Tax Evasion and Auditing in a Federal Economy

This paper analyzes the relation between tax auditing and fiscal equalization in the context of fiscal competition. We incorporate a model of tax evasion by firms into a standard tax competition framework where regional governments use their audit rates as a strategic instrument to engage in fiscal competition. We compare the region’s choice of audit policies for three different cases: A scenario of unconfined competition without interregional transfers, a scenario with a gross revenue equalization (GRS) scheme and finally, a scenario with net revenue sharing (NRS), where not only the revenues from taxation but also the regions auditing costs are shared. Without regional transfers, fiscal competition leads to audit rates which are inefficiently low for revenue-maximizing governments. While in general GRS aggravates the inefficiency, NRS makes the decentralized choice of auditing policies more efficient.JEL Code: H26, H71, H77     

Reform or resist? The tale of two fiscal reforms in Spain after the crisis

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the two main fiscal reforms that Spain adopted after the global financial crisis: the law on budget stability (2012) and the creation of the country’s first independent fiscal institution: AIReF (2013). The analysis suggests that the Spanish government adopted an ambivalent strategy, displaying tendencies both to reform but also to resist by trying to keep or regain fiscal decision power for itself.     

A Note on Intertemporal Fiscal Competition and Redistribution

This paper studies fiscal competition among jurisdictions in a dynamic framework, where the degree of mobility of private capital across jurisdictions boundaries is perfect. The optimal tax on mobile capital is a source tax that taxes away factor rents. Further we show that taxation of mobile capital can redistribute income in favor of the immobile factor labor. This is because the factor rents generated by public inputs and appropriated by mobile capital exceed the efficient level of public expenditure for investments. JEL Code: H21, H23, H42, H71     

国家审计对地方财政支出结构的影响研究

运用国家审计理论,依据2007—2018年中国30个省份相关数据,考量国家审计对地方财政支出结构的影响机制以及财政资金使用效率和财政压力的中介效应。结果表明,国家审计对地方财政支出结构影响显著,国家审计通过提高财政资金使用效率和缓解财政压力两种机制影响地方财政支出结构;同时,财政资金使用效率与财政压力在国家审计提升地方社会性支出占比中发挥链式中介作用。鉴于此,应充分发挥国家审计治理效能,秉持研究型审计新理念,优化地方财政支出结构;开展财政资金绩效审计,提升地方财政资金使用效率。     

An “American Dream” theory of corporate executive Fraud

In this paper, we first describe a “Broken Trust” theory that was introduced by Albrecht el al. [Albrecht, W. S., Albrecht, C. C., & Albrecht, C. O. (2004). Fraud and corporate executives: Agency, Stewardship and Broken Trust. Journal of Forensic Accounting, 5, 109–130] to explain corporate executive Fraud. The Broken Trust theory is primarily based on an “Agency” theory from economic literature and a “Stewardship” theory from psychology literature. We next describe an “American Dream” theory from sociology literature to complement Albrecht el al.'s (2004) Broken Trust theory. Like the Broken Trust theory, the American Dream theory relates to a “Fraud Triangle” concept to explain corporate executive Fraud. Finally, we provide some anecdotal evidence from recent high profile corporate executive Fraud to explore the American Dream theory. We conclude our thoughts on corporate executive Fraud from a teaching perspective.     

Fiscal policy and fiscal reconstruction in Japan

This paper investigates the macroeconomic effect of fiscal policy and the fiscal reconstruction movement in Japan. I first summarize Japanese fiscal policy in the recent years and discuss sustainability of government deficits. Then, I investigate the macroeconomic effect of Japanese fiscal policy and evaluate the plausibility of the Keynesian and non-Keynesian effects. I also analyze political constraints in the fiscal reconstruction attempts and the possibility of crowding-in effect of fiscal reform. Finally, I discuss some measures for the successful fiscal reconstruction reform in the near future. JEL Code H30 · H60     

New development: Fiscal reform in South Korea: looking back and moving forward

ABSTRACT

At first glance, it seems that South Korea’s three fiscal systems (mid-term expenditure framework, top-down budgeting, and performance management) function well. However, each fiscal system operates separately and they are inefficient because they follow past practices. This article explains what the problems are and how to overcome them.     

