Public finance and taxation Books
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Kennedy–Johnson Tax Cut: A Revisionist
Book SynopsisThe 1964 Kennedy-Johnson tax cut is often cited as the single most successful application of Keynesian stabilization policy. The author challenges this orthodox historical view by exposing the haphazard planning, simplistic economic theorizing, irreconcilable numerical projections, and partisan political influences on the Council of Economic Advisers. The focus of the book is on the decisions, advice and actions of the three Chairmen of the Council during the 1960s: Walter Heller, Gardner Ackley and Arthur Okun. They were the authors of the ambitious and optimistic new economics that attempted to manipulate aggregate demand in the US economy to reach potential output. By 1965 this goal was achieved, but when Vietnam War spending and Great Society programs were added to the tax cut, the subsequent policy paralysis in the face of a surging economy clearly indicated a lack of symmetry in fiscal policy implementation. Much of the evidence for this revisionist view comes from the participants own statements in the form of White House memoranda and confidential reports as well as from counter-factual exercises that allow alternative policies or swifter responses.This book will be of great interest to macroeconomists as well as to scholars and students interested in economic history and in the formulation and implementation of economic policy.Trade Review'. . . an important contribution to the study of fiscal policy in the post-World War II era and a useful complement to other analyses of the subject under various circumstances. . . It also provides a positive critique of stabilisation policies by giving several suggestions for their successful design and implementation. Moreover, the chapters of the book include the data used in some of the econometric testing, allowing the interested reader to replicate the results obtained, thus providing valuable teaching material.' -- Esteban Perez, Economic Record'. . . Prachowny's book is a welcome addition to the literature on American fiscal policy history. . . . Prachowny has provided a valuable addition to the literature, one well researched and documented.' -- Richard Vedder, EH NetTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. What Went Wrong? 2. Estimating the Output Gap 3. The CEA Model of Taxes and Aggregate Demand 4. The Macroeconomic Effects of the Tax Cut 5. The Inflationary Aftermath 6. Fiscal Drag and the Burden of the Debt 7. Taxes and Voter Welfare 8. Lessons to be Learned Bibliography Index
£107.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Political Economy of Fiscal Reform in
Book SynopsisThis insightful book examines the necessary conditions for the successful initiation and consolidation of unpopular economic reforms. Drawing on the burgeoning literature in the area of policy reform, it features a comparative analysis of fiscal reform in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic at different stages of the post-communist transformation. This analysis demonstrates that a significant number of the national differences in fiscal reform can be attributed to differences in political constraints. It also reveals that these very constraints change in the course of transformation and have become increasingly similar to the 'standard' restrictions which exist in the traditional EU and OECD countries.This in-depth analysis of the changing role of political determinants in post-communist fiscal reform will strongly appeal to economists and political scientists interested in the political economy of policy reform, post-communist economic transformation and the role of international organizations (IMF, EU) in shaping domestic policy-making. Policy analysts interested in fiscal reform in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will also find much to interest them in this book.Trade Review'Frank Bonker has done a masterful job. . . This is probably the best book available on this important subject. And its significance is not limited to studies of postcommunist societies. It has important theoretical implications for everyone interested in the Political Economy of Policy Reform perspective within the field of comparative political economy.' -- John L. Campbell, Slavic Review'I read Frank Bonker's book with interest. The book is well documented, balanced, and interesting. The book is overall quite informative and detailed. The comparative approach is convincing and the author demonstrates a deep and detailed knowledge of the three countries and the subject. He also convincingly demonstrates that the topic has an importance that goes beyond the cases analyzed.' -- Bruno Dallago, President, European Association for Comparative Economic Studies and University of Trento, Italy'This is a very well organised and clearly written book with convincing arguments and analysis throughout. Its largely jargon-free style makes it accessible to the non-specialist and provides for a thorough and easily read piece of work. As well as being of interest to researchers specialising in this topic, the book should be usable by undergraduate as well as postgraduate students.' -- Martin Dangerfield, University of Wolverhampton, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Fiscal Reform, Post-communist Transformation and the Political Economy of Policy Reform 2. The Political Economy of Fiscal Reform in the OECD Countries and the Developing Countries 3. Agenda and Context of Post-communist Fiscal Reform 4. Getting Started: The Initiation of Fiscal Reform after the Fall of Communism 5. Staying the Course I: Fiscal Reform During the Post-communist Fiscal Crisis 6. Staying the Course II: Fiscal Reform from the End of the Post-communist Fiscal Crisis to EU Accession 7. Conclusion: Post-communist Fiscal Reform and the Changing Nature of Political Constraints References Index
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Political Economy of Local Government:
Book SynopsisIn recent decades, local government has become increasingly complex. The Political Economy of Local Government draws upon recent developments in economics, including new institutional economics, and contemporary advances in the theories of social capital and leadership, in order to explain local government policy formulation.The authors go beyond the study of local public goods to explore the sources of market failure and examine whether local authorities are more susceptible to certain types of government failure. In addition, a transaction cost analysis of markets, hierarchies and networks is applied to ascertain the comparative institutional advantage local authorities might have in the supply of local governance. The book also considers the extent of the influence that these recent advances in the theories of social capital and leadership have on the process and implementation of local government policy. This book offers a fresh and readily accessible perspective on the political economy of local government policy making, and will be of particular interest to students and practitioners of economics, political science, public administration, policy studies and local government.Trade Review'The authors raise a wide range of thoughts for further analysis, and their book should be seen as a valuable - and indeed invaluable - catalyst for further study.' -- David N. King, The Economic JournalTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Market Failure and Local Government 3. Government Failure and Local Government 4. The Empirical Measurement of Local Government Efficiency 5. New Institutional Economics and Alternative Mechanisms of Local Governance 6. The Political Economy of Local Government Reform 7. A Case Study of Local Government Reform in New Zealand 8. Conclusion References Index
£102.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd International Environmental Externalities and the
Book SynopsisThe twin benefits of improving environmental quality and reducing tax distortions through the recycling of environmental tax proceeds prove an attractive policy objective. This book analyses the use of the double dividend concepts for evaluating ecological tax reforms.The author aims to analyse unilateral environmental policy measures thoroughly and to assess under which conditions a double dividend can be achieved. The analysis is undertaken in the context of international capital mobility and cross-border externalities. He also includes a discussion of an empirically relevant example for an ecological tax reform scenario in Germany - the DIW proposal.International Environmental Externalities and the Double Dividend will be of great interest to all researchers and those working in NGOs in the areas of environmental economics, ecological tax reform issues as well as trade and the environment.Trade Review'Killinger provides a wonderful analysis of the welfare effects of unilateral ecological tax reforms, which should deepen and inform research in this area . . . researchers and students of environmental economic issues should find this book very useful in clarifying and extending the discussion regarding ecological tax reform.' -- Randall J. Hannum, Natural Resources Forum'In looking at the effects of ecological tax reform on allocation, this book addresses a very important issue. The results are interesting and have significant policy implications.' -- Glenn Feltham, Canadian Tax Journal'The book contains an excellent analysis of how environment taxation affects large countries that are highly integrated in world capital markets.' -- Lans Bovenberg, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The NetherlandsTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. The DIW Report: An Empirical Example 3. National Environmental Policies and International Integration 4. The Double Dividend of Ecological Tax Reforms 5. Indirect Internationalization and International Capital Mobility 6. Concluding Remarks Bibliography Index
£95.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Financing Transportation Networks
Book SynopsisPollution, alternative fuels, congestion, intelligent transportation systems, and the shift from construction to maintenance all call for a reconsideration of the existing highway revenue mechanisms, especially the gas tax. David Levinson explores the fundamental theoretical basis of highway finance, in particular the use of tolls, and supports that theory with empirical evidence. The author examines highway finance from the perspective of individual jurisdictions and travellers, and considers their interactions rather than specifying a single optimal solution. Congestion pricing has long been a goal of transportation economists, who believe it will result in a more efficient use of resources. Levinson argues that if the governance were to become more decentralized, and collection costs continue to drop, tolls could return to prominence as the preferred means of financing roads for both local and intercity travel. An approach that creates the local winners necessary to implement road pricing is required before it can be expected to become widespread.Economists, civil engineers, planners, students and policymakers will find this detailed examination of transportation networks enlightening and useful.Trade Review'The book ought to be read by any practitioner or scholar who claims a serious interest in transportation finance. It would be an excellent secondary text for any course in transportation finance or policy, in either an economics department or a public policy program. This is a most welcomed addition to the transportation finance literature.' -- Odd J. Stalebrink, West Virginia University, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. History 3. Costs 4. Revenues 5. Hierarchy 6. Intertemporal Equity 7. Finance Choice on a Beltway 8. Finance Choice on an Interstate 9. Finance Choice at a Frontier 10. Congestion Pricing 11. Compensation 12. Deploying Electronic Tolls 13. Summary and Conclusions Bibliography Index
£95.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Tax Reform in Russia
Book SynopsisThe fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought enormous political, economic, and social challenges. Since 1991 fiscal reform has been a pillar of Russia's reform agenda. This book analyzes the effort to adopt a modern tax code where previously there were few recognizable taxes, establish an efficient tax administration where taxpayers had never paid taxes directly, and decentralize the system of governance where power had been centralized and dictatorial. Despite the remarkable achievements, many old and new challenges remain. The authors bring an analytical approach to fiscal reform in Russia, providing a detailed analysis of the tax system and estimates of tax compliance and evasion. The book offers a careful examination of the fiscal architecture of Russia and concludes with a presentation of remaining reform needs and options for Russia. Based on Russia's reform experience, the authors also draw lessons for fiscal reform in other developing and transitional countries.Given the dynamic nature of Russia's economic development, this book will prove a timely and informative resource for academics in economics, public finance, political science and public administration as well as for policy makers. Its lessons will also be useful for officials involved with finance in transition and developing countries.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Achievements and Failures during the Yeltsin Years 3. Tax Reform under Putin 4. Performance of the Tax System Before and After the Reform 5. The Structure of Taxes 6. The Evolution of Tax Administration and Tax Morale 7. Tax Policy Development and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations 8. The Next Decades of Reform References Index
£106.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Federal Intergovernmental Grants and the States:
Book SynopsisThis book provides a long-term perspective on policies regarding intergovernmental grants in the US since the 1970s. This period spans six presidential administrations and encompasses a diverse set of political and economic conditions. Containing original research, this book contributes to critical assessments of intergovernmental grant issues such as: whether state and local government spending responds symmetrically to increases or decreases in federal aid the effects of converting categorical grants to block grants on program spending; and the political economy of federal aid distribution. >The author's empirical analyses are based on a unique data set of US federal intergovernmental grants and cover a range of programs, including transportation, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and community development and welfare. The book is a rich source of material on intergovernmental grants and fiscal relations for scholars and practitioners in public policy, political science, economics and public finance.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Appendix 1. US Intergovernmental Grant Data and Sources 2. Asymmetric Responses to Increases and Decreases in Grants Appendix 2A. Response of State and Local Highway Spending to Increases and Decreases in Federal Highway Grants Appendix 2B. Asymmetric Responses in Economic Models 3. Federal Block Grants Implications for Spending Effort by States and Localities Appendix 3. The Effect of Federal Alcohol and Drug Abuse Block Grants on State and Local Government Spending: The Role of Federal Oversight 4. Political Economy of Grant Allocations: The Case of Federal Aid for Highways Appendix 4: Political Economy of Federal Aid for Highways Additional Empirical Results Index
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Public Investment and Regional Economic
Book SynopsisThe relationship between public investment and regional economic development is of perennial interest and is particularly topical now as issues of infrastructure and innovation are high on policy agendas in many countries. Public investment is often viewed as a possible method for 'jump-starting' lagging regional economies and also as a requirement for the continued development of more prosperous regions.Public Investment and Regional Economic Development provides a systematic analysis of the complex relationship between public investment and regional economic development. The authors offer new insights into the key issues of regional growth, and present a broad variety of perspectives ranging from transport and housing infrastructure through to human capital and innovation.With contributions from leading regional scientists, and each themed section of the book prefaced with an editorial introduction to ensure coherence, this illuminating book is sure to offer policymakers new research insights into key issues of regional growth. Academics and researchers of urban and regional planning, geography and economic development will also find the book of great interest.Trade Review'Public Investment and Regional Economic Development is a very interesting and stimulating reading for policymakers and anyone doing research in this area.' -- Adelheid Holl, Environment and Planning C: Government and PlanningTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Modelling and Planning Part II: Innovation and Knowledge Creation Part III: Human Capital Part IV: Physical Infrastructure Index
£109.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Environmental Policy Making in Economies with
