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Predictors Of Municipal Bankruptcies And State Intervention Programs: An Exploratory Study, Laura N. Coordes, Thom Reilly

Kentucky Law Journal

Why do some struggling cities file for bankruptcy while others, facing simiar circumstances, do not? This Article builds on the literature examining the causes and consequences ofmunicipal fiscal distress by exploring specific factors that lead municipalities to seek help from the state and federal government. Viewing municipal opportunities and constraints through political, economic, and legal lenses, this Article helps to explain the nuances ofmunicival decision making.

After identifiing eight factors that may serve as predctors of municipal insolvency, the authors studied cities in Fiscal distress with an eye toward uncovering the circumstances that led each of these cities into and—if …