关于中国财政风险的几个问题

目前我国主要从财政直接负债、或有债务和财力配置结构变动等方面研究财政风险，这些观点存在着缺乏现代经济学理论基础、与我国实际不相符、与我国的基本经济政策无法配套等问题；就理论而言，财政风险具有效率性风险、分配性风险和磨擦性风险三个层次；建议合理划分我国财政风险的层次性，并科学判断我国财政风险。     

Fiscal Policy Shocks in the Euro Area and the US: An Empirical Assessment*

We analyse the impact of fiscal policy shocks in the euro area as a whole, using a newly‐available quarterly data set of fiscal variables for the period 1981–2007. To allow for comparability with previous results on euro‐area countries and the US, we use a standard structural vector autoregressive (VAR) framework, and study the impact of aggregated and disaggregated government spending and net‐tax shocks. In addition, to frame euro‐area results, we apply the same methodology for the same sample period to US data. We also explore the sensitivity of the results to the inclusion of variables aiming to control for underlying financial and fiscal conditions. The main new findings are that: expansionary fiscal shocks have a short‐term positive impact on GDP and private consumption, with government spending shocks entailing, in general, higher effects on economic activity than (net) tax reductions; output multipliers to government expenditure shocks are of similar size in the euro area and in the US; the persistence of a fiscal spending shock is higher in the US than in the euro area, which appears to be related to military spending in the US; and fiscal multipliers have increased over the recent past in both geographical areas.     

Inside–outside money competition

We study how competition from privately supplied currency substitutes affects monetary equilibria. Whenever currency is inefficiently provided, inside money competition plays a disciplinary role by providing an upper bound on equilibrium inflation rates. Furthermore, if “inside monies” can be produced at a sufficiently low cost, outside money is driven out of circulation. Whenever a ‘benevolent’ government can commit to its fiscal policy, sequential monetary policy is efficient and inside money competition plays no role.     

地方财政支出与财政支出结构的优化——兼论我国公共财政改革的途径

本文主要从地方财政支出的角度提出了我国财政支出结构优化和公共财政改革的问题。对我国财政支出的实证分析表明，地方财政支出在整个国家财政支出中占有很重要的地,因而财政支出结构的优化和财政职能的调整必须从地方财政支出的改革入手。同时，本文在实证分析的基础上提出，在改革地方财政支出时，应该注意解决财政经济职能调整、社会性支出和维持性支出、政府间支出责任划分等几个问题。     

北欧福利国家的财政政簧

致力于提升社会福利水平的财政政策经济理论为北欧国家的财政政策制定和执行提供了理论框架,使北欧国家逐步发展为福利国家。然而本文认为该理论的某些假设并不切合实际。     

保险平滑政府自然灾害涉灾支出波动风险研究——以地震巨灾财政指数保险为例

我国重大自然灾害频发,导致政府财政救灾与灾后重建等涉灾支出波动较大,影响经济平稳运行,探索平滑财政涉灾支出波动风险的机制具有重要的现实意义。本文通过构建政府财政对地震巨灾救灾与重建支出负担积累模型,根据我国1990~2018年的地震损失数据,预测2019~2026年地震巨灾财政指数保险不同保险金额下,我国地震巨灾财政涉灾支出负担积累的变动情况,并以此检验保险可以平滑财政涉灾支出波动风险~((1))的效果。研究结果表明:政府购买地震巨灾财政指数保险可以有效地平滑财政涉灾支出波动性风险,且波动性随着地震巨灾财政指数保险赔付的增加而减小;当地震巨灾财政指数保险保额分别为50亿元、100亿元、150亿元和200亿元时,可以使财政涉灾支出负担积累分别下降0.0019%、0.0028%、0.0033%和0.0047%。鉴于此,目前我国部分地区实施的巨灾财政指数保险试点可以起到平滑财政涉灾支出的波动性风险,具有推广性。     

地方财政支出对中国省际人口迁移影响的实证研究

以第四次人口普查和2005年1%人口抽样调查中我国省际人口迁移的数据为样本,采用个体固定效应模型,对地方财政支出对人口迁移的影响进行检验。结果表明,地方财政支出差异对我国省际人口迁移的作用是显著的,当迁入地的财政支出增加时迁入人数也会增加,中部省份的财政支出对人口迁入的作用要大于东、西部地区;另外,相对于地方政府基本建设支出,文教、卫生和社会保障支出差异对人口迁移的影响更大。     