Book SynopsisIn evaluating environmental policy, researchers have tended to focus on the industry or market that is targeted by regulation and to disregard policy impacts in other parts of the economy. Recent research indicates, however, that in economies where governments rely on distortionary taxes, environmental regulation can profoundly affect costs and efficiency in areas other than the targeted industry or market. These findings signal the importance of evaluating environmental policy using a general equilibrium framework - an approach that can capture interactions across industries, sectors or markets. General equilibrium analysis can fundamentally alter the evaluation of environmental tax policies, and can overturn conventional wisdom concerning the relative cost-effectiveness of environmental taxes, emissions quotas, or mandated technologies.This volume gathers together important papers on the general equilibrium impacts of environmental regulation in the presence of distortionary taxes. Topics include optimal environmental taxation,'green tax reform' and the 'double dividend', and the choice among alternative policy instruments. The volume will be of interest to environmental economists, public finance economists and researchers interested in the economics of regulation.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Surveys of Environmental Policy Making in the Presence of Distortionary Taxes Part II: Optimal Environmental Taxation in the Presence of Distortionary Taxes Part III: Environmental Tax Reforms and the ‘Double Dividend’ Part IV: Environmental Instrument Choice in a Second-best Setting Part V: Efficiency–Distribution Trade-offs in Environmental Policy Index
£181.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Taxation and Economic Behaviour: Introductory
Book SynopsisTaxation and Economic Behaviour offers a number of broad introductory surveys in the areas of public economics and public finance. Divided clearly into two parts - measurement issues and taxation and economic behaviour - this innovative collection of articles consists of published refereed papers and several new and previously unpublished pieces.Initially, the book focuses on measurement issues, and includes chapters on income inequality, poverty, tax progressivity, income dynamics and welfare changes. It then goes on to explore the wider theme of taxation and economic behaviour, including material on taxation and labour supply, behavioural micro simulation modelling, and general equilibrium. Throughout the book, John Creedy makes use of numerical examples which help to illustrate the structure and use of the various models.Providing introductory material and syntheses of a wide range of topics, Taxation and Economic Behaviour will be welcomed by students, lecturers and researchers with an interest in public finance and public sector economics.Table of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Measurement Issues 1. Measuring Income Inequality 2. Measuring Poverty: An Introduction 3. Taxation, Redistribution and Progressivity: An Introduction 4. Statics and Dynamics of Income Distribution: An Introductory Survey 5. Lifetime Earnings and Inequality 6. Measuring Welfare Changes and the Excess Burden of Taxation 7. Exact Welfare Measurement using Marshallian Demand Functions Part II: Taxation and Economic Behaviour 8. Tax Modelling 9. Behavioural Microsimulation with Labour Supply Responses 10. Taxes and Transfers with Endogenous Earnings: Some Basic Analytics 11. Labour Supply and Welfare with Piecewise Linear Budget Constraints: An Introduction 12. Taxation in General Equilibrium: An Introduction 13. The Built-in Flexibility of Income and Consumption Taxes: A Survey Index
£119.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Political Economy of the Voluntary Sector: A
Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors outline how policymakers in advanced countries have moved away from exclusive reliance on the public sector in social service delivery, towards a more multi-faceted approach that seeks to combine the strengths of public agencies, private firms and voluntary organizations. This development raises interesting and complex questions concerning the comparative advantages of these respective groups in the delivery of goods and services. The Political Economy of the Voluntary Sector adopts a comparative institutions approach to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the government, market and voluntary sectors as alternative instruments for implementing social and economic policies. The authors examine existing market failure, government failure and supply-side models of non-profit organizations before proposing a new leadership theory of the voluntary sector. They then explore the interface between the voluntary sector and the development of social capital. The book culminates in an investigation of appropriate public policy approaches towards the voluntary sector. This book will be warmly welcomed by academics, students, and researchers working on alternative methods of public policy program delivery, primarily from the disciplines of economics, political science and public administration. Practitioners drawn from the public and voluntary sectors, as well as public policymakers in governments from around the world, will also find this accessible book of great interest.Trade Review'By posing the questions which economists might ask as they study the voluntary sector the authors have produced an innovative and useful piece of work which will contribute to the now considerable literature on voluntary organisations and to the current debate on how the welfare state should be reformed.' -- Citizen's Income'This book provides a superb review of the literature on nonprofit organizations and extends the boundaries of our knowledge in a substantial and novel way. In particular, Dollery and Wallis provide a seminal analysis of public policy alternatives on the voluntary sector. The book represents a "must read" for all scholars, practitioners, students and policymakers interested in nonprofit organizations.' -- Andrew Worthington, Queensland University of Technology, Australia'Dollery and Wallis have done it again, having presented the complex ideas of a very eclectic field into a comprehensible and eminently readable form. In addition, the policy implications they draw from the existing literature answer a much needed call for direction and rationale for the various tax breaks, subsidies and other tools at the disposal of politicians with regard to NPOs. This book not only presents a comprehensive picture of the issues involved and approaches to understanding the voluntary sector, but serves as a stepping stone to expand the frontier of this important, but still nascent field. A must read for anyone serious about policy towards NPOs.' -- Craig Parsons, Yokohama National University, JapanTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Voluntary Organizations as a Response to Market Failure and Government Failure 3. Supply-side Theories of Nonprofit Organizations 4. Leadership and Nonprofit Organizations 5. Social Capital and the Voluntary Sector with Paul Killerby 6. Public Policy Approaches to the Voluntary Sector 7. Public Policy Toward the Voluntary Sector 8. Conclusion References Index
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Distribution of Tax Burdens
Book SynopsisThe Distribution of Tax Burdens brings together for the first time the most important published papers on tax incidence written in the past 50 years. The editors, two leading scholars in public finance, have written an authoritative introduction which provides a concise and thorough summary of the key developments in the field during this time.This comprehensive volume presents seminal writings covering the distributional impact of taxes in partial and general equilibrium models as well as in imperfectly competitive settings. The editors have also included significant recent contributions on tax incidence in dynamic settings including the important emerging literature on lifetime tax incidence. The articles have been arranged to allow the reader to understand the context and historical development of the field. This volume will be invaluable to graduate students and all scholars interested in the distribution of taxes in modern economies.Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction Don Fullerton and Gilbert E. Metcalf PART I EARLY INCIDENCE THEORY AND CALCULATIONS 1. Arnold C. Harberger (1962), ‘The Incidence of the Corporation Income Tax’ 2. Charles E. McLure, Jr. (1974), ‘A Diagrammatic Exposition of the Harberger Model with One Immobile Factor’ 3. Joseph A. Pechman and Benjamin A. Okner (1974), ‘Introduction and Summary‘ 4. Richard A. Musgrave, Karl E. Case and Herman Leonard (1974), ‘The Distribution of Fiscal Burdens and Benefits’ 5. Edgar K. Browning (1985), ‘Tax Incidence, Indirect Taxes, and Transfers’ PART II GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS 6. Charles E. McLure, Jr. and Wayne R. Thirsk (1975), ‘A Simplified Exposition of the Harberger Model I: Tax Incidence’ 7. Adolf L. Vandendorpe and Ann F. Friedlaender (1976), ‘Differential Incidence in the Presence of Initial Distorting Taxes’ 8. Martin Feldstein (1977), ‘The Surprising Incidence of a Tax on Pure Rent: A New Answer to an Old Question’ 9. David F. Bradford (1978), ‘Factor Prices May Be Constant But Factor Returns Are Not’ 10. John B. Shoven (1976), ‘The Incidence and Efficiency Effects of Taxes on Income from Capital’ 11. Shantayanan Devarajan, Don Fullerton and Richard A. Musgrave (1980), ‘Estimating the Distribution of Tax Burdens: A Comparison of Different Approaches’ PART III INCIDENCE WITH IMPERFECT COMPETITION 12. Robert L. Bishop (1968), ‘The Effects of Specific and Ad Valorem Taxes’ 13. J.A. Kay and M.J. Keen (1983), ‘How Should Commodities Be Taxed? Market Structure, Product Heterogeneity and the Optimal Structure of Commodity Taxes’ 14. Michael L. Katz and Harvey S. Rosen (1985), ‘Tax Analysis in an Oligopoly Model’ 15. Nicholas Stern (1987), ‘The Effects of Taxation, Price Control and Government Contracts in Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition’ 16. Sofia Delipalla and Michael Keen (1992), ‘The Comparison between Ad Valorem and Specific Taxation under Imperfect Competition’ PART IV PROPERTY TAXATION 17. Peter Mieszkowski (1972), ‘The Property Tax: An Excise Tax or a Profits Tax?’ 18. Richard A. Musgrave (1974), ‘Is a Property Tax on Housing Regressive?’ 19. Henry Aaron (1974), ‘A New View of Property Tax Incidence’ 20. Bruce W. Hamilton (1976), ‘Capitalization of Intrajurisdictional Differences in Local Tax Prices’ 21. Wallace E. Oates (1969), ‘The Effects of Property Taxes and Local Public Spending on Property Values: An Empirical Study of Tax Capitalization and the Tiebout Hypothesis’ PART V INCIDENCE IN DYNAMIC MODELS 22. Martin Feldstein (1974), ‘Incidence of a Capital Income Tax in a Growing Economy with Variable Savings Rates’ 23. B. Douglas Bernheim (1981), ‘A Note on Dynamic Tax Incidence’ 24. Lawrence H. Summers (1981), ‘Capital Taxation and Accumulation in a Life Cycle Growth Model’ 25. Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Jonathan Skinner (1983), ‘The Efficiency Gains from Dynamic Tax Reform’ 26. Kenneth L. Judd (1985), ‘Redistributive Taxation in a Simple Perfect Foresight Model’ 27. Lawrence H. Summers (1985), ‘The Asset Price Approach to the Analysis of Capital Income Taxation’ PART VI LIFETIME INCIDENCE 28. James Davies, France St-Hilaire and John Whalley (1984), ‘Some Calculations of Lifetime Tax Incidence’ 29. James M. Poterba (1989), ‘Lifetime Incidence and the Distributional Burden of Excise Taxes’ 30. Don Fullerton and Diane Lim Rogers (1991), ‘Lifetime Versus Annual Perspectives on Tax Incidence’ 31. Erik Caspersen and Gilbert Metcalf (1994), ‘Is a Value Added Tax Regressive? Annual Versus Lifetime Incidence Measures’ 32. David Altig, Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Kent A. Smetters and Jan Walliser (2001), ‘Simulating Fundamental Tax Reform in the United States’ Name Index
£290.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Public Finance in Developing and Transitional
Book SynopsisIt is hard to think of anyone who has contributed so much and so widely to research in international public finance in the last 40 years as has Richard Bird. This volume of essays emerged from a conference dedicated to him. It also expands on our understanding of international public finance.Richard Bird's academic and applied work has always benefited from a far-reaching involvement with, and knowledge of, relevant policy issues in many countries around the world. The range of public finance issues to which he has contributed over the years covers practically the whole gamut of the public finance discipline: tax policy, tax administration, the interdependency between the two, intergovernmental fiscal relations, public expenditure policy, and fiscal management processes. The topics covered in this book reflect the wide contributions of Richard Bird to the subject of international public finance, including original reviews of intergovernmental fiscal relations, fiscal policy, and tax evasion and tax administration, all with a special focus on transition and developing countries. These essays, by top scholars in their own right, will deepen our own understanding of relevant problems and issues in international public finance, much like Richard Bird has been doing for many years, and will be of interest to economists, policymakers and students.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword Part I: Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Part II: Tax Evasion, Tax Administration and the Role of Government Part III: Fiscal Policy Part IV: A Summing Up Index
£131.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Private Initiatives in Infrastructure:
Book SynopsisPublic-private collaboration in infrastructure projects takes place in a variety of institutional frameworks worldwide. This volume considers the different cultural, political and legal settings in the US, UK, Japan and other countries and regions where policymakers are reconsidering traditional mechanisms for raising and deploying capital. By focusing on concrete examples in specific countries, the editors and contributors draw useful lessons for strong sector performance in telecommunications, power, water and social infrastructure. Innovative strategies that work can be modified and refined in other sectors and other countries. Going beyond ideological debate, this volume presents a pragmatic approach to best practice, one that combines market-oriented solutions with governmental oversight according to the specific cultural and institutional situations.Regulators, academics, policymakers, politicians, and students in public policy, finance and economics will find this volume practical and original.Trade Review'This book provides a useful overview of international developments in this important area of public policy. The breadth of international coverage is an important strength.' -- John Quiggin, Australian Journal of Public AdministrationTable of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Japan: Public–Private Partnerships in Transition 1. Infrastructure Building in the Japanese Telecommunications Sector: From Public–Public to Public–Private Partnership 2. The Third Sector's Failure in Japan 3. Regulatory Reform of the Electricity Industry in Japan: An Overview of the Process Part II: UK and India: Declining Role of the State 4. The Declining Role of the State in Infrastructure Investments in the UK 5. Private Initiatives in the England and Wales Electricity Industry 6. Private Financing Initiatives in India's Telecommunications Sector 7. Private Financing Initiatives in India's Electricity Sector Part III: US and Emerging Markets: Stakeholders and the Status Quo 8. Public Power: Perspectives in Electricity Restructuring 9. Domestic and International Environmental Issues in Restructuring Electric Industries 10. Infrastructure Management: Applications to Latin America 11. Institutions and Telecommunications Performances in Africa: Stability, Governance, and Incentives Conclusion Index
£100.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd State and Local Finances under Pressure
Book SynopsisState and Local Finances under Pressure explores the future of state and local government fiscal systems given the numerous pressures they face from economic, legal, technological, demographic and political forces. It explores how these multiple forces play out in terms of the changes state and local governments should and are likely to make. The contributors argue that state and local governments must make substantial changes and that failure to act is likely to result in adverse effects and increasing pressures for modifications that are more difficult to implement and more politically unpalatable. Without reform, state and local fiscal systems will grow increasingly out of sync with economic reality. The authors suggest that government responses are likely to be evolutionary, but that in 25 years the recorded changes will be substantial.The first chapter provides a historic perspective of state and local fiscal trends. Each of the subsequent chapters describes the nature of one of the pressures state and local governments face including: political and legal forces, globalization of business, demographic and technological changes, deregulation of utilities, and urban sprawl. Policymakers, economists, political scientists, fiscal policy analysts and public administrators will find this comprehensive book of interest.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. The Changing State–Local Fiscal Environment: A 25 Year Retrospective 3. Changing Times: Demographic and Economic Changes and State and Local Government Finances 4. Politics, the Courts, and the Economy: Implications for the Future of School Financing 5. Popular Processes and the Transformation of State and Local Government Finance 6. The Federal Government’s Impact on State and Local Government Finances 7. Prospects and Challenges for State and Local Government in a Digital World 8. Deregulation of Utilities: A Challenge and an Opportunity for State and Local Tax Policy 9. Globalization and State–Local Government Finances 10. Urban Sprawl and the Finances of State and Local Governments Index
