The Crisis of Funding Local Governments and Schools: Lessons from Other Countries

More than 150 people from all over Wisconsin gathered for the November 12, 2002 conference "The Crisis in Funding Local Governments and Schools - Lessons from Other Countries." The program challenged participants to look internationally for new ideas and solutions for providing high quality municipal and educational services amidst a severe fiscal crisis. Leading experts from the U.S. and five other countries (France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada) shared their expertise in local government financing. Speakers asked questions such as: What does Canada know about consolidating local governments? Can Sweden's system of highly equalizing grants work here? Does Switzerland's plan to relieve local governments of some of their responsibilities hold promise for Wisconsin?

In conjunction with this conference Professor Andrew Reschovsky prepared a policy primer on local government financing and school financing in Wisconsin, which has been distributed widely to government officials. Click here to access this document.