Media activity and public spending

Politicians seeking reelection need voters to know what they have done for them. Thus, incentives may arise to spend more money where media coverage is higher. We present a simple model to explain the allocation of public spending across jurisdictions contingent on media activity. A politician seeking to maximize the probability of reelection will shift more money to jurisdictions where an extra dollar raises more votes because a larger share of the electorate is informed about his policy. The main prediction of the model is that media activity is higher in the core areas of media markets. This implies higher spending levels there and lower spending levels in remote jurisdictions. Empirical support for this prediction is found using United States data on county-level federal grant allocation, Designated Market Areas and the location of licensed television stations.     

Global public spending efficiency in Tuscan municipalities

The paper presents a Data Envelopment Analysis aimed at studying the efficiency of Tuscan municipalities' public expenditure. Five strategic functions of Tuscan municipalities are first considered carrying out a non-aggregate analysis; then the overall expenditure composition of each municipality and the global spending efficiency are analysed by a proposed composite indicator. The main determinants affecting the municipalities' efficiency were further investigated. In particular, the obtained results may be consistently included in the long-standing debate on the municipal size, proving that the bigger the municipality, the greater its level of public expenditure efficiency.     

Growth and fluctuations: The role of public dividends and public spending

In this paper, we consider a discrete-time version of the endogenous growth model developed by Barro [Barro, R.J., 1990. Government spending in a simple model of endogenous growth. Journal of Political Economy 98, 103–125], but augmented in order to envisage a public participation in the production of private goods. Public dividends are invested in order to provide a public good; in turn, the public good plays a role of indispensable production externality and, eventually, of growth engine.For what concerns the production of private goods, we find that an optimal policy is always based on a positive participation of the government as shareholder; also, when growth is slow, a public intervention or large substitution effects stabilize the economy.A right mix of short-run services and long-run infrastructures is suggested in slow economies to rule out expectation-driven fluctuations. Infrastructures are mainly recommended in presence of moderate income effects, while services are recommended in presence of strong income effects.     

market reforms in developing countries

How can the trickle of market reforms be turned into a flood? Paul Reynolds, of the Adam Smith Institute, explains why privatisation in developing countries is still difficult to achieve.     

IMF and economic reform in developing countries

In this paper we assess the IMF approach to economic reform in developing countries. The impact of IMF program participation on economic growth has been evaluated empirically in a cross-country literature, with little evidence of IMF programs having been successful. This suggests that a fresh approach is in order. However, the cross-country approach is unlikely to provide a sound basis for drawing clear conclusions, so we review IMF programs from a different perspective, involving a broader literature on development strategy. In particular, it is widely accepted that a common characteristic of IMF programs is a high degree of policy rigidity. This is in contrast with studies which hold that unleashing an economy's growth potential hinges on a set of well-targeted policy interventions aimed at removing country-specific binding constraints. The process of locating constraints that bind involves growth diagnostics and policy trialing. This approach maintains that not all distortions are equally important and, by extension, not all policy reforms. From this point of view, IMF programs based on a list of standard conditionalities will not accomplish much. But policy trialing is more relevant to actors and entities with a broader, and more microeconomic, focus such as national policymakers and the World Bank. It is in choices among competing projects and programs that trial and error is most likely to be necessary. Nevertheless, reforms of the IMF such as the “streamlining initiative” should start from a good understanding of the reasons for adherence to policy orthodoxy. We discuss underlying institutional and organizational reasons for policy rigidity and consider some suggested reforms.     

Organized crime and public spending: a panel data analysis

The aim of this paper is to investigate, empirically, what components of public spending imply a decreasing effect on organized crime and what components create opportunities for organized crime, discussing also the role of government efficiency. Using a panel data analysis, the results show a strikingly consistent pattern for the EU Member States. Organized crime mainly operates in the distribution of government spending for local public goods and public provision of private services. There is a decreasing effect on organized crime of the public expenditure devoted to education and social policy. Government efficiency in public spending is beneficial to limit the opportunities of the organized crime.     