£121.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Controlling Public Expenditure: The Changing
Book SynopsisOne of the most important functions of modern government is to marshal and deploy resources to achieve desired objectives and outcomes. This task is overseen by the Central Budget Agencies (such as Ministries of Finance and Treasuries) who have the responsibility of generating tax revenue, and controlling and allocating public expenditure.This extensive comparative study investigates the changing nature and role of Central Budget Agencies (CBAs) in ten countries reflecting a spectrum of different institutional and constitutional contexts. Eighteen expert contributors offer detailed accounts of the various trajectories that have occurred within their respective CBAs, set against the changing political environment in which they operate. A recurring theme throughout is an evaluation of the power and agenda-setting roles of CBAs, assessing how their influence has grown or waned over time. An important feature of the book is that each chapter attempts to incorporate external scholarly analyses with internal practitioner views.Four key areas are examined in each of the CBAs, including: the changing roles and responsibilities of CBAs the politics of the budget process and the influence of CBAs administrative and post-administrative cultures inside government future prospects and directions for the CBAs. The original research presented in this book provides a new window into the world of CBAs, adding an important contribution to the scholarly research on public finance and government budgeting. It will also assist many CBAs to re-evaluate their roles and contributions to public budgeting and public sector management. This volume is required reading for anyone wanting to gain greater insight into whether CBAs really are the best guardians of the public purse.Trade Review'This book will greatly interest those in comparative public finance and those seeking a better understanding of the sometimes confusing and muddled government budget process. Highly recommended.' -- R.J. Phillips, Choice'This is an excellent book that should be read by students and scholars of public budgeting. It contains a balance of works by some of the world's experts in the field. The book is well-organized and the chapters are well written, referenced and edited. Topic coverage is comprehensive and the individual chapters are up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in budgeting and control in a most interesting set of nations. This is a must read.' -- Larry Jones, Naval Postgraduate School, California, US'Despite the importance of the Central Budget Agency (CBA), there is precious little international comparative information and research to explain and help guide the performance revolution. The research presented here is a good first step in filling that void. The chapters explore a range of countries, including those that have been among the most innovative and successful in reforming their public service. They answer the important questions of how CBAs have evolved and how the governance context in which they work is changing. Yet, the value of the research lies beyond a simple description of the budget process. The analysis of the staff, the management, their background, and their view of the work and organisational culture offers unique insights into challenges that policymakers face as they move forward with reform. In a world with many theories and few facts, this book is a welcome addition and an important resource for academics, citizens and their governments that seek to understand and improve their policies.' -- From the preface by Michael Ruffner, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction: The Changing Role of Central Budget Agencies 1. ‘Good Practice: Does it Work in Theory?’ Australia’s Quest for Better Outcomes 2. Zen and the Art of Budget Management: The New Zealand Treasury 3. ‘Above the Fray’: The Role of the US Office of Management and Budget 4. Metamorphis in Kafka’s Castle: The Changing Balance of Power Among the Central Budget Agencies of Canada 5. Control Through Negotiated Agreements: The Changing Role of the Treasury in Controlling Public Expenditure in Britain 6. No Revolution in Sight: The Evolving Roles of the Central Budget Agency in Sweden 7. A ‘Super-Ministry’ or a Void of Politics? The Transformation of the Dutch Central Budget Agency: The Ministry of Finance 8. Aiming for Centrality: The Politico-Administrative Strategies of the Danish Ministry of Finance 9. Tempering the Rechtsstaat: Managing Expenditure in Re-unified Germany 10. Not So Much a Model, More a Way of Life: China’s Fragmented Authoritarianism in Budgetary Management 11. How do Sub-national Budget Agencies Operate? Experiences from Six Mid-west American States 12. Conclusion: Better Guardians? References Index
£121.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Monetary Union in South America: Lessons from EMU
Book SynopsisThe integration process of 'The Common Market of the South' (MERCOSUR) has been characterized by serious economic turbulence, including the devaluation of the Brazilian currency and the severe Argentinean monetary crisis. As a response to these difficulties, the adoption of monetary union has emerged as one possible solution to the financial uncertainty which has plagued this region.Whereas some believe MERCOSUR should become a free trade area, others are convinced that nothing less than full monetary union can bring stability to the region and ease the financial fragility of the member countries. This book discusses the future of MERCOSUR, focusing on monetary union and macroeconomic policy co-ordination, and addresses a number of important questions including: is it possible, or even desirable, to achieve monetary integration? what would the pre-conditions be for establishing such a union? what would the convergence criteria be for joining the monetary union? what are the expected economic consequences for the member countries? These questions are all addressed with particular reference to the experience of EMU and the lessons which can be learnt by MERCOSUR countries, in terms of the difficult transitions they may have to face.The book brings together a host of distinguished British, Argentinean and Brazilian economists to elucidate the critical policy issues surrounding the merits of monetary union in South America. Financial economists, international monetary economists, international relations experts, academics and practitioners interested in the issues surrounding economic and monetary union will all value the perceptive insights found in this volume.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Lessons from the Euro and EMU for MERCOSUR 1. Learning From, and About, EMU – A UK View 2. The Euro and the EMU: Lessons for MERCOSUR Part II: MERCOSUR Macroeconomic Policy Co-ordination 3. MERCOSUR: Why Does Monetary Union Make Sense in the Long Term? 4. Macroeconomic Coordination in MERCOSUR – A Sceptical View 5. Monetary and Exchange Rate Arrangements: A Puzzle to be Solved Among Major MERCOSUR Countries 6. Some Issues on the Financial/Monetary Integration of MERCOSUR Part III: Exchange Rate Regimes and Monetary Dilemmas for MERCOSUR 7. Financial Opening, Instability and Macroeconomic Performance in Latin America During the 1990s: Some Possible Perverse Links 8. Monetary Dilemmas: Argentina in MERCOSUR Index
£90.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Microsimulation Modelling of Taxation and the
Book SynopsisMicrosimulation Modelling of Taxation and the Labour Market reports new research on behavioural microsimulation modelling of tax and transfer systems. Its aims are twofold. Firstly, the book discusses the rationale for the basic modelling approach adopted and provides information on econometric methods used to estimate behavioural relationships. Secondly, it describes the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator (MITTS) in detail, explaining its main features, installation and use.After providing a broad review of tax modelling, the authors review alternative approaches to the analysis of labour supply behaviour, discuss the main components of behavioural microsimulation models and present econometric results concerning wage functions and preferences. They go on to provide a detailed description of MITTS, which was constructed by the authors in order to examine the implications of tax reforms in Australia. Microsimulation Modelling of Taxation and the Labour Market will appeal to those with a special interest in the analysis of tax and transfer systems and labour supply behaviour.Table of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction and Outline 2. Tax Modelling Part II: Estimation and Modelling 3. Wage Functions 4. Budget Constraints 5. Labour Supply 6. Labour Supply with Continuous Hours 7. Labour Supply of Single Persons 8. Household Labour Supply 9. The Quadratic Direct Utility Function Part III: The MITTS Model 10. Outline of MITTS 11. Installing MITTS 12. Using MITTS 13. Taxes and Benefits: March 1998 Bibliography Index
£102.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Political Economy and Public Finance: The Role of
Book SynopsisThere is a long-standing difference amongst public economists between those who think that collective choice must be formally acknowledged, and those who derive their policy recommendations from a social planning framework in which politics plays no role. The purpose of this book is to contribute to a meaningful dialogue between these two groups, in the belief that the future of both political economy and of normative public finance lies somewhere between the two approaches.Some of the specific questions addressed in the book include: does public finance need political economy? Should collective choice play a role in the standard of reference used in normative public finance? What is a 'failure' in a non-market or policy process? And what have we learned about the theory and practice of public finance from three decades of empirical research on public choice? The book also provides a practitioner's view of the political economy of redistribution. The distinguished list of authors, many of whom are pre-eminent in their fields, includes Robin Boadway, Geoffrey Brennan, Albert Breton, AnIbal Cavaco Silva, Walter Hettich, Gebhard Kirchgassner, Dennis Mueller, William Niskanen, Hirofumi Shibata, Eugene Smolensky, Heinrich Ursprung, Frans van Winden, Stanley Winer and Donald Wittman.The importance of political economy to any understanding of why public policy evolves as it does is now widely accepted by public finance scholars and practitioners. This book goes a step further by considering the role of collective choice in defining what constitutes 'good' or 'better' policy. It will be an essential companion for all scholars of public finance and political economy.Trade Review'The overall quality of the volume is excellent, so reading the entire volume would be worthwhile, and readers interested in the specific topics covered by any of the chapters would find those chapters helpful. The individual chapters can stand alone, but taken together the volume illustrates how public choice analysis can influence the subject matter of traditional public finance.' -- Randall G. Holcombe, Public ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Political Economy and Public Finance: A Brief Introduction Stanley L. Winer and Hirofumi Shibata PART I: DOES PUBLIC FINANCE NEED POLITICAL ECONOMY? 2. Public Finance, Public Choice and the Political Economy of Regulation Geoffrey Brennan 3. Public and Welfare Economics under Monopolistic and Competitive Governments Albert Breton PART II: SHOULD COLLECTIVE CHOICE PLAY A ROLE IN THE STANDARD OF REFERENCE USED IN NORMATIVE PUBLIC FINANCE? 4. The Role of Public Choice Considerations in Normative Public Economics Robin Boadway 5. Better than What? Policy Analysis, Collective Choice and the Standard of Reference Walter Hettich Comments and a Rejoinder PART III: WHAT IS A ‘FAILURE’ IN A NON-MARKET OR POLICY PROCESS? 6. Normative Public Finance Without Guilt: Why Normative Public Finance is Positive Public Finance Donald Wittman 7. On the Origin and Identification of Government Failures William A. Niskanen Comments PART IV: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC FINANCE FROM THREE DECADES OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON PUBLIC CHOICE? 8. Interest Groups, Redistribution and the Size of Government Dennis C. Mueller 9. The Effects of Fiscal Institutions on Public Finance: A Survey of the Empirical Evidence Gebhard Kirchgässner 10. Experimental Investigation of Collective Action Frans van Winden PART V: A PRACTITIONER’S VIEW OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REDISTRIBUTION 11. Equity Policy and Political Feasibility in the European Union Aníbal Cavaco Silva PART VI: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 12. Directions for Future Research Eugene Smolensky 13. Where Do We Go from Here? Heinrich W. Ursprung Comments Index
£100.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Rethinking the Welfare State: The Political
Book SynopsisIn this book a distinguished group of contributors discuss the changing political economy of pension reform. They focus on those countries which have launched a significant reframing of their pension system. Each chapter provides a detailed review of recent pension reforms and offers institutional evidence of the extent to which these reforms suggest a redirection of the welfare state towards a more public-private mix of policies. The countries were selected to represent the variety of new directions which mature industrial countries as well as countries in transition have taken.The book brings to light a number of surprising developments. These include the observation that pension systems do not conform to pure models of welfare system regimes; that a number of diverse developments have contributed to the extension of private pensions; that an emerging pattern of substituting private for public pensions can be detected but public provision still dominates in transition economies and that traditional employer-provided private pension schemes are undergoing significant change. One conclusion is that the design of the pension scheme may be more important than the mix of public-private in preventing the growth of inequality among the aged.This important book will be essential reading for scholars of economics, public policy, political science and finance as well as policymakers and practitioners involved in pension system reform.Trade Review'This first comprehensive analysis of public-private mixings discovers pension systems as rather flexible 'hybrid forms' not locked in as "uniform types". The balance shifts towards extended coverage of private pensions or functional privatization of public pensions - the private increasingly substituted for the public, and the contribution-benefit link is forged closer. What does the future hold? Surely, more income inequality in old age - unless "the rest of society" is already characterized by low poverty rates and low inequality, or unless active political design of the public-private mix compensates for social polarization, preventing a 21st century return of "the two nations". The modern state may "devolve" delivery of benefits - but an ageing electorate will still hold the state responsible for designing the requisite mix.' -- Stephan Leibfried, University of Bremen, Germany'This is the best book out there for surveying the variety of mixed public-private systems that have been sweeping the social security world during the last two decades. Separate chapters written by experts from each country explain what is happening in OECD countries, Latin America and the transitional economies, placing the recent multi-pillar reforms into the context of each country's history and political structure. Cross-cutting chapters by Rein and Schmahl pull it all together. This enables us to view both the commonalities and differences across countries, and to evaluate how path dependencies operate through time. I recommend it as a valuable reference source.' -- Estelle James, The Urban Institute, USTable of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: The Experience of Mature Welfare States in Western Economies A. Contracting Out: The Experience in the United Kingdom and Japan 1. Contracting Out of the State Pension System: The British Experience of Carrots and Sticks 2. The Relationship between the Role of the Corporate Pension and the Public Pension Plan in Japan B. Mandating of Contractual Agreements: Australia, Switzerland and the Netherlands 3. Reforming Pensions: The Australian Experience 4. The Institutionalization of the Swiss Multi-pillar Pension System 5. The Quality of the Dutch Pension System: Will it be Sustainable in the Twenty-first Century? C. Carve-outs: Germany, USA and Swedish Financial Accounts 6. Paradigm Shift in German Pension Policy: Measures Aiming at a New Public–Private Mix and their Effects 7. Individual Accounts and the Continuing Debate over Social Security Reform in the United States 8. Public Pension Reform and Contractual Agreements in Sweden: From Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution D. Pathways Towards a Mixed Public–Private Pension System 9. How Societies Mix Public and Private Spheres in their Pension Systems 10. Whose Money is it Anyhow? Governance and Social Investment in Collective Investment Funds Part II: Economies in Transition and Latin America 11. Home-made Pension Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe and the Evolution of the World Bank Approach to Modern Pension Systems 12. Public and Private Mix in the Polish Pension System 13. Conflicting Interests in Shaping Hungary’s New Private Pension Scheme 14. Latin American and East European Pension Reforms: Accounting for a Paradigm Shift Part III: The Public–Private Mix and Wellbeing in Aged Households 15. The Public–Private Mix of Retirement Income in Nine OECD Countries: Some Evidence from Micro Data and an Exploration of its Implications 16. Income Packaging and Economic Wellbeing in the Last Stage of the Working Career Index
