Rethinking Fiscal Policy for Inclusive Rural Development

The role of state and local government fiscal policy in driving geographic inequality is underappreciated in academic and policy discussions. Our work with rural communities experiencing economic restructuring suggests that fiscal policy—specifically the failure to capture and retain public revenue from resource extraction and the decoupling of public revenue from the underlying economy—remains a substantial barrier to rural prosperity in America. With this chapter’s focus on fiscal policy failures and possible reforms, we engage in a growing dialogue about fiscal drivers of regional inequality.