The Global Debt Crisis: Haunting U.S. and European Federalism

Index

225 Index Note: page numbers followed by t and f refer to tables and figures respectively; those followed by n refer to notes, with note number. Accounting standards, of academic and professional economists: general acceptance of, 69–70; value of public sector pension plan liabilities under, 62, 63–64, 67, 68–69, 71, 71t, 75, 80; value of teacher pensions under, 71–75, 74t, 75t Accounting standards, of GASB: criticisms of, 69–70, 76; revisions to, 70; value of public sector pension plan liabilities under, 64, 67, 68–69, 80, 97 Actuarial funding ratio, 99 Actuarially required contribution (ARC), 99, 106–07 Alaska, balanced budget of, 24–25 Alberta (Canada): debt-to-GDP ratio, 215; default of 1930s, 215; demographics, 203–04; impact of crisis of 2008 on, 213; oil and gas wealth in, 202, 204, 210 Alden v. Maine (1999), 20 Almos Tassonyi, 215 American exceptionalism, history of, 15–16 American Federation of Teachers (AFT), growth of, 23 Andalucía: and centrally controlled reform, resistance to, 194; GDP decline in, 186; separatism in, 184; strong regional identity in, 186, 187f Annual Survey of Public Employees Retirement Systems (U.S. Census Bureau), 95–96 Argentina: and central control, necessity of, 57; dysfunctional federalism in, 41; failure of fiscal discipline in, 44–46 Arkansas, default during Great Depression , 26 Asset market investments, to meet unfunded liabilities: no return from, ability to pay despite, 99; parallels to default crisis of 1840s, 95, 107; profits from, 95–97, 96f; profits from versus liabilities, 97–98, 97f; return on, and pension risk, 99, 106; as risky, 95 Asymmetrical unitary model, in European Union, 124, 129 Aubry, Jean-Pierre, 98 Autonomous communities (ACs), in Spain: blame shifting by, 174; bond market disciplining of, 161, 166, 168–69, 172, 173; budget oversight by EU, benefits of, 196–97; budgets, 164; budget stability and debt goals, failure to comply with, 173, 174; bypassing of by central government in crisis management, 171, 173; capacities of, 163–64; central 13-0487-4 index.indd 225 10/8/13 10:49 AM 226 Index government loans to, 172; central government political dependence on, 190–92; and competitive federalism , benefits of, 196–97; creation of, 180; debt, growth of, 168, 190; fiscal responsibility before crisis of 2008, 168; full independence of, as proposal, 194–95; history of, 161–62; incentives to overspend, 165–67, 173; limited autonomy of, 181; prime ministers, influence of, 164; regional government and civil services, 164; and regional identities, (re)creation of, 180; regional political class in, 163–64; relative independence of, and degree of equality, 185, 189; responsibilities of, 181, 182t; separatist sentiment in, 174, 179, 186, 189; Spanish move toward centralization and, 159–61, 171, 173–74; Spanish wealth redistribution policies and, 179, 184–89; spending and debt, central government efforts to regulate, 166–67, 172, 174, 184, 190–92, 193; taxation and spending in, 164–66, 167, 171, 174, 180, 181–83, 183f, 196 Bailout guarantees. See entries under Federal bailout; Federal no-bailout policies Balanced budget restrictions, of EU states, adoption of as compulsory, 127–28, 131n11 Balanced budget restrictions, of U.S. states: origin of, 47, 95; pension liabilities’ exclusion from, 95; success of, 47; voluntary adoption of, 124, 127–28, 131n11 Ballou, Dale, 79n36 Banking system involvement in debt crisis, and federal no-bailout policy, credibility of, 46 Bankruptcies, by state governments: consequences of, 7–8; debate on, 8–9; as looming crisis, 7; as strategy to address state debt, 32 Bankruptcies, municipal: public sector pension plan liabilities and, 80; in U.S., 5–7 Basque Country: as charter regime, 163, 166, 183; debt levels of, 168; fiscal autonomy of, 181, 183, 186; low income inequality in, 189; salary costs of, 170; separatism in, 184, 186, 189; and Spanish competitive federalism, structure of, 195–96; and Spanish redistributive policies , 196; strong regional identity in, 186 Bavarian Association of Savings Banks, 145 Bavarian Court of Audit, 145 Bayerische Landesbank, 144, 145 Benefit calculation formulas for defined benefit pension plans, 83; school administrators as greatest beneficiaries of in education DB plans, 86–90, 87f, 88f, 93n15; benefit factor changes, impact on liabilities of, 84, 101; enhancements of 1990s–2000s, 83, 84, 84t; private sector changes in, 81 Bergstrom, Fred, 8 Bertelsmann Foundation, 127 Beshears, John, 102 Binkley, Robert, 117 Bird, Richard, 215 Bismark, Otto von, 116, 117, 119 Bloomberg, 6 Blue Bonds, 126 Bond defaults by state and local government , and state sovereign immunity, 21 Bondholders, city bankruptcies and, 6–7 Bond insurance...