£148.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Reinventing Functional Finance: Transformational
Book SynopsisThis ambitious book seeks both to revive and revise the idea of 'functional finance'. Followers of this doctrine believe that government budgets should concentrate solely on their macroeconomic impact on the economy, rather than reflecting a concern for sound finance and budgetary discipline.Reinventing Functional Finance examines the origins of this idea and then considers it in a modern context. The authors explore the concept of NAIRU and argue that modern economies can operate at the level of full employment without provoking unmanageable inflation. They also contend that budget deficits do not have the deleterious effects commonly ascribed to them; the belief that they do rests on a misunderstanding of modern money. In this context, they highlight the relevance of Abba Lerner's famous dictum, 'money is a creature of the State'. The authors also debate the merits of various proposals for 'Employer of Last Resort' programs, which combine automatic stabilizers with the buffer stock principle. The book boasts an array of eminent contributors which includes, amongst others, James Duesenberry, Robert Eisner, Robert Heilbroner, Richard Musgrave, Edward Nell and Randall Wray.Financial economists, politicians, policymakers and bankers will welcome this provocative and refreshing book which challenges established economic thinking.Trade Review'This book serves as a good introduction to the neglected approach to macroeconomic theory and policy developed by Abba Lerner and his followers. Graduate students will find it particularly useful, but most of the essays could be read by undergraduates in appropriate courses, and anyone interested in macroeconomics will find them profitable reading.' -- Christopher J. Niggle, Review of Political Economy'Grounded on the fundamental analysis of the state nature of money and the role of government in the modern capitalist economy, Reinventing Functional Finance is without any doubt a great book through which solutions to various economic problems can be sought.' -- Yan Liang, Oeconomicus'Nell and Forstater have put together a set of thought-provoking papers that examine Lerner's functional finance theory, linking it to transformational growth, full employment, price stability, labour market dynamics, as well as fiscal and monetary policies . . . Reinventing Functional Finance is a must read for all scholars interested in public finance and full employment policy. Policymakers (and their economic advisers) are encouraged to read it and to consider going back to the basic insights that Abba Lerner and others brought to light six decades ago. This is an insightful, fresh, and well-overdue look at functional finance and its policy implications. The challenging task ahead is to take the principles of functional finance back to the policy arena.' -- Fadhel Kaboub, International Labor ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Introduction 1. Transformational Growth and Functional Finance Interlude I: Opening Remarks Part II: Functional Finance: The Background 2. Functional Finance, New Classical Economics and Great-Great Grandsons 3. Toward a New Instrumental Macroeconomics: Abba Lerner and Adolph Lowe on Economic Method, Theory, History and Policy 4. Neisser’s Unorthodox Quantity Theory of Money 5. Functional Finance, Past and Present Part III: Assessing the Inflation Barrier 6. The NAIRU and Fiscal and Monetary Policy for Now and Our Future: Some Comments 7. The History of Abba Lerner’s Supply-side Inflation 8. Functional Finance and Fiscal Function 9. Are These Trade-offs Necessary? Part IV: Fiscal and Monetary Linkages 10. Functional Finance and US Government Budget Surpluses in the New Millennium 11. Functional Finance and Full Employment: Lessons from Lerner for Today 12. Anchors Aweigh: From Real to Nominal Money and from Market to Government Stabilization 13. Interest Rates, Profits and Economic Growth Interlude II: Roundtable Discussion Part V: Functional Finance and Full Employment 14. Equality and Enterprise: Can Functional Finance Offer a New Historical Compromise? 15. The Operational Role of Functional Finance for Labor Market Behavior and Outcomes 16. The Job Guarantee: Full Employment and Price Stability in a Small Open Economy Part VI: The Final Hour 17. Short-run Macroeconomic Stabilization by an Employer of Last Resort 18. Transformational Growth Project Members and Conference Participants in Open Conversation Index
£121.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Political Economy and Public Finance: The Role of
Book SynopsisThere is a long-standing difference amongst public economists between those who think that collective choice must be formally acknowledged, and those who derive their policy recommendations from a social planning framework in which politics plays no role. The purpose of this book is to contribute to a meaningful dialogue between these two groups, in the belief that the future of both political economy and of normative public finance lies somewhere between the two approaches.Some of the specific questions addressed in the book include: does public finance need political economy? Should collective choice play a role in the standard of reference used in normative public finance? What is a 'failure' in a non-market or policy process? And what have we learned about the theory and practice of public finance from three decades of empirical research on public choice? The book also provides a practitioner's view of the political economy of redistribution. The distinguished list of authors, many of whom are pre-eminent in their fields, includes Robin Boadway, Geoffrey Brennan, Albert Breton, AnIbal Cavaco Silva, Walter Hettich, Gebhard Kirchgassner, Dennis Mueller, William Niskanen, Hirofumi Shibata, Eugene Smolensky, Heinrich Ursprung, Frans van Winden, Stanley Winer and Donald Wittman.The importance of political economy to any understanding of why public policy evolves as it does is now widely accepted by public finance scholars and practitioners. This book goes a step further by considering the role of collective choice in defining what constitutes 'good' or 'better' policy. It will be an essential companion for all scholars of public finance and political economy.Trade Review'The overall quality of the volume is excellent, so reading the entire volume would be worthwhile, and readers interested in the specific topics covered by any of the chapters would find those chapters helpful. The individual chapters can stand alone, but taken together the volume illustrates how public choice analysis can influence the subject matter of traditional public finance.' -- Randall G. Holcombe, Public ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Political Economy and Public Finance: A Brief Introduction Stanley L. Winer and Hirofumi Shibata PART I: DOES PUBLIC FINANCE NEED POLITICAL ECONOMY? 2. Public Finance, Public Choice and the Political Economy of Regulation Geoffrey Brennan 3. Public and Welfare Economics under Monopolistic and Competitive Governments Albert Breton PART II: SHOULD COLLECTIVE CHOICE PLAY A ROLE IN THE STANDARD OF REFERENCE USED IN NORMATIVE PUBLIC FINANCE? 4. The Role of Public Choice Considerations in Normative Public Economics Robin Boadway 5. Better than What? Policy Analysis, Collective Choice and the Standard of Reference Walter Hettich Comments and a Rejoinder PART III: WHAT IS A ‘FAILURE’ IN A NON-MARKET OR POLICY PROCESS? 6. Normative Public Finance Without Guilt: Why Normative Public Finance is Positive Public Finance Donald Wittman 7. On the Origin and Identification of Government Failures William A. Niskanen Comments PART IV: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC FINANCE FROM THREE DECADES OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON PUBLIC CHOICE? 8. Interest Groups, Redistribution and the Size of Government Dennis C. Mueller 9. The Effects of Fiscal Institutions on Public Finance: A Survey of the Empirical Evidence Gebhard Kirchgässner 10. Experimental Investigation of Collective Action Frans van Winden PART V: A PRACTITIONER’S VIEW OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REDISTRIBUTION 11. Equity Policy and Political Feasibility in the European Union Aníbal Cavaco Silva PART VI: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 12. Directions for Future Research Eugene Smolensky 13. Where Do We Go from Here? Heinrich W. Ursprung Comments Index
£38.90
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Environmental Tax Reform and the Labour Market:
Book SynopsisDuring the past decade the issue of a general welfare double dividend (an improvement in environmental quality combined with a positive welfare effect) triggered by a tax shift from labour to energy resources has been extensively debated. In this book, Kurt Kratena studies the employment effects of revenue neutral tax shifts from labour to energy, and measures the impact on theoretical and empirical models of the European labour market.A common theoretical framework is devised to analyse the impact of environmental tax reform. Various 'labour market regimes' (competitive labour markets, union wage bargaining and efficiency wages) are derived and taken as the starting point for different specifications of the labour market. The theoretical outcomes of tax shifts in these different labour market regimes are then analysed and compared. The results reveal that whereas an econometric based multi-sectoral model yields significant double dividend effects, a general equilibrium model only finds employment double dividend effects. The book also highlights the potentially positive economic consequences of environmental tax reform such as a shift in demand from energy to non-energy goods.This book provides a concise appraisal of the general double dividend question combined with an innovative analysis of the employment double dividend effect. It utilises extensive empirical evidence and reveals the sensitivity of the various theoretical concepts surrounding the debate. This book will be of interest and relevance to academics in the fields of environmental economics, labour theory and fiscal studies.Trade Review'This is an excellent study which is to-the-point, well-argued and topical. The book addresses important issues for fiscal policy and mitigation of climate change, and complements other studies in the area, in that it emphasises the importance of assumptions about the workings of the labour market. This is a significant contribution to the literature.' -- Terry Barker, University of Cambridge, UK'This book relates to two lines of current research on environmental taxation: the renewed interest in environmental tax reform stimulated by the issue of sustainable development and the recently discovered link to employment policy and its relationship to different labour market regimes. As such, it is a very useful source for judging the arguments that have evolved over the past decade in the context of environmental tax reform. Because of the comprehensive approach that emphasises different theoretical perspectives and the importance of empirical modelling work, the book is a valuable contribution to the double dividend debate. Of particular value is the excellent presentation of the role of different labour market regimes which contains substantial innovative material.' -- Stefan P. Schleicher, University of Graz, AustriaTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. General Aspects of Environmental Tax Reform 2. Theoretical Assessment of Different Labour Market Regimes 3. Environmental Tax Reform in Different Labour Market Regimes: Theory 4. Environmental Tax Reform in Different Labour Market Regimes: Applications 5. Conclusions References Index
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Modernizing Civil Services
Book SynopsisCivil services in Western liberal democracies have undergone significant changes since the early 1980s, so much so that many of the traditional assumptions underpinning their role and operating practices have been fundamentally questioned. This volume explores a number of themes inherent in this transformation process and the significant problems encountered in modernizing civil services.The commitment to modernizing public services has been a constant trend of Western governments and has encompassed many approaches under a variety of labels, such as new public management and reinventing government. As a result of such developments, the public services of many countries have been transformed, with civil services being singled out for particular attention. This book critically examines the application of the modernization agenda in the old Commonwealth, the USA and Western Europe, including the institutions of the EU. Particular attention is given to developments in the British civil service, including the implications of devolved government, human rights legislation, and the Blair government's attempts to improve the policy process. For students and academics of public administration, public policy and comparative politics, this book will provide unrivalled coverage of one of the most critical issues in contemporary public management and policy.Trade Review'The chapters in Modernizing Civil Services, read collectively, provide an interesting overview of some of the major themes in public administration today. . . Modernizing Civil Services will be of interest to a wide range of students of public administration in booth the practitioner and academic domains.' -- Phil Charko, Canadian Public Administration'This is an excellent collection of papers examining the dimensions of change in contemporary civil service systems. It is especially valuable in linking changes in the civil service with other changes in governing.' -- B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Modernizing Civil Services: An Era of Reform 2. Localism and Exceptionalism: Comparing Public Sector Reforms in European and Westminster Systems 3. Protecting Liberty and Benefiting Society: Can Market-based Administrative Reforms and Market-based Political Institutions Effectively Co-exist in the US? 4. Modernization as Europeanization: The Impact of the European Union on Public Administration 5. Executive Agencies and ‘Modernizing Government’ 6. Devolution, Integration and Modernization in the United Kingdom Civil Service 7. Modernization and Civil Service Accountability: The Case of Scottish Devolution 8. Implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the Lord Chancellor’s Department 9. Modernizing Policy-making for the Twenty-first Century: The Professional Model 10. Civil Society, Virtue, Trust: Implications for the Public Service Ethos in the Age of Modernity References Index
£100.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Restructuring Local Government Finance in
Book SynopsisExamining cutting-edge issues of international relevance in the ongoing redesign of the South African local government fiscal system, the contributors to this volume analyze the major changes that have taken place since the demise of apartheid. The 1996 Constitution and subsequent legislation dramatically redefined the public sector, mandating the development of democratic local governments empowered to provide a wide variety of key public services. However, the definition and implementation of new local functions and the supporting democratic decision-making and managerial capabilities are emerging more slowly than expected. Some difficult choices and challenges commonly faced by developing countries must be dealt with before the system can evolve to more effectively meet the substantial role envisioned for local governments. The contributors outline these choices and challenges, consider options for meeting them, and review the implications of different decisions. Their analyses also highlight the interrelationships among the elements of the local fiscal structure, and emphasize the often-ignored challenge of how to define an appropriate fiscal decentralization implementation strategy in an environment where local governments are extremely diverse in terms of needs, resources and capacities. Though the research, much of it based on newly collected data, is specific to South Africa, the approach provides a model for other countries facing similar fiscal decentralization policy challenges.Applied public finance and policy academics, policymakers in developing countries, researchers and program managers in international development organizations, and students interested in local government finance in developing countries will find this timely and comprehensive volume a valuable addition to their libraries.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Overview of Fiscal Decentralization in South Africa 2. Municipal Powers and Functions: The Assignment Question 3. Overview of the Local Government Revenue System 4. Property Taxation 5. The Regional Service Council Levy 6. Intergovernmental Transfers: The Equitable Share 7. Integrating Fiscal Decentralization Reforms and the Challenges of Implementation Annexes Index
£116.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Economics of Public Private Partnerships