Market attractiveness of developing countries

Companies operating in international markets must be able to evaluate the potential market attractiveness of developing countries with which they may wish to do business. To make decisions about where to go for business, they have access to much information from specialized sources and from statistical data supplied by international institutions. Such vast and diverse information is rarely used in a systematic way in the management decision processes. When it is used, the process is often inadequately formalized. The available information generally deals with economic factors, while in the present international arena, judgments about politics must also be taken into account. This paper investigates the applicability and advantages of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to this decision process, using it to create maps of joint economic progress and political stability in a number of countries for two time periods, 1990–1991 and 1995–1997.     

Property taxation and local public spending: the renter effect

The point of departure for this study is the pervasive finding that, other things equal, local jurisdictions tend to spend more on local services the larger the fraction of renters among their residents. This paper seeks to determine the approximate magnitude of this “renter effect” by posing the question “How much smaller would local public budgets be if all residents were home-owners?” Making use of two quite different approaches, the paper finds a typical renter effect on local public expenditure on the order of ten percent. This finding suggests that we might do well to reform the administration of the property tax so that changes in property tax liabilities on rental dwellings are directly and visibly transformed into changes of monthly rental payments.     

Economics of residential crowding in developing countries

In an attempt to eliminate residential crowding, most countries pursue the policy objective of providing one dwelling unit per household. However, we know little about the demand for various dimensions of housing space which affects the levels of crowding. This paper analyzes the nature of demand for residential space and multiple occupancy in order to identify the major determinants of crowding. The result indicates that to a great extent crowding is explained by economic factors and that the current policy approach to elimination of crowding, which emphasizes one dwelling per household, is not likely to be effective.     

Bypassing Barnett: the comprehensive spending review and public expenditure in Wales

Under UK devolution, public expenditure is distributed to the devolved administrations by means of the population-based Barnett formula. However, in the July 2000 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the Treasury bypassed the operation of the Barnett formula to determine public expenditure levels in Wales. This was necessary in order to enable Wales to access European Objective 1 funds for economic regeneration. In so doing, the UK government has set a precedent which is destined to accelerate demands for a thorough and independent review of regional public expenditure needs.     

Bypassing Barnett: the comprehensive spending review and public expenditure in Wales

Under UK devolution, public expenditure is distributed to the devolved administrations by means of the population-based Barnett formula. However, in the July 2000 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the Treasury bypassed the operation of the Barnett formula to determine public expenditure levels in Wales. This was necessary in order to enable Wales to access European Objective 1 funds for economic regeneration. In so doing, the UK government has set a precedent which is destined to accelerate demands for a thorough and independent review of regional public expenditure needs.     

Constructive Pressures And Incentives To Reform: Globalization and its impact on public sector performance and governance in developing countries

Contrary to widespread pessimism regarding the effects of globalization on nation states and the quality of governance in developing countries, this contribution stresses that several of its features can be made instrumental, and be beneficial, in terms of public policy making and state capability. Four ‘constructive pressures’ stemming from globalization could be seized constructively by citizens and governments in the developing world: First, better informed and better connected citizens, and an emerging global civil society, demand improvements in service delivery, transparency, and participation. Second, subnational governments, often backed by local NGOs and businesses, and keen to attract foreign investment, increasingly exert pressure vis-à-vis central governments. Third, global investment strategies by private businesses increase the demand for appropriate institutional arrangements within developing countries as well as credible government policies. Although with mixed results, forth, International Organizations, in particular IFIs, have been addressing public sector modernization in developing countries, also sponsoring global public policy networks in critical areas. Moreover, policy coordination and cooperation among states increases significantly, constraining arbitrary action by governments. Globalization, thus, advances the discussion about, and the demand for, new institutional arrangements, clearly with new opportunities for improvements in state capability and governance.     

