perhaps other countries. In any event,the y will inevitably trigger highly interrelated policy and economic adjustments. From a normative viewpoint,it is important for society to respond to these attacks and to the threat of future terrorism in ways that are economically efficient and that satisfy appropriate norms of fairness and equity. From a purely scientific viewpoint,the evolution of policy in the aftermath of September 11 will offer unique opportunities for public and urban economists to learn more about the nature of urban economies and the workings of the federal system of government in the United States. There is much fertile ground for additional research on these issues and much opportunity for this research to contribute to rational discourse on policy and,ultimately ,to better policy outcomes.