Book SynopsisThis important collection presents an authoritative selection of papers on public private partnerships. The literature is relatively new, and draws on the disciplines of both economics and engineering. As well as examining the recent experience of these schemes - whose evolution has accelerated in recent years - this insightful collection also considers the intellectual origins of the concept, and investigates the organisational and risk management aspects of PPPs. It will be an essential source of reference for all those with an interest in this topical subject.Trade Review'A seminal body of work, The Economics of Public Private Partnerships is a welcome addition to the growing body of international economic literature and a core addition to professional and academic library Economic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.' -- Midwest Book ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction Darrin Grimsey and Mervyn K. Lewis PART I THE CHANGING MARKET FOR PUBLIC SERVICES 1. Michael B. Gerrard (2001), ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ 2. Paul Starr (1988), ‘The Meaning of Privatization’ 3. Christopher Hood (1995), ‘The “New Public Management” in the 1980s: Variations on a Theme’ 4. Simon Domberger and Stephen Rimmer (1994), ‘Competitive Tendering and Contracting in the Public Sector: A Survey’ 5. Stephen H. Linder (1999), ‘Coming to Terms With the Public-Private Partnership’ PART II THE PRIVATE FINANCING MODEL 6. G.J. Hodgson (1995), ‘Design and Build – Effects of Contractor Design on Highway Schemes’ 7. Martin Stewart-Smith (1995), ‘Private Financing and Infrastructure Provision in Emerging Markets’ 8. Paulina Beato and Antonio Vives (1996), ‘Private-Sector Participation in Infrastructure: Risk, Fiscal, and Efficiency Issues in Public-Private Arrangements for the Provision of Services’ 9. Eduardo Engel, Ronald Fischer and Alexander Galetovic (1997), ‘Highway Franchising: Pitfalls and Opportunities’ PART III ORGANIZATION OF PPPS 10. A.J. Smith (1999), ‘Philosophical Aspects of the Public/Private Sector Partnership’ 11. David Campbell and Donald Harris (1993), ‘Flexibility in Long-term Contractual Relationships: The Role of Co-operation’ 12. J.J.A.M. Reijniers (1994), ‘Organization of Public-Private Partnership Projects: The Timely Prevention of Pitfalls’ 13. Ronald J. Daniels and Michael J. Trebilcock (1996), ‘Private Provision of Public Infrastructure: An Organizational Analysis of the Next Privatization Frontier’ 14. Nicholas Gould (1998), ‘Dispute Resolution Mechanisms to Address Unforeseen Circumstances in Long Term BOT Contracts’ 15. José A. Trujillo, Remy Cohen, Xavier Freixas and Robert Sheehy (1998), ‘Infrastructure Financing with Unbundled Mechanisms’ 16. A.M. Abdel-Aziz and A.D. Russell (2001), ‘A Structure for Government Requirements in Public-Private Partnerships’ 17. Oliver Hart (2003), ‘Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships’ 18. David Parker and Keith Hartley (2003), ‘Transaction Costs, Relational Contracting and Public Private Partnerships: A Case Study of UK Defence’ PART IV THE UK EXPERIENCE 19. G. Owen and A. Merna (1997), ‘The Private Finance Initiative’ 20. Paul A. Grout (1997), ‘The Economics of the Private Finance Initiative’ 21. Michael Klein (1997), ‘The Risk Premium for Evaluating Public Projects’ 22. John Hall (1998), ‘Private Opportunity, Public Benefit?’ 23. David J. Mayston (1999), ‘The Private Finance Initiative in the National Health Service: An Unhealthy Development in New Public Management?’ 24. Amira Mustafa (1999), ‘Public–Private Partnership: An Alternative Institutional Model for Implementing the Private Finance Initiative in the Provision of Transport Infrastructure’ 25. Paul A. Grout (2003), ‘Public and Private Sector Discount Rates in Public-Private Partnerships’ PART V EXPERIENCE ELSEWHERE 26. Joseph E. Stiglitz and Scott J. Wallsten (1999), ‘Public–Private Technology Partnerships: Promises and Pitfalls’ 27. Paul G. Apen, Brian C. Benicewicz and Joseph R. Laia (1994), ‘A New Model for Public–Private Partnerships’ 28. Stephen C. Lockwood (1995), ‘Public–Private Partnerships in U.S. Highway Finance: ISTEA and Beyond’ 29. Anne Larason Schneider (1999), ‘Public–Private Partnerships in the U.S. Prison System’ 30. David Haarmeyer and Ashoka Mody (1997), ‘Private Capital in Water and Sanitation’ 31. Anne Ribault (2001), ‘Lessons from the French Experience in Public and Private Partnership’ PART VI RISK MANAGEMENT 32. S.C. Ward, C.B. Chapman and B. Curtis (1991), ‘On the Allocation of Risk in Construction Projects’ 33. Anthony Forshaw (1999), ‘The U.K. Revolution in Public Procurement and the Value of Project Finance’ 34. S. Faruqi and N.J. Smith (1997), ‘Karachi Light Rail Transit: A Private Finance Proposal’ 35. Raphael Henry Arndt (1998), ‘Risk Allocation in the Melbourne City Link Project’ 36. Darrin Grimsey and Mervyn K. Lewis (2002), ‘Evaluating the Risks of Public Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Projects’ Name Index
£284.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Property Tax, Land Use and Land Use
Book SynopsisDick Netzer, a leading public finance economist specializing in state and local issues and urban government, brings together in this comprehensive volume essays by top scholars connecting the property tax with land use. They explore the idea that the property tax is used as a partial substitute for land use regulation and other policies designed to affect how land is utilized. Like many economists, the contributors see some type of property taxation as the more efficient means of helping to shape land use. Some of the essays analyze a conventional property tax, while others consider radically different systems of property taxation.The first paper sets the stage, modeling taxes on land and buildings in the context of a dynamic model of real estate markets. The remaining papers examine how various tax mechanisms and non-tax alternatives to regulating and determining land use, such as zoning and private neighborhood associations, complement or substitute for one another. Urban planners and economists interested in local public finance will welcome this comprehensive study.Trade Review'. . . an interesting exploration of land use and taxations. It is well thought out and provides the reader with both the theoretical basis for analysis and some empirical support for the theoretical arguments. . . the book is a wonderful example of a well-written and formatted reader for reference on the shelves of all interested in taxation and land use.' -- Rober J. Eger III, Journal of the American Taxation Association'The book is remarkable for both the breadth and depth of the consideration given to alternative land-use policies. . . The Property Tax, Land Use and Land Use Regulation is filled with economic models, analyses, empirical results, institutional descriptions, and policy conclusions. There is no "fluff" here. While some chapters will be challenging to readers new to land value and land-use modeling, it is worth the effort to work through the analyses and become familiar with these timely and highly relevant studies.' -- Laura Klambokidis, Journal of Regional ScienceTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Taxes on Buildings and Land in a Dynamic Model of Real Estate Markets 2. The Effect of Tax Increment Financing on Land Use 3. Preferential Assessment: Impacts and Alternatives 4. The Influence of Local Fiscal Structure and Growth Control Choices on ‘Big-Box’ Urban Sprawl in the American West 5. Is Zoning a Substitute for, or a Complement to, Factor Taxes? 6. Taxes Versus Regulation: The Welfare Impacts of Policies for Containing Urban Sprawl 7. Land Use Regulations and the Property Tax: Cost–Benefit Analyses 8. The Rise of the Private Neighbourhood Association: A Constitutional Revolution in Local Government 9. The Rise of Private Neighbourhood Associations: Revolution or Evolution? 10. Frontage Tax and the Optimally Compact City Index
£124.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd City Taxes, City Spending: Essays in Honor of
Book SynopsisAn illustrious group of economists contribute to this volume honoring Dick Netzer, the public finance economist well-known for his research on state and local taxation, the provision of urban public services, and non-profit organizations. Following in his tradition, the contributors apply microeconomics to real world problems facing urban areas and use statistical analysis to gain insight into practical solutions. The first four chapters of the book provide in-depth explorations of alternative methods of financing urban government such as: the relative merits of income and property taxation at the local level, the impact of sales and income taxation on property taxation, and the feasibility of adopting a land value tax. The next two chapters focus on government expenditures: the impact of subsidized housing investment on property values, and the theoretical and historical explanations for public ownership and direct provision of public services. The final two chapters of the book turn their attention to the non-profit sector, exploring subsidies to non-profit arts organizations and the role of the non-profit sector in providing K-12 education, specifically addressing the implications for segregation and equity. Comprehensive and engaging, professionals and scholars in the fields of public finance, urban economics and public administration will find this collection of great interest.Trade Review'The seven essays here have much to recommend them. The themes are important, the analysts are well known and well qualified, their analyses are carefully done and insightful, and the writing is concise but usually accessible to non experts. . . Dick Netzer's detailed, practical scholarship has inspired a generation of economists to study local governments and nonprofit artistic institutions in the hope of improving public policy. This book is a fine tribute, sure to stimulate further controversy, unlikely to settle many issues, but useful to policy makers and scholars alike.' -- David Merriman, Journal of Regional ScienceTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. What Should Local Governments Tax: Income or Property? 3. What a Tangled Web: Local Property, Income and Sales Taxes 4. Land Taxation in New York City: A General Equilibrium Analysis 5. The Role of Cities in Providing Housing Assistance: A New York Perspective 6. Public Ownership in the American City 7. The Nonprofit Sector in K-12 Education 8. The Partially Subsidized Muse: Estimating the Value and Incidence of Public Support Received by Nonprofit Arts Organizations Index
£117.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd International Taxation
Book SynopsisScholarly research on taxation is increasingly preoccupied with its global implications. This volume collects the most important and influential recent research on international aspects of taxation. The book offers empirical estimates of the effects of taxation on foreign direct investment, international borrowing, and other forms of tax avoidance. It further focuses on classic studies of tax competition and the latest research on the characteristics of desirable tax policies in open economies. This authoritative collection of articles offers a comprehensive survey of international tax issues, one that is accessible to newcomers to the field but is also of considerable value to seasoned tax professionals.Trade Review'In the last two decades, increasing integration of the markets for goods, capital, and intellectual property has made the tax rules governing international transactions central features of the modern tax code. In response, the academic literature on international taxation has expanded rapidly. This volume brings together key contributions, classics as well as studies that define the current research frontier, in a collection that no serious student of tax policy should be without.' -- James M. Poterba, MIT, USTable of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction James R. Hines Jr. PART I FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 1. David G. Hartman (1985), ‘Tax Policy and Foreign Direct Investment’ 2. James R. Hines, Jr. and Eric M. Rice (1994), ‘Fiscal Paradise: Foreign Tax Havens and American Business’ 3. James R. Hines, Jr. (1996), ‘Altered States: Taxes and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in America’ 4. Rosanne Altshuler, Harry Grubert and T. Scott Newlon (2001), ‘Has U.S. Investment Abroad Become More Sensitive to Tax Rates?’ 5. James R. Hines Jr. (2001), ‘Tax Sparing and Direct Investment in Developing Countries’ 6. Michael P. Devereux and Rachel Griffith (2003), ‘Evaluating Tax Policy for Location Decisions’ 7. Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr. (2004), ‘Foreign Direct Investment in a World of Multiple Taxes’ 8. Alfons J. Weichenrieder (1996), ‘Anti-Tax-Avoidance Provisions and the Size of Foreign Direct Investment’ PART II INTERNATIONAL BORROWING 9. Harry Huizinga (1996), ‘The Incidence of Interest Withholding Taxes: Evidence from the LDC Loan Market’ 10. Leslie E. Papke (2000), ‘One-Way Treaty with the World: The U.S. Withholding Tax and the Netherlands Antilles’ 11. Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr. (2004), ‘A Multinational Perspective on Capital Structure Choice and Internal Capital Markets’ PART III TAX AVOIDANCE 12. Kimberly A. Clausing (2003), ‘Tax-Motivated Transfer Pricing and US Intrafirm Trade Prices’ 13. Mihir A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr. (2002), ‘Expectations and Expatriations: Tracing the Causes and Consequences of Corporate Inversions’ 14. Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr. (2001), ‘Repatriation Taxes and Dividend Distortions’ 15. Rosanne Altshuler and Harry Grubert (2003), ‘Repatriation Taxes, Repatriation Strategies and Multinational Financial Policy’ PART IV TAX COMPETITION 16. S. Bucovetsky (1991), ‘Asymmetric Tax Competition’ 17. Ravi Kanbur and Michael Keen (1993), ‘Jeux Sans Frontières: Tax Competition and Tax Coordination When Countries Differ in Size’ 18. Roger H. Gordon (1992), ‘Can Capital Income Taxes Survive in Open Economies?’ 19. Michael Keen (2001), ‘Preferential Regimes Can Make Tax Competition Less Harmful’ 20. John Douglas Wilson and David E. Wildasin (2004), ‘Capital Tax Competition: Bane or Boon?’ PART V INTERNATIONAL TAX POLICY IMPLICATIONS 21. Thomas Horst (1980), ‘A Note on the Optimal Taxation of International Investment Income’ 22. Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka (1991), ‘International Tax Competition and Gains from Tax Harmonization’ 23. Michael Keen and Hannu Piekkola (1997), ‘Simple Rules for the Optimal Taxation of International Capital Income’ 24. Joel Slemrod, Carl Hansen and Roger Proctor (1997), ‘The Seesaw Principle in International Tax Policy’ 25. Mihir A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr. (2003), ‘Evaluating International Tax Reform’ 26. Roger H. Gordon (1986), ‘Taxation of Investment and Savings in a World Economy’ 27. Wolfgang Eggert and Andreas Haufler (1999), ‘Capital Taxation and Production Efficiency in an Open Economy’ 28. Michael Keen and David Wildasin (2004), ‘Pareto-Efficient International Taxation’ Name Index
£250.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Challenge of Public–Private Partnerships:
Book SynopsisPublic-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - cooperative institutional arrangements between public and private sector actors - are now an increasingly relevant and globally popular public policy option. The authors argue that even though PPPs are still evolving, there is now sufficient research to bring these joint ventures to account and to provide lessons for the future. The aim of the book is to investigate how PPP reforms function in comparison to the more traditional methods of providing public sector services and infrastructure and who typically experiences the successes and failures of these reforms.The Challenge of Public-Private Partnerships advances recent thought on PPPs in the areas of risk transfer, financial implications, contractual matters, politics, management and accountability. International case studies are presented from the United Kingdom, Europe, the US and Australasia, and the authors delineate the experience of PPPs in areas such as infrastructure and human services. A strong thread of accountability is woven throughout the book, synthesizing common issues, separating the rhetoric from the performance reality and providing strategies for better meeting the various international challenges for future PPPs.Re-examining the myriad meanings and definitions given to PPPs, and presenting a range of theories and frameworks to improve understanding of PPP events and outcomes, this book will be of great interest to those involved in public administration and public policy-making.Trade Review'One of the first collections of empirical studies on the international experience with public-private partnerships (PPPs), The Challenge of Public-Private Partnerships raises several crucial issues that challenge the effectiveness of PPPs. It does a good job of organizing scattered research on a complicated topic, examining partnerships in historical, political, and economic contexts, and pointing out major defects in previous studies. The editors have assembled an all-star cast of contributors to accomplish three major goals relating to PPPs: to reexamine the huge range of definitions, to review the international experience and learn from the outcomes, and to call for more careful balanced assessment.' -- Yin Wang, Public Administration Review'. . . this is an excellent volume. The authors raise a number of important questions that extend beyond the particulars of the public-private partnerships that exist now, and address broader questions of the interactions of the two sectors, and the complexity of those interactions.' -- B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. The Public–Private Interface: Surveying the History 3. The United Kingdom Private Finance Initiative: The Challenge of Allocating Risk 4. Getting the Contract Right 5. Political Issues of Public–Private Partnerships 6. Public–Private Partnerships as the Management of Co-Production: Strategic and Institutional Obstacles in a Difficult Marriage 7. Traditional Contracts as Partnerships: Effective Accountability in Social Services Contracts in the American States 8. United States: Human Services 9. North American Infrastructure P3s: Examples and Lessons Learned 10. The Private Finance Initiative or the Public Funding or Private Profit? 11. Learning from UK Private Finance Initiative Experience 12. Public–Private Partnerships in Social Services: The Example of the City of Stockholm 13. Public–Private Partnerships for Infrastructure in Denmark from Local to Global Partnering 14. German Public–Private Partnerships in Personal Social Services: New Directions in a Corporatist Environment 15. Using Public–Private Partnerships to Deliver Social Infrastructure: The Australian Experience 16. Public–Private Partnerships: The Australasian Experience with Physical Infrastructure 17. Public–Private Partnerships: A Policy for All Seasons? Index