Solar powered light emitting diode distribution in developing countries: An assessment of potential distribution sites in rural Cambodia using network analyses

The objective of this research is to use geographic information systems and spatial analyses to create a template for distributing lighting, particularly light emitting diodes, in developing countries. Approximately 1.6 billion people do not have access to traditional electrical systems; therefore, a significant number of people do not have access to safe, efficient, and inexpensive lighting technologies. This research addresses the need for lighting in one developing country. As an introductory case study area for the distribution of lighting products, Cambodia has a population that is considerable, rural, and without electricity. In addition, a significant percentage of Cambodia’s population will not have access to grid-quality electricity by 2030. To help alleviate this lighting deficiency, eliminate inappropriate distribution areas, and create a list of potential locations, the authors use geographic information system techniques to address four site-specific characteristics (grid electricity access, water inundation potential, hazardous landmine locations, and extreme poverty levels). To select among potential locations, the authors combine spatial analyses, service area delineations, and origin-destination cost matrices into a heuristic method for determining one location. These analyses identify the commune of Kantreang as the most appropriate location for lighting distribution.     

发达国家发展"绿色包装"的亮点

介绍了美国、德国、法国、英国、日本、瑞典等发达国家发展“绿色包装”的成功经验，以供我国发展绿色包装而借鉴。     

Public action and the quality of life in developing countries

An attempt is made to identify the developing countries that have performed better than others in terms of the indicators of the so called "quality of life," relating this progress to the nature of these economies and to the public policies followed in these countries. A table presents data on life expectation at birth and adult literacy rates for 100 countries that had a gross national product per head of less than $3000 in 1977. The data have some comparability, and it is reasonable to use them for a rough international comparison of performance. 38 countries have shown distinction in 1 or both of the fields. There are 10 communist countries in the total list of 100, and 9 of them show some distinction. 8 of the 9 do this despite not having literacy figures reported. The entry is longevity, which is arguably a more basic indicator of success than poverty. Many of the communist countries are wealthier than the mean or median developing country. Although the indices are relative ones, the richer countries have typically done better, on the whole. The longevity performance of the communist countries is typically superior. This applies to the poorer group also. Some of the high growth early capitalist countries also have very good performance in terms of the chosen indicators (e.g., Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore). Taiwan and Hong Kong have the best overall performance record in terms of the 2 criteria for those 61 countries for which both sets of data are available. The countries that appear to have done relatively worse in terms of the indicators are those in the "middle," i.e., neither communist nor successfully capitalist. There are some exceptions. Tanzania appears to have been relatively successful in terms of the removal of illiteracy, and Sri Lanka has been successful in raising life expectancy. In examining the excellent performance of the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, the lesson to be learned from their experience is the great importance of employment expansion in poverty removal. The experiences of Sri Lanka and Tanzania are recounted to illustrate the positive role of state action. Like Sri Lanka's program of social welfare, Tanzania's literacy program shows how much can be achieved by a determined effort, sensibly directed toward specific goals. Poverty removal and related features, including longevity enhancement, is ultimately dependent on a wide distribution of effective entitlements. This, for any given level of per capita income--would tend to be reflected in the low level of inequality in the distribution of income.     

Structural breaks in public finances in Central and Eastern European countries

This article studies the evolution of quarterly government Total Deficit (TD) to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and debt to GDP ratios of seven Central and Eastern European member states (CEEC-7) of the European Union over the period 2000 Q1 to 2011 Q2. Alternative unit root tests are applied to identify the number and date(s) of structural break(s) in the fiscal ratios. The breakpoint date(s) are estimated endogenously. The best performing unit root test is determined by the adjusted R-squared metric. The level and trend of fiscal ratios are estimated by using breaking trend regression models. Unit root tests performed for the period 2000 Q1 to 2007 Q4 identify the number and date(s) of structural break(s) in fiscal variables before the global economic crisis. Unit root tests and breaking trend regressions are estimated for total Eurozone TD to GDP and debt to GDP to compare the evolution of total Eurozone fiscal ratios with those of each CEEC-7.     

Slums in developing countries: New evidence for Indonesia

This paper uses Indonesian data to provide new evidence on the links between household and dwelling characteristics in a developing country. The results show that higher income and education lead to occupancy of dwellings with better structural characteristics, an effect that is reinforced if the household is large and contains few children. Religion also matters, with non-Buddhist households occupying dwellings with worse structural characteristics. The directions of these effects are mostly consistent with separate estimates of household bid-rent functions, which show that willingness-to-pay for better housing attributes rises with income and education.