Emerging from the Great Recession

• Published date: 01 December 2014
• Date: 01 December 2014
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X14565909
• Author: Anne R. Williamson
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article
State and Local Government Review
2014, Vol. 46(4) 232-235
Emerging from the Great
ª The Author(s) 2014
Reprints and permission:
Recession: The View from
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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X14565909
Local Government
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Anne R. Williamson1
The Great Recession was the most severe eco-
revenues and shrinking aid from federal and
nomic downturn since the Great Depression.
state government (Pew Charitable Trusts
Brought about by the collapse of the housing
2013). Local government professionals have a
bubble in late 2007, it has had a global impact
particular need to understand how the Great
that continues to reverberate at all levels of
Recession has affected communities and the
government. Further, although the recession
strategies that have been used to address the
officially ended more than five years ago in
challenges associated with it. Such information
June 2009, recovery has been historically slow
is crucial to not only completing the current
and has had an impact on the public and private
economic recovery but also to better under-
sectors, as well as on individuals. Many view
standing how to deal with the inevitability of
local government as particularly vulnerable to
future economic downturns.
this downturn and slow recovery, since sharp
Without effective action by public manag-
declines in housing values were predicted to
ers, the cutback management that typically fol-
reduce property tax revenues. Further, budget
lows fiscal stress is likely to be captured by
challenges at the federal and state levels have
outsiders such as banks, creditors, and others
diminished the amount of intergovernmental
outside the day-to-day operation of local gov-
aid made available to local governments. When
ernment, leading to organizational decline
coupled with the prerecession environment
(Pandey 2010; Levine 1978). Because the func-
often pressuring them to maintain or even
tion of public organizations is to serve as
increase service levels with fewer resources,
authoritative, nonmarket extensions of the state
the impact of the Great Recession had the
(Levine 1978), such a decline is unlikely to be
potential to be a severe trial for local govern-
in the public interest.
ment (Martin, Levey, and Cawley 2012).
Public organizations face a basic tension
The Great Recession created challenges for
between community- and service-oriented
local government extending well beyond its
goals supported by the public at large and the
official end (Pew Charitable Trusts 2013).
Pandey (2010) describes the extended recession
as an era of cutback management. Such an era
1 Department of Political Science, University of Alabama,
has strong implications for professional prac-
Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
tice. Coping...