财政分权、空间效应与产业结构升级——基于SDM模型的经验研究

基于2000-2014年中国31个省级面板数据,运用空间杜宾模型分别考察财政收入分权和支出分权对产业结构升级的空间效应以及由此引致的策略性竞争效应,研究表明：财政分权等经济社会因素存在区域差异,这种差异导致产业结构升级在空间分布上具有显著的异质性特征。财政收入分权和支出分权对产业结构升级的影响呈现出非对称的空间溢出效应。一方面,财政收入分权对本地区产业结构升级的影响并不显著,而支出分权对本地区产业结构升级具有积极影响;另一方面,财政收入分权和支出分权对相邻地区产业结构升级均产生抑制效应,但较之于收入分权,支出分权的抑制效应更为明显。     

财政引导创新资源配置效率及其影响因素——来自18个高新区与新区的经验分析

基于18个国家级新区所在地和其高新区的数据,运用四阶段 DEA模型,考量企业在创新资源配置过程中的财政政策效率,研究发现:多数地方的新区和高新区的财政政策效率均大于1,且中部地区的财政政策效率不管是在新区还是其高新区均是最小,说明多数地区财政政策对企业创新的作用表现为"激励效应";结合Tobit模型的影响因素分析发现,高新区与新区的财政政策效率影响因素差异较大,一些能对新区财政政策效率造成显著影响的因素,并不能对高新区财政政策效率造成影响,说明高新区的发展已相对成熟,对产业集聚及创新资源引导发挥了较好作用,而新区仍有提升的空间.     

Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangements and Provincial Consumption Risk Sharing in China

This paper utilizes a panel data set on two major fiscal reforms in China—the fiscal contract system (FCS) in 1980-93 and the tax-sharing system (TSS) after 1994—to examine how the various aspects of intergovernmental fiscal arrangement affect the ability of the fiscal system to facilitate risk sharing. The high revenue decentralization and the proliferation of extrabudgetary revenue items in the FCS generally weakened the central government's ability to support interprovincial risk sharing. This situation was reversed in the TSS period. In addition, the effect of central-to-local transfer (transfer-in) and local-to-central transfer (transfer-out) on risk sharing was asymmetric in the sense that transfer-out enhances risk sharing but transfer-in does not.     

On the determinants of Original Sin: an empirical investigation

Most countries do not borrow abroad in their own currency, a fact that has been referred to as “Original Sin”. This paper describes the incidence of the problem and makes an attempt at uncovering its cause. The paper finds weak support for the idea that the level of development, institutional quality, or monetary credibility or fiscal solvency is correlated with Original Sin. Only the absolute size of the economy is robustly correlated. The paper also explores the determinants of a country’s capacity to borrow at home at long duration and in local currency. It finds that monetary credibility and the presence of capital controls are positively correlated with this capacity.     

试论如何构建财政审计大格局——基于财政风险新特点的视角

为了适应财税制度的改革,更是为了应对新形势下的财政风险,审计署提出构建财政审计大格局的发展战略。本文以此为背景,分析了现阶段我国财政收支规模扩大化和收支结构复杂化的财政形势,得出财政风险呈现全程性、全要素性、全方位性和影响重大性等新特点的结论,从而论证了大格局建立的必要性;论述了为应对财政风险的新特点,大格局下的财政审计工作应相应做到四个转变,即实现全程性审计、全要素审计、全方位审计和全面审计,这也是大格局的内涵所在;最后,文章提出实现这四个转变的一些具体措施,以期对大格局的建立有一定的指导意义。     

Strengthening Post‐Crisis Fiscal Credibility: Fiscal Councils on the Rise – A New Dataset

Institutions that aim to constrain policy discretion in order to promote sound fiscal policies are once again at the forefront of the policy debate. Interest in fiscal councils – independent watchdogs active in the public debate – has grown rapidly in recent years. In this paper, we present the first cross‐country dataset summarising key characteristics of fiscal councils among International Monetary Fund members. The data document a surge in the number of fiscal councils since the 2008–09 economic and financial crisis, and also illustrate that well‐designed fiscal councils are associated with stronger fiscal performance and better macro‐economic and budgetary forecasts. Key features of effective fiscal councils include operational independence from politics, the provision or public assessment of budgetary forecasts, a strong presence in the public debate and the monitoring of compliance with fiscal policy rules.