Author: Palmer, John L. and Sawhill, Isabel V.

Publication Year: 1981

Media Type: Book

Summary:

In 1982, The Urban Institute began a three year project to examine the shifts in economic and social policies occurring under the Reagan administration. This book is the first product of that effort. When President Reagan assumed office in January 1981, the nation faced high inflation, sluggish economic growth, rapidly rising federal expenditures, and an inadequate defense budget. In response, the president proposed a comprehensive plan designed to bolster the nation's economy, strengthen its defense, and reduce the role of government. Major shifts in federal regulation, tax, and budget policies were advanced. Many of the domestic responsibilities that the federal government had assumed over the past several decades were to be eliminated, reduced, or transferred to state and local governments and to the private sector.

Abstract:

In 1982, The Urban Institute began a three year project to examine the shifts in economic and social policies occurring under the Reagan administration. This book is the first product of that effort. When President Reagan assumed office in January 1981, the nation faced high inflation, sluggish economic growth, rapidly rising federal expenditures, and an inadequate defense budget. In response, the president proposed a comprehensive plan designed to bolster the nation's economy, strengthen its defense, and reduce the role of government. Major shifts in federal regulation, tax, and budget policies were advanced. Many of the domestic responsibilities that the federal government had assumed over the past several decades were to be eliminated, reduced, or transferred to state and local governments and to the private sector.

With the initial stages of President Reagan's program already enacted by the Congress, a process of substantial change is now underway. These changes warrant careful examination for two reasons: first, this is the beginning of a multiyear process. The impact of most shifts in federal policy is uncertain: unforeseen developments and unintended consequences are inevitable. Objective analysis and timely feedback of the effects of these changes will contribute to informed consideration by the public and better decisions by policy makers over the next several years. Second, the is embarking upon an experiment with economic and social policy, perhaps as significant as the New Deal. The Reagan administration has raised fundamental questions about the appropriate role of government in national life. Its program starts with distinct premises about economic and social behavior. Because these premises have far-reaching implications for the character of public policy, a rigorous and impartial assessment of this experiment is in order.

The Changing Domestic Priorities project is designed to help meet these needs. This research effort, the intitial funding for which was provided by the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, complements the Institute's long-standing work in assessing the consequences of public actions. It draws heavily upon the accumulated expertise of Institute staff and other researchers, as well as on an established tradition of objective public policy analysis. The project is broad in scope and thus relies heavily on collaborative research to capture the interactions between policy changes and public responses.

The Changing Domestic Priorities project has three objectives: to monitor and interpret significant shifts in economic and social policy; to determine the actual and likely consequences of these shifts; and to explore the implications and alternatives for further public actions. This book is aimed primarily at the first of these three objectives. It explores the magnitude and significance of the shifts in federal policy that took place during the first eighteen months of the Reagan administration, as well as many of the policies that the president proposed for subsequent consideration . Insofar as it has been possible, the book discusses the impacts of these changes thus far on people, places, and institutions. Where sufficient research exists, likely future impacts are projected.

CONTENTS

  1. Perspectives on the Reagan experiment/John L. Palmer, Isabel V.
      Sawhill.
      Responding to public concerns.
      The program for economic recovery.
      The Federal partnership with state-local governments and the
      nonprofit sector.
      The shift in social policy.
      Taking stock.

Part One. The program for economic recovery.

  2. Economic policy/Isabel V. Sawhill.
      The Legacy of the 1970s.
      The Administration's economic strategy.
      Early reactions.
      Monetary restraint and inflation.
      Fiscal policy, deficits and the economy.
      Conclusions.

  3. Budget policy/John L. Palmer, Gregory B. Mills.
      Historical trends in the Federal budget: 1956-1981.
      President Reagan's budget program.
      The tax and spending changes enacted during 1981.
      The changed budget outlook and its consequences.
      Conclusions.

  4. Tax policy/Charles R. Hultden, June A. O'Neill.
      Background.
      The economic recovery tax act of 1981.
      Economic impacts.
      Conclusions.

  5. Regulatory policy/George C. Eads, Michael Fix.
      The Reagan administration's regulatory philosophy.
      The precedents for the Reagan program.
      The Reagan Administration's strategy for regulatory relief.
      Regulatory reform in practice: deregulating transportation.
      The Reagan regulatory relief program: a framework for evaluation.
      Concluding observations on the Reagan program's first year.

Part Two. The relationship of the Federal government to the state-local and nonprofit
                sectors.

  6. The State and Local Sector/George E. Peterson.
      The new federalism in perspective.
      Block grants and the state response.
      State tax and budget actions.
      Conclusions.
      Appendix: state budget adjustments.

  7. The nonprofit sector/Lester M. Salamon, Alan J. Abramson.
      What is the nonprofit sector?
      The economic recovery program and the nonprofit sector: the theory.
      The economic recovery program and the nonprofit sector: the
      realities.
      The impacts in reality: early indications. 
      Conclusions.

Part Three. The shift in social policy.

  8. Employment, Training and Economic Development/Marc Bendick,
      Jr.
      The nature of structural employment problems.
      To what extent can prosperity solve structural employment
      problems?
      The Administration's policy initiatives.
      Conclusions.

  9. Health/Judith Feder, John Holahan, Randall R. Bovbjerg,
      Jack Hadley.
      Historical review.
      Budget reductions and program changes.
      Reforms to promote efficiency and limit health costs.
      Conclusions.

10. Social services/Michael F. Gutowski, Jeffrey J. Koshel.
      Historical development in social services.
      Social services within a changing federal budget.
      Issues.

11. Education/June A. O'Neill, Margaret C. Simms.
      Elementary, secondary and vocational education.
      Higher education.

12. Income security/James R. Storey.
      Policy development prior to 1981.
      Policy changes under President Reagan. 
      Consequences of policy changes.
      Conclusions.

13. Housing and community development/Raymond J. Struyk,
      John A. Tucillo, James P. Zais.
      Selected developments, 1974-1980.
      Change during the Reagan Administration.
      Summary.

14. Transportation/Ronald F. Kirby, Carol T. Everett.
      Issues in the Federal .financing of transportation.
      The Reagan initiatives.
      Response to date.
      Conclusion.

Part Four. Impacts on people and places.

15. Regional impacts/Thomas L. Muller.
      Regional fiscal flows in the Pre-Reagan period.
      The change in regional fiscal flows under the Reagan Administration.
      Personal income and employment.
      Conclusions.

16. The economic well-being of families and individuals/Lee Bawden,
      Frank Levy.
      Recent trends in living standards and income distribution policy
      changes.
      Effects on economic well-being.

Conclusions.
Appendix.
Notes.
About the authors.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Legislation, Funding, Federal