£126.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd International Handbook of Land and Property
Book SynopsisTaxes on land and property exist all over the world in many forms and are an important source of finance for local governments. The extent to which local governments have control over property taxes is often an important determinant of their ability to make autonomous expenditure decisions. This comprehensive Handbook explores case studies of land and property taxation in 25 countries (five in each of five regions - OECD, central and eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America), and focuses on the potential contributions of the property tax to the revenues of urban and rural governments and to more efficient land use. Introductory chapters highlight the diversity in the application of land and property taxes among the countries. Major policy alternatives with respect to taxing land and property are discussed, including the choice of tax base, exemptions, methods of determining the tax base, tax rates, differential treatment of different classes of property (such as farms, residences, commercial properties), and the process of tax administration. Other taxes levied on land, such as land transfer taxes, development charges and unearned increment taxes, are also reviewed, as is recent experience with property tax reform in a number of countries.This major reference work will provide a valuable resource and necessary addition to the libraries of government officials, municipal associations, property assessors, international agencies, teachers and students of public finance.Trade Review'. . . fine compilation of essays dealing with international land and property taxation issues. . . . the book is well researched and readable in presenting the tax systems. . . The book would be more than appropriate as additional reading for a master's level class in taxation. It could supplement an international tax class, or be used in a state and local tax class to present contrasts and complexities of the issue in other countries.' -- Malichi van Tassell Tor, The Journal of the American Taxation Association'. . . this is quite an achievement. Thanks to the nature of the case studies and the contributing authors the volume is inherently international in its scope and should appeal to practitioners, teachers, and students interested in land and property taxation, international economic development, and land and real-estate studies.' -- Scott Orford, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design'I have found the book International Handbook of Land and Property Taxation a very meaningful and enlightening book to read. The editors Bird and Slack have developed a theoretically sound framework, backed by economic conceptions in order to attempt a comprehensive treatment on tax administration on land and property. Specifically and yet more broadly, they have to their credit managed to throw light of sufficient depth on key issues that include the tax base and rate, the tax burden and the tax policy decision makers. The international dimension is just as imperative to consider and the editors have effectively succeeded to render an in-depth treatment in this regard. This imperative is also a unique and important contribution to empirical real estate studies within the tax discipline, and the editors should be highly commended in this effort. I am very encouraged with the academic rigor of this book publication. . .' -- David Ho, Journal of Property Investment and FinanceTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction and Overview 2. Land and Property Taxation in 25 Countries: A Comparative Review 3. Reforming Property Taxes Part I: OECD Countries 4. Property Taxation in Canada 5. Property Taxation in the United Kingdom 6. Property Taxation in Australia 7. Land Taxation in Germany 8. Property Tax in Japan Part II: Asia 9. Property Taxation in Indonesia 10. Property Taxation in India 11. Real Property Taxation in the Philippines 12. Property Tax in Thailand 13. Land and Property Taxation in China Part III: Africa 14. Property Rates in Kenya 15. Property Rates in Tanzania 16. Property Taxation in South Africa 17. Land and Property Taxation in Guinea 18. Land and Property Taxation in Tunisia Part IV: Central and Eastern Europe 19. Land-based Taxes in Hungary 20. Land and Property Taxes in Russia 21. Property Tax in Ukraine 22. Land and Property Taxes in Poland 23. Real Estate Tax in Latvia Part V: Latin America 24. Land Taxes in Colombia 25. Taxes on Land and Property in Argentina 26. Property Tax in Chile 27. Property Taxes in Mexico 28. Property Taxes in Nicaragua Index
£155.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Local Public Finance in Central and Eastern
Book SynopsisThis book explores the system of financing local governments in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Using evidence from the last two decades, the authors, experts on their particular countries, describe the development of the current local government finance system in each nation, and the major challenges and policy options they face. The contributions in this book provide comprehensive coverage of a transitional Europe that encompasses both modern local public finance theory and specific applications in the target countries.The book is a recommended read not only for students of local government and local public finance, but also practitioners and all those who have to deal with the accountability and financial issues at local government level in Central and Eastern Europe.Trade Review‘Local Public Finance in Central and Eastern Europe is an excellent contribution to the comparative and critical analysis of local public finance in Central and Eastern Europe. An excellent and thorough work by the editor is reflected in this publication which gives experts and students new information and perspectives on different issues. A unique publication of this type, the book summarizes essential features of local public finance in selected countries.' -- Leos VItek, Central European Journal of Public PolicyTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Local Government Finance in Central and Eastern Europe: Whither Way? Željko Šević 2. Albania: Decentralisation and Local Government Finance – Key Successes and Future Challenges Juliana H. Pigey, Artan Hoxha and Sabina Ymeri 3. Local Government Finance in Belarus Yuri Krivorotko 4. Local Government Finance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Jean Tesche 5. Strengthening Local Government Finance: The Case of Bulgaria Svetlana Alexandrova 6. Local Government Finance in Croatia Anto Bajo and Ivana Jakir-Bajo 7. Fiscal Decentralisation in the Czech Republic: Problems and Prospects Phillip J. Bryson and Gary C. Cornia 8. Local Government Finance in Estonia Kenneth A. Kriz 9. Decentralisation Under Fiscal Pressure: Local Government Finances in Hungary Gábor Péteri 10. Local Government Finance in Latvia Mudite Priede and Solvita Klapare 11. Local Government Finance in Lithuania Gerda Žigiene, Jadvyga Ciburiene and Mark W. Chandler 12. Financing Local Self-Government in the Republic of Macedonia Borce Davitkovski and Ana Pavlovska-Daneva 13. Local Government Finance in Moldova Clare T. Romanik, Eugeniu Hristev and Maria Salabuga 14. Local Government Finance in Montenegro Djordjije Blazic 15. Local Government Finance in Poland Piotr Bury and Pawel Swianiewicz 16. Local Government Finance in Romania Claudiu Doltu 17. Local Government Finance in Serbia Thomas Meekel 18. Local Government Finance in Slovakia Juraj Nemec 19. Financing Local Communities in Slovenia Davor Savin 20. Funding Local Government in Ukraine Sergii Slukhai Index
£159.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Environmental Taxes: An Introductory Analysis
Book SynopsisEnvironmental taxes differ from each other according to the functions they serve and the manner in which they are implemented. This study highlights the appropriateness of different kinds of environmental taxes against a rigorous framework of theory and case study evidence.The purpose of this book is to analyse the way in which environmental taxes are categorized and which factors affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the different kinds of environmental taxes in practice. This pragmatic approach is emphasized along with the multiplicity of regulatory problems such as: At what level should the environmental tax rate be set? What is the proper time schedule for introducing an environmental tax? What are the most appropriate taxable characteristics and how should they be determined? What activities should be exempt from environmental taxation? How can tax relief be implemented? These are only some of the regulatory problems explored in this study, which also encompasses an examination of the theory of regulation.The author argues that economists have often paid too little attention to the administrative and legal issues concerning the implementation of legislation, such as environmental tax laws, which are of course vital to the success of any potential policy. Lawyers too have in turn neglected the theory of regulation, which would assist in analysing problems in a future-oriented way.Environmental Taxes will therefore be of great interest to a wide audience of environmental economists, law and economics scholars as well as policymakers.Trade Review'As the intricacies of the intelligent design of environmental taxes have baffled many, including people in power, this book is a welcome addition to the literature. It is clear, concise and correct. . . Kalle Maatta's Environmental Taxes should have a prominent place on the bookshelves of anyone who advises or practises environmental regulation, and it should often be taken from that shelf.' -- Richard S.J. Tol, Review of European Community & International Environmental LawTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Framework 3. The Fallacy of Buchanan–Tullock Theorem 4. Regulatory and Fiscal Taxes: Theoretical Considerations 5. Incentive Environmental Taxes 6. Financing Environmental Taxes 7. Environmental Taxes from the Fiscal Point of View 8. Concluding Remarks Bibliography Index
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The New Democratic Federalism For Europe:
Book SynopsisThis innovative book proposes a new institutional arrangement for government to fulfil the needs of its citizens as well as possible. Existing aspects of federalism and direct democracy in Europe are strengthened, and as a result future developments arising in the region are coped with better.In this book Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger propose a new model of federalism which includes new types of governmental units established by citizens from below. These units are called functional, overlapping and competing jurisdictions as they extend over task-specific areas and therefore overlap. They also provide competitive governance via direct and representative democratic institutions, and as jurisdictions they have independent power over taxation policy. This new model is more responsive to citizens' preferences and adjusts more dynamically to provide public services efficiently. The authors suggest that this new system should be allowed to develop in Europe to safeguard diversity and ensure that decentralization emerges effectively. It would also allow for the flexible integration of East European transition economies into the European Union and may also combine with traditional modes of government in developing countries.This book will be warmly welcomed by economists, political scientists and sociologists interested in the future of the European Union, by all those studying federal systems of government, and by those interested in the prospects for improving democratic institutions throughout the world.Trade Review'. . . this is a stimulating pioneer work. They should extend it and the rest of us should act as missionaries.' -- Gordon Tullock, Public Choice'. . . the authors not only provide an implicit discussion of the problems of the nation-state, but they also outline an alternative, with a defence of why and how it would work effectively. . . the book provokes thought and debate. It is a welcome creative addition to an already rich literature.' -- Journal of International Law and PoliticsTable of ContentsContents: Part I: The Idea 1. Functional, Overlapping and Competing Jurisdictions (FOCJ) 2. The Advantages of FOCJ 3. FOCJ Implemented 4. FOCJ Compared 5. Bastard FOCJ Part II: FOCJ for Europe 6. Federalism in Today’s Europe 7. FOCJ in Europe Part III: Beyond Europe 8. Europe and the World 9. FOCJ and Developing Countries 10. Conclusions
£30.35
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Pension Systems: Beyond Mandatory Retirement
Book SynopsisPension Systems enters into the current lively debate on European pensions. The focus of the book is the analysis of public intervention in individuals' retirement choice, its rationale and the desirability of legislation introducing a sizeable and compulsory increase in retirement age, to face the prospects of swift population ageing. The book assesses the impact of different retirement rules on individual decisions, on the sustainability of social security systems and on labour market dynamics, and inquires whether mandatory retirement has not become an outdated feature of modern pension systems. The motivations behind public intervention in fixing compulsory retirement rules as well as the likely consequences of allowing the individual a higher responsibility in retirement choices are analysed. These issues are examined both theoretically and empirically and through a focus on country-specific patterns of retirement and on policy issues relevant at the European level. The impact of later retirement on the labour market is also investigated, considering the role of retirement rules in increasing employment. This comprehensive and topical book will appeal to academics and scholars of public finance as well as pensions experts and organisations.Trade Review'I recommend this book to all who are interested in European pension systems and ageing-of-the-population problems. The presentation is in a rather accessible non-technical style, so policy and opinion makers should also take notice.' -- Sybille Grob, De EconomistTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: Increasing Retirement Age: Principles and Practice 2. Social Security Rules that Vary with Age 3. Retirement Incentives and Retirement 4. A Discussion Part II: Country Experiences 5. Patterns of Retirement in Germany: How They Emerged, and How to Change Them 6. Assessing the Impact of Pensions Policy Reform in Ireland: The Case of Increasing the Pension Age 7. Retirement Age Rules and Pension Reforms in Italy 8. Retirement Choices of Older Workers in Italy 9. Income Expectations and Outcomes at Mandatory Retirement in the Netherlands Index
£105.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Elgar Companion to Public Economics:
Book SynopsisAttiat Ott and Richard Cebula have recognised the need to present, in an accessible and straightforward way, the voluminous literature in the public economics arena. Advances in econometric techniques and the spillover of knowledge from other disciplines made it difficult, not only for students but also for lecturers, to accurately find the information they need.This major Companion addresses a wealth of topics common to the study of both public economics and public choice including questions such as: How does one structure the whole spectrum of public finance in a manageable framework? What is Wagner's Law really about and what does empirical testing tell us? How binding is the budget constraint? How encompassing is a dictator's interest? How do veto powers of the executive, institutional structures and regimes affect public sector outcomes? Do voters behave rationally? Do conflicts yield benefits? Is war cost effective and does secession offer a viable exit option? The contributions, both theoretical and empirical, shed light on some contentious issues in the public economics literature and provide readers with insight into issues that are at the forefront of discussions about the public economy. The empirical analysis utilizes recent econometric techniques to validate or refute empirical findings based on older 'vintage' econometrics. The diversity of coverage ranges from traditional models of the public economy to the incorporation of defence spending as a significant and often neglected function of the public sector. The contributors include many pioneers and leading lights in the field.The Elgar Companion to Public Economics will be required reading for academics and scholars at many levels in the fields of public economics and public choice but mainly graduate and above. The Companion will also be of value to scholars in the wider social sciences in general and political science in particular.Table of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction and Background Attiat F. Ott and Richard J. Cebula Part I: The Public Economy 1. Public Finance and the Three Branch Model Richard A. Musgrave 2. The Empirics of the Three Branch Model Attiat F. Ott 3. Wagner’s Law of Increasing Expansion of Public Activities Alan Peacock 4. Wagner’s Hypothesis: New Evidence from the US Using the Bounds Testing Approach James E. Payne, Bradley T. Ewing and Hassan Mohammadi 5. Soft Budget Constraint and Hard Budget Constraint: Who is Bailing Out Whom and Why? Attiat F. Ott and Nirupama Devaraj 6. Public Good Provision by Dictatorship: A Survey Robert T. Deacon and Sarani Saha 7. Empirical Evidence on the Optimality and Productivity of Government Services in Sub-Saharan Africa Rita Babihuga Part II: Public Sector Provision 8. The Supply Side of Democratic Government: A Brief Survey Thomas Borcherding and Dong (Dan) Lee 9. Strategic Interaction Among Local Governments: A Spatial Analysis of Spillover of Public Goods Soma Ghosh 10. Economics of Conflict Keith Hartley 11. Defense Expenditure and Economic Growth: Evidence from Cross-Country Panel Data Rati Ram 12. The Demand for Military Spending in Middle Eastern Countries and Turkey Julide Yildirim, Selami Sezgin and Nadir Öcal Part III: Re-Shaping Public Sector Outcomes in a Democracy 13. Fiscal Policy and Direct Democracy: Institutional Design Determines Outcomes Lars P. Feld and Gebhard Kirchgässner 14. Direct Democracy and Tiebout Exit Nirupama Devaraj 15. An Extension of the Rational Voter Model Richard J. Cebula and Gordon Tullock 16. A Preliminary Analysis of the Presidential Approval Rating Richard J. Cebula 17. Line Item Veto: Lessons from the Literature David Schap 18. An Analysis of the UN Security Council Veto Nevila Kote Part IV: Models of Public Sector Behavior 19. The Political Theories of Deficits and Debt Accumulation Vladislav Dolgopolov, Bonnie Orcutt and Attiat F. Ott 20. The Efficiency of Representative Democracy: A Comparative Study of Two Competing Models Trufat Woldesenbet 21. What Kept the Russian Federation Intact? Testing the Internal Exit Model of Buchanan and Faith Vjacheslav Dombrovsky 22. Secession and Exit: An Analysis of Two Competing Hypotheses Constantine Alexandrakis and Robert T. Jones References Index
£194.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Handbook of Fiscal Federalism
Book SynopsisThis major Handbook addresses fiscal relations between different levels of government under the general rubric of 'fiscal federalism', providing a review of the latest literature as well as an invaluable guide for practitioners and policy makers seeking informed policy options. The contributors include leading lights in the field, many of whom have themselves made seminal contributions to the literature.Comprehensive and wide in coverage, the issues covered range from federal systems to other forms of intergovernmental relations, such as supra-national constructs - namely, the European Union - unitary states, regional systems, and more decentralized operations, including community level organizations. The political economy approach emphasizes the importance of institutional arrangements, including the legal, political and administrative aspects, and information flows to ensure that there are appropriate incentives and sanctions to generate good governance. This Handbook also devotes attention to emerging issues, such as environmental protection, the sharing of natural resources among levels of government, corruption and the impact of federalism and decentralization on national unity. It will be a vital reference tool for the area for many years to come.Trade Review'This volume provides comprehensive coverage of fiscal federalism by some of the leading scholars in the field. . . This Handbook is an excellent addition to the present discourse on the role of the state in fiscal matters. This reviewer would recommend this book as a required text for a graduate or senior class on public finance or economic development. Researchers in economic development, public finance, and fiscal policy likewise would find this volume useful. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.' -- J. Raman, ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Foreword Introduction: Fiscal Federalism – A Review of Developments in the Literature and Policy Ehtisham Ahmad and Giorgio Brosio PART I: APPROACHES TO FISCAL FEDERALISM 1. The Political Economy of Decentralization Ben Lockwood 2. Horizontal Competition Among Governments Pierre Salmon 3. Modelling Vertical Competition Albert Breton 4. Spatial Interactions Among Governments Frederico Revelli 5. Asymmetric Federalism and the Political Economy of Decentralization Roger D. Congleton 6. Functional, Overlapping and Competing Jurisdictions (FOCJ): A Complement and Alternative to Today’s Federalism Reiner Eichenberger and Bruno S. Frey 7. Contract Federalism Paul Bernd Spahn PART II: DECENTRALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT 8. Decentralization and Development Pranab Bardhan 9. Fiscal Federalism in Planned Economies Govinda Rao 10. Decentralization and Service Delivery Junaid Ahmad, Shantayanan Devarajan, Stuti Khemani and Shekhar Shah PART III: IMPLEMENTING MULTILEVEL FISCAL SYSTEMS 11. The Assignment of Functions to Decentralized Government: From Theory to Practice Bernard Dafflon 12. Normative Versus Positive Theories of Revenue Assignments in Federations Maria Flavia Ambrosiano and Massimo Bordignon 13. Tax Competition in a Federal Setting John D. Wilson 14. Intergovernmental Redistributive Transfers: Efficiency and Equity Robin Boadway 15. On the Implementation of Transfers to Subnational Governments Ehtisham Ahmad and Bob Searle 16. Subnational Public Financial Management: Institutions and Macroeconomic Considerations Ehtisham Ahmad, Maria Albino-War and Raju Singh PART IV: EMERGING ISSUES 17. The Assignment of Revenue from Natural Resources Giorgio Brosio 18. Decentralization and the Environment Silvana Dalmazzone 19. Corruption and Decentralized Public Governance Anwar Shah 20. Fiscal Federalism and National Unity Richard M. Bird and Robert D. Ebel 21. Institutions of Federalism and Decentralized Government Brian Galligan Index
£205.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Disappearing State?: Retrenchment Realities
Book SynopsisWhilst the prevailing orthodoxy of the expenditure retrenchment literatureis that globalisation and neo-liberal ideas are leading to a downsizing of the state, empirical research - basing its conclusions on patterns of welfare state spending - does not support such a view. This book brings a new perspective to bear by looking at what has been happening to other areas of the state's activity.Edited by Francis G. Castles, a leading authority in the field, and bringing together an outstanding group of British, German and American scholars, it examines trends in non-social or 'core' spending on public administration, defence, public order, education, economic affairs and debt financing and in the regulatory ordering of the economic sphere. The book not only opens up new areas of comparative public policy research, >but also demonstrates clearly that there have been real reductions in the reach of state in some areas, although patterns of causation are more complex and varied than generally presumed by the retrenchment literature.The research findings reported in The Disappearing State? provide pivotal, relevant and challenging core material for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses in public and social policy, political economy and the sociology of the modern state.Trade Review'Most comparative research on public expenditure retrenchment has concentrated on the welfare state. This exciting and innovative volume takes a new approach. It focuses instead on non-social programmes such as education, defence and economic affairs, demonstrates that this is where the real cost-cutting has taken place and shows, paradoxically, that these cuts have made social spending more politically salient in the public expenditure calculus. This is a book which extends the reach of our understanding of modern public policy at the same time as it extends our knowledge of the reach of the modern state.' -- Stephan Leibfried, University of Bremen, Germany'In this volume, Frank Castles and his team of experts continue the myth-busting process begun in Castles's 2004 analysis of welfare state crisis. Their combination of statistical sophistication and theoretical reflection on the political economy of public expenditure slices straight through the myriad misplaced assumptions regarding the decline of the state, globalization, "races to the bottom" and welfare retrenchment. This book makes compulsory reading for all social scientists.' -- Martin Rhodes, University of Denver, US'I like simple sentences, cross-country collaborations, great graphs, and compelling conclusions. Here, remarkably, we have a book with all four. This is vibrant writing on a topic - the long reach of state spending - that figures in everyone's lives. It is hard to know whether the book will be more gripping for the Prime Minister or for high-brow professors of economics and political science.' -- Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Francis G. Castles 2. Testing the Retrenchment Hypothesis: An Aggregate Overview Francis G. Castles 3. Data on the Functions of Government: Where Are We Now? Neil Fraser and Paul Norris 4. The Changing Cost of Government: Trends in the State Overhead Budget Richard Parry 5. Sinking Budgets and Ballooning Prices: Recent Developments Connected to Military Spending Thomas R. Cusack 6. Expenditure on Public Order and Safety Paul Norris 7. Testing the Retrenchment Hypothesis: Educational Spending, 1960–2002 Manfred G. Schmidt 8. The Real Race to the Bottom: What Happened to Economic Affairs Expenditure After 1980? Herbert Obinger and Reimut Zohlnhöfer 9. A Mortgage on the Future? Public Debt Expenditure and Its Determinants, 1980–2001 Uwe Wagschal 10. Moving Beyond Expenditure Accounts: The Changing Contours of the Regulatory State, 1980–2003 Nico A. Siegel Index
£111.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Competition in the Provision of Local Public
Book SynopsisThe central purpose of this book is to analyse the optimal allocation of local public goods or services (for example garbage collection, police, fire brigades and medical services) in large urban agglomerations and the allocation consequences of increasing competition in the provision of them. Competition in the Provision of Local Public Goods uses two innovative aspects present in the concept of Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions, which are de-localized membership and uni-functionality of jurisdictions. The book analyses the effect of these two aspects on competition among jurisdictions and the impact this probable increase in competition may have on the achievement of the optimal allocation of local public goods.The primary audience for this work is academics and researchers in the fields of urban and regional economics, location theory and public policy. An important secondary audience will be scholars of industrial organization, who can use the framework developed here for analyzing other problems related with the location of individuals in space.Trade Review'. . . fascinating and thought provoking.' -- Jan-Erik Lane, Public Management ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Maximum Lot-Size Regulation 2. Competing Jurisdictions for the Provision of Local Public Goods 3. Cooperation Between Competing Jurisdictions General Conclusion Bibliography Index
£105.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Politics and Economics of Regional Transfers:
Book SynopsisWhich programmes of income redistribution across jurisdictions are likely to be chosen in democratic countries and why? How does the degree of government centralization affect these choices? How does redistribution of income across regions interact with the migration of factors of production? Do these processes reinforce or do they obstruct each other, and why? This book tries to answer these questions and others related to the issue of income redistribution across states and regions.The book adopts a positive, public choice approach in the theoretical analysis and tests the predictions on evidence drawn from a highly centralized country (Italy) and a highly decentralized one (the United States). The Politics and Economics of Regional Transfers will be of great interest to scholars of economics, public finance and public choice. Students of economics, economic development, political economy, regional and local economics, public finance and public choice will also find it of interest, as will policy analysts.Trade Review'One of the several interesting and useful ideas in Padovano's stimulating analysis of interregional redistribution and convergence is his "Index of Geographical Redistribution". The IGR index can be computed with readily available data using simple regressions. This idea is likely to lead to a host of new empirical studies aimed at uncovering the implications of regional redistribution for internal migration and regional growth.' -- Stanley Winer, Carleton University, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: Foreword by Wallace E. Oates 1. Introduction 2. The Main Ideas, in Words 3. How Interregional Redistribution is Decided and What Effects it Produces: A Static Model 4. A Model of Interregional Redistribution and Income Convergence 5. Empirical Estimates of the Effects of Interregional Redistribution on Income Dynamics 6. Conclusion Bibliography Index
£90.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Modelling Tax Revenue Growth
Book SynopsisThis book demonstrates how the reliable measurement of growth in tax revenues, both for a tax system and for its component taxes, is important for the design of tax policy. The need for discretionary changes in tax parameters (such as tax rates, income thresholds and allowances) is conditional on the expected automatic revenue growth generated by the tax system. The properties that generate these automatic revenue changes are referred to as the built-in flexibility, or revenue responsiveness, of the tax. This concept is the central focus of the analyses in this book, which provides an invaluable review and synthesis of analytical results and demonstrates how this concept can be applied in practice to yield estimates of revenue responsiveness in various countries. John Creedy and Norman Gemmell highlight how an understanding of the principal determinants of a tax system's responsiveness, and a knowledge of the relevant magnitudes, are important for the design and reform of tax policy where both revenue and redistributional considerations are typically central to the policy agenda.Providing extensions of analysis to cover indirect taxes, and direct and indirect taxes combined, as well as empirical applications for several countries, Modelling Tax Revenue Growth will be warmly welcomed by researchers and graduate students interested in public finance and government officials and those in international organisations interested in tax revenue growth.Table of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Part II: Concepts 2. Income Tax Revenue Elasticities 3. Consumption Tax Revenue Elasticities 4. Tax Revenue and Labour Supply Part III: Applications 5. Income and Consumption Taxes in the UK 6. Consumption Taxes in Australia 7. Tax Revenue in New Zealand Part IV: Conclusions 8. Conclusions Bibliography Index
£95.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Tax Compliance and Tax Morale: A Theoretical and
Book SynopsisThe question of why citizens pay their taxes has attracted increased attention in the tax compliance literature of late. In this book, Benno Torgler considers the evidence that suggests that enforcement efforts cannot fully explain the high degree of tax compliance within society. To attempt to resolve this puzzle, numerous researchers have argued that citizens' attitudes towards paying taxes (defined as tax morale) help to explain the high degree of compliance. Yet most have treated tax morale itself as a black box, failing to discuss the issues influencing it. This unique volume provides important new insights into the factors that shape the emergence and maintenance of citizens' willingness to cooperate with tax legislations in different societies.Distinctive in its examination of citizen tax morale and tax compliance, this book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students concerned with economics, political science, sociology, social psychology and accounting. It will also appeal to policymakers and practitioners.Trade Review'The book will be of considerable assistance to students and other researchers working in the area of compliance behaviour, or more generally, in the area of designing empirical studies.' -- Margaret McKerchar, The British Accounting Review'Torgler's book is a valuable contribution to the tax field, especially as it pioneers research into tax morale that is in its infancy and helps redress the US domination of the tax-compliance literature. It places econometric analysis where it rightly belongs - as the supporting act, not the main feature! - and takes a holistic approach in attempting to explain the complex area of human behaviour that tax compliance involves, whatever the country.' -- Jeff Pope, Agenda'Benno Torgler has written an exciting and important book. His careful and imaginative use of survey and experimental data explores important behavioral and institutional dimensions of tax policy and administration that have been too long neglected. The book provides a thorough exposition of what we now know about these issues as well as a rich menu of suggestions about how to do empirical research on the relation between citizens and states and how to build social capital through rethinking how states tax their citizens.' -- Richard M. Bird, University of Toronto, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Background and Research Overviews 1. Introduction 2. What do we Know About Tax Morale and Tax Compliance? 3. Speaking to Theorists and Searching for Facts: Tax Morale and Tax Compliance in Experiments Part II: What Shapes Tax Morale? 4. The Importance of Faith: Tax Morale and Religiosity 5. Tax Morale and Institutions 6. Tax Morale in Latin America 7. Does Culture Matter? A Comparison of Tax Morale in the Former East and West Germany Part III: Tax Policy Strategies 8. Moral Suasion: An Alternative Tax Policy Strategy? Evidence from a Controlled Field Experiment in Switzerland 9. Tax Amnesties and Political Participation Index
£114.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Labour Supply and Microsimulation: The Evaluation
Book SynopsisThis book provides a detailed introduction to behavioural tax microsimulation methods and reviews the use of such models for evaluating tax policy reforms.The steps required to construct a microsimulation model are described in detail and methods of evaluating policy changes are then presented. Labour Supply and Microsimulation deals with a number of issues related to interpreting results from microsimulation, such as welfare measurement, income distribution, confidence intervals around the simulated results and feedback effects on the wage distribution via labour demand. All of the approaches and proposed methods are general and not model-specific. The book includes detailed descriptions of how labour supply models can be used in building behavioural microsimulation models as well as the development of new methods for evaluating policy reforms; for example, dealing with income distribution in discrete hours models, measuring welfare changes and constructing confidence intervals.John Creedy and Guyonne Kalb's book will appeal to graduate students and academic researchers in the fields of labour economics and public finance. Economists in government departments who wish to use the output from microsimulation models in tax policy analysis and design will also find much to engage them within the book.Table of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Part II: Microsimulation Issues 2. Continuous Hours Labour Supply 3. Discrete Hours Labour Supply 4. Estimation of Discrete Hours Models 5. Simulation with Discrete Hours 6. Reweighting of Sample Surveys Part III: Evaluation of Policy Changes 7. Welfare Changes and Tax Burdens 8. Welfare Measures and Labour Supply 9. Distributional Analyses in Discrete Models 10. Choice of the Unit of Analysis in Distributional Measures 11. Confidence Intervals of Simulation Results 12. Simulating Feedback Effects on Wages A. Newton’s Method B. Labour Supply Calibration and Simulation C. The Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator D. Welfare Changes E. Labour Supply Derived from the Quadratic Utility F. Inequality and Poverty Measures G. Random Draws from a Multivariate Normal Distribution Bibliography Index
£119.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Tax Policy Design and Behavioural Microsimulation
Book SynopsisTax policy questions may relate to specific problems, concerning perhaps the revenue implications of a particular tax, or they may involve an extensive analysis of the cost and redistributive effects of many taxes and transfer payments. This book is concerned with the ways in which tax policy design can be enhanced by the use of a behavioural tax microsimulation model capable of evaluating the effects of planned or actual tax reforms. An advantage of such a large-scale tax simulation model, which reflects the heterogeneity of the population and captures the details of the tax structure, is that it can examine detailed practical policy questions and can provide direct inputs into policy debates. After introducing behavioural models, the authors discuss the role of means testing, several hypothetical policy reforms, actual and proposed reforms and recent modelling developments.Tax Policy Design and Behavioural Microsimulation Modelling will be of interest to academics and researchers of economics, econometrics and public finance. It will also be useful reading for policymakers responsible for the formulation of taxation.Table of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Microsimulation Modelling 2. Outline of the Book 3. Flattening the Rate Structure Part II: Hypothetical Policy Reforms 4. Reducing Taper Rates 5. Reducing Family Payment Taper Rate 6. Distributional Change and the Safety Net 7. Survey Reweighting for Population Ageing Part III: Actual and Proposed Reforms 8. The Australian New Tax System 9. Inflation and Bracket Creep 10. The 2004 Federal Budget 11. The Australian Labor Party's Tax and Family Benefits Package 12. Policy Reforms in New Zealand Part IV: Further Developments 13. Modelling Extensions References Index
£102.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Distributional Effects of Indirect Taxes:
Book SynopsisThis book develops a number of analytical models and presents empirical analyses of the equity and efficiency effects of existing indirect taxes from New Zealand. Potential tax reforms including environmental taxes are also examined and the methods presented can easily be adapted to deal with other countries.Policy debates are inevitably influenced by value judgements, which are seldom made explicit either by governments or those engaging in public discussion. By concentrating on the empirical orders of magnitude, and by examining the implications of adopting alternative value judgements, the findings of this book contribute towards rational policy debate, rather than relying on guesswork and rhetoric. The equity and efficiency effects of indirect taxes are examined in detail, using the central concepts of welfare changes, the excess burden of taxation, and money metric utility measures. The indirect taxes examined include a carbon tax designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.The Distributional Effects of Indirect Taxes develops widely applicable models and will therefore appeal to economists interested in public economics, tax policy, inequality measurement, welfare economics and tax modelling. Economists in government departments and international agencies interested in public finance and inequality and poverty measurement will also find much to engage them in this book, as will policymakers concerned with indirect and environmental tax policy, inequality, and welfare economics.Trade Review'. . . this will be a useful addition to the existing literature on how to measure indirect taxes' impacts on households at different ends of the income and expenditure spectrums.' -- John Christensen, Tax Justice Focus'This book is impressive in the care taken to take account of as many factors as possible and in the detail offered to the reader. Conclusions are carefully drawn. . .' -- Citizen's Income NewsletterTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction 2. New Zealand Taxes and Data Part II: Excise Taxes and Welfare 3. Excise Taxation, Equity and Efficiency 4. A Petrol Tax Increase Part III: Environmental Taxes 5. Effects of a Carbon Tax 6. Minimum Disruption Changes Part IV: Tax Revenue 7. The Revenue Elasticity of NZ Taxes Part V: Some Measurement Issues 8. Indirect Taxation and Progressivity 9. The Income Unit and Income Concept Part VI: Conclusions 10. Conclusions A. Income and Consumption Taxes B. Welfare Changes and Tax Burdens C. The Simulation Model D. Revenue Elasticity Computations E. Progressivity and the LES F. The Almost Ideal Demand System G. Carbon Tax Tables Bibliography Index
£106.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Fiscal Reform in Spain: Accomplishments and
Book SynopsisThis book provides an insightful and in-depth analysis of the fiscal reform process experienced in Spain over the last 30 years.The authors initially focus on the political economy of tax reform in Spain, and the fact that political and economic bodies were able to form alliances at key junctures during the process in order to push reforms forward. A comprehensive analysis of the main instruments of the Spanish tax system, including the introduction of VAT upon Spain's accession to the European Common Market, is presented. The rapid fiscal decentralisation process that led Spain from being one of the most centralised countries in the world to being one of the least centralised is also discussed, as is the modernisation of the Spanish tax administration system.Written by a select group of scholars with deep knowledge of the Spanish fiscal system, this book will be of great interest to students, tax policymakers and researchers all over the world and especially in Latin America.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and José Félix Sanz-Sanz 2. Reaching a Political Consensus: The Moncloa Pacts, Joining the European Union, and the Rest of the Journey Francisco Comín 3. The Business Community, Policy-makers, and Tax Reform (1977–2004) Emilio Albi 4. Tax Reform in Perspective: The Role of the Public Sector in Spain along the Process of European Integration José Manuel González-Páramo and Pablo Hernández de Cos 5. Personal Income Taxation: The Cornerstone of the Tax System in a Democracy Desiderio Romero Jordán and José Félix Sanz-Sanz 6. The Evolving Role of the Corporate Income Tax Raquel Paredes Gómez 7. Personal Wealth Taxes: The Inheritance and Gift Taxes and the Net Wealth Tax Laura de Pablos Escobar 8. The Reform of Indirect Taxation: VAT and Excies José Sánchez Maldonado and J. Salvador Gómez Sala 9. Social Protection and Social Security Contributions in Spain Ignacio Zubiri 10. Environmental Taxes in Spain: A Missed Opportunity Alberto Gago, Xavier Labandeira, Fidel Picos and Miguel Rodríguez 11. Regional Governments: Vertical Imbalances and Revenue Assignments Julio López Laborda and Carlos Monasterio Escudero 12. Financing Local Governments: The Spanish Experience Francisco Pedraja-Chaparro, Javier Salinas-Jiménez and Javier Suárez-Pandiello 13. The Reform of the Tax Administration in Spain Jorge Onrubia 14. The Spanish Tax Reform: Overview and Lessons Jorge Martinez-Vazquez Index
£166.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Cost–Benefit Analysis and Incentives in
Book SynopsisThis book provides an authoritative contribution to applied cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and other evaluation methods in the context of the regional policy of the European Union. Through the use of Structural Funds and other financial and regulatory mechanisms, the EU will help to promote thousands of infrastructure projects in the next decade. CBA will be a key ingredient in the investment decision process and the authors provide important insights from their international experiences in project appraisal and evaluation and point to some valuable lessons to be learnt for the future. Some key questions addressed by the expert contributors include: How should a planner design incentives to stimulate evaluation efforts in project appraisal? What can we learn from the evaluation experience at the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank? What is the appropriate shadow price of time for Trans-European networks in transport? Is there a consensus on the value of the statistical life in environment projects? Should we use one unique European social discount rate or several? Edited by Massimo Florio, a leading expert in CBA and author of the EC, Guide to Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment Projects (2002), this book will be warmly welcomed by practitioners in investment planning and evaluation, students in public economics, planning, development and European studies, and academics and researchers of CBA and applied welfare economics.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction: Multi-government Cost–Benefit Analysis, Shadow Prices and Incentives Massimo Florio PART I: LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 2. Cost–Benefit Analysis and EU Cohesion Policy Andrea Mairate and Francesco Angelini 3. Assessing Projects and Programmes for Cohesion Policy at the EIB Gianni Carbonaro 4. Assessing the Contribution of Investment Projects to Building a Market Economy: Beyond Cost–Benefit Analysis? José Carbajo 5. Is Development Evaluation Relevant to the European Project? Robert Picciotto PART II: PROJECT EVALUATION IN TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT 6. Economic Evaluation and Incentives in Transport Infrastructure Investment Ginés De Rus 7. Cost–Benefit Analysis of Transport Projects in France Emile Quinet 8. Environmental Valuation: A Brief Overview of Options Giles Atkinson and Susana Mourato 9. On the Definition and Estimation of the Value of a ‘Statistical Life’ Per-Olov Johansson 10. Economic Evaluation in Environmental Policymaking and Implications for Children Pascale Scapecchi PART III: KEY PARAMETERS FOR APPLIED COST–BENEFIT ANALYSIS 11. Social Discount Rates for the European Union: An Overview Michael Spackman 12. Social Discount Rates for the European Union: New Estimates David Evans 13. Regional Welfare Weights Erhun Kula 14. Derivation of Regional Welfare Weights: An Application to Turkey Haluk Sezer Index
£121.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Fiscal Sociology and the Theory of Public
Book SynopsisThis book advances a social-theoretic treatment of public finance, which contrasts with the typical treatment of government as an agent of intervention into a market economy. To start, Richard Wagner construes government not as an agent but as a polycentric process of interaction, just as is a market economy. The theory of markets and the theory of public finance are thus construed as complementary components of a broader endeavor of social theorizing, with both seeking to provide insight into the emergence of generally coordinated relationships within society. The author places analytical focus on emergent processes of development rather than on states of equilibrium, and with much of that development set in motion by conflict among people and their plans. Some of the book's defining characteristics include: Budgets emerge through organizationally constituted political entrepreneurship Government is construed as a process of interaction and participation and not as a unitary entity of intervention Government and markets are incorporated into a unified theory of property which is traced to human nature and its requirements for both autonomy and solidarity. Richard Wagner's book will be of interest to researchers in public finance, public choice, Austrian economics, political science and public policy.Trade Review'Wagner brings remarkable scholarship to bear on elucidating the emergent approach and connecting it to the vast and varied public finance literature.' -- Brian Pitt, Review of Austrian Economics'Richard Wagner's process-oriented analysis of the public sector offers an insightful alternative to standard public finance theory and a powerful critique of neoclassical welfare economics. His ideas will prove valuable to any scholar interested in understanding the economic activities of government.' -- Randall G. Holcombe, Florida State University, US'Written by one of the premier scholars of fiscal process in the world, this book takes an approach that mixes common sense and a radical redefinition of the nature of fiscal process. Rather than an incremental advance in assessing taxing and spending, Richard Wagner opens new vistas by examining the foundations of collective activity. He rejects the standard treatment of fiscal management as a corrective to market failure, and starts with the first principles of government action. I don't know when I have learned more from a single book.' -- Michael Munger, Duke University, US'This is a highly original and creative argument by a major political economist to rethink how the public economy is studied. Instead of treating the public sector as a corrective agency for problems that may arise in the private economy, Professor Wagner proposes to study the "public square" in the same way that modern economists approach the "private square". This involves eschewing equilibrium theories and emphasizing evolutionary competitive processes, examining property rights structures, stressing the role of entrepreneurship, and, in short, applying the principles of the New Institutional Economics to government. Wagner gives many convincing examples of how to apply his approach, all to good effect. This is an important book that deserves to be read widely and taken seriously. Learning the lessons that Wagner wants to teach us holds the promise of turning the study of public economics into a proper scientific explanation of government rather than an empty exercise in evaluation and intervention.'BR>- Robert D. Tollison, Clemson University, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Contrasting Architectonics for a Theory of Public Finance 2. Property, State and Public Finance 3. State and Market: A Two-Forum Societal Architecture 4. Political Entrepreneurship within the Ecology of Enterprises 5. The Economic Organization of Political Enterprises 6. Revenue Extraction: Crossing the Tax–Expenditure Divide 7. Federalism, Polycentric Polities and Open Societies 8. Fiscal Sociology and the Challenge of Societal Agriculture Bibliography Index
£99.00
