地方政府购买服务的规模、结构与趋势——基于北京市2018年部门预决算信息的分析

实施全面预算绩效管理是中央提出的财政领域新的重大工作部署,建成全方位、全过程、全覆盖的预算绩效管理体系要求对政府购买服务领域进行进一步严格的规范。北京市政府在全国范围内率先随部门预算对政府购买服务预算信息进行公开,本文利用2018年北京市市级部门公开的政府购买服务预算和决算信息,通过对各部门购买服务规模、购买服务结构和预决算偏离度进行分析,发现存在部门决算信息公开程度不高、预决算编制和执行不够严格、购买服务结构有待优化等问题,针对这些问题并结合全面预算绩效管理的要求,笔者提出了相应的改进建议。     

行政主管单位如何做好预决算信息公开

预决算信息公开是行政主管单位信息公开的重要内容，本文结合工作实际，从行政主管单位的角度，先由预决算信息公开的意义谈起，沿着预算执行的前期准备，预算信息公开，到如何具体执行预算的线索，注重预算执行进度中的数据分析，以及对下属单位的财务状况监管，保证预算执行有序进行，为决算公开做好各项充分准备。通过行政主管单位为预决算信息公开所做的一系列工作，对其中存在的不足之处进行深入剖析，使预决算信息公开真正落到实处，为公众知晓和理解。     

深入推进政府预决算信息公开课题研究主报告(上)

党的十八大以来,预决算信息公开作为深化财税体制改革、建立现代财政制度的重要内容,更加受到党和政府高度重视和社会各界的广泛关注。继2014年6月30日中央政治局审议通过《深化财税体制改革总体方案》之后,10月18日国务院出台《关于深化预算管理制度改革的决定》,都将加快建立全面规范、公开透明的现代预算制度提到了更加重要的位置,凸显了全面推进政府预决算信息公开的重要性和紧迫性。     

计算机信息技术运用于财政预决算公开工作的构想

党的十八届三中全会决定提出要实施全面规范、公开透明的预算管理制度。预决算公开本质上就是政府行为的透明,有利于进一步规范政府行为,建设阳光政府、责任政府、法治政府,也有利于防范财政风险和廉政风险。笔者调研发现,有关部门基本上能够按照要求开展预决算公开工作,但是仍然存在一些问题,亟待将计算机信息技术广泛应用于预决算公开工作之中,进一步加快预决算公开进程。一、预决算公开工作存在的问题     

地方预决算公开“接力赛”

正自2008年《政府信息公开条例》实施以来,预算公开的步伐不断加快,特别是中央相关部门在推进预算公开工作中做了大量工作,中央层面预算公开工作取得了一定进展。随着财税体制改革深入推进,加快推进地方预决算公开的呼声越来越高。如何在更大范围内保障人民群众享有更多的知情权、参与权、监督权,使广大民众共同沐浴公共财政的阳光,地方预决算公开被寄予厚望。2014年3月4日,财政部发布《关于深入推进地方预决算公开工作的通知》,被视为是地方预决算公开的"突破     

地方财政预决算信息公开现状及管理策略

近年来,社会各界对于地方信息公开的重视程度不断上升,地方财政预决算信息公开工作受到重视,地方财政预决算信息公开取得显著成效的同时也在实践中暴露出各类问题。鉴于此,本文以信息公开为切入点,以地方财政预决算为研究对象,分析地方财政预决算信息公开现状并着重分析现存问题,在此基础上提出地方财政预决算信息公开管理策略,目的是从预决算角度为地方政府政务公开建言献策。     

浅谈财政预算信息公开

财政预算信息公开是现代服务型政府需要做好的基本功。它对提升政府财务管理规范化水平、提高政府财政资金使用效益、保障公民的知情权、参与权和监督权有着重要的意义。通过分析我国财政预算信息公开的现状,总结其中存在的问题及形成的原因。在此基础上,探寻从建立健全预算信息公开法律制度、完善预算信息公开机制、完善预算编制机制、强化预算监督体系四个方面提升财政预算信息公开的透明度。     

海南省政府支出预决算差异分析

政府预算和政府决算形成一个完整的预算管理链条。从海南省历年决算数据看,每年政府支出预算数和决算数都存在一定的差异,如果决算差异过大,不仅影响政府预算的法律效力,降低预算执行的约束力,也给预决算公开带来困难。本文通过对近年来全省政府支出预决算的对比,探寻差异存在的原因,并提出相关的政策建议。     

深入推进政府预决算信息公开课题研究主报告(下)

六、政府预决算信息公开的国际经验借鉴与启示鉴于我国政府预决算信息公开处于探索阶段,而发达市场经济国家在这方面已经有了相当成熟的做法,因而不妨结合中国国情学习借鉴国外多年来积累的有益经验,以期从中得到有效解决上述存在问题的必要启示。(一)主要发达国家的基本经验1.美国政府预决算信息公开     

浅谈如何做好事业单位预决算及"三公"经费信息公开工作

事业单位,是不以盈利为目的,从事教育、科技、文化、卫生等活动的社会服务组织,是国家机构的一个分支,其经费来源主要由财政给予补助.为了推动法制化国家的建设,促进依法理财,提高财政资金的使用效益,做好事业单位预决算及"三公"经费信息公开工作十分重要.本文通过对部门预决算及"三公"经费信息公开工作的意义、公开的内容等方面进行阐述,提出如何做好事业单位部门预决算及"三公"经费信息公开工作.     

政府间收入分成与财政收入预算偏离

降低收入决算和预算之间的偏离程度是现代预算制度的基本要求,长期以来,中国政府的收入预算偏离一直处于高位运行状态。本文研究了政府间财政收入分成对收入预算偏离的影响。理论上,财政收入分成的上升会对下级政府产生减小财政压力和加大财政扩张两种截然相反的影响,前者会减少政府的收入预算偏离,而后者则会扩大收入预算偏离。运用市县层面加总的预决算数据,实证分析较为稳健地支持了财政压力机制:财政收入分成降低1个百分点,收入预算偏离会增加0.3个百分点。进一步分析表明,收入分成对预算偏离的影响相比市县级,在省本级层面不显著,并且其对预算偏离的影响会随着经济发展水平的上升而降低。本文研究的现实意义是,政府间收入划分的改革方案要兼顾长期稳定性与财力支持性,这对于降低收入预算偏离、推进现代预算制度建设和国家治理现代化具有重要作用。     

The effect of fiscal stress and balanced budget requirements on the funding and measurement of state pension obligations

We examine the extent to which fiscal stress and state balanced budget restrictions affect the funding of state public employee retirement systems. Our results indicate a negative relation between pension funding levels and measures of both: (a) state fiscal stress and (b) the existence of balanced budget requirements. Our finding that fiscally stressed states meet balanced budget requirements through reduced funding of pensions raises public policy concerns over the fiscal integrity of employee pension funds in the public sector and the effectiveness of balanced budget requirements. Additionally, we find evidence that choice of pension discount rate is associated with states’ fiscal condition and the requirement to balance the budget. Our findings are consistent with the proposition that fiscally stressed states that are required to balance their budgets both underfund their pensions and select discount rates which obscure the underfunding.     

The effort and risk-taking effects of budget-based contracts

We investigate how the budget levels embedded in budget-based contracts affect individual effort and risk-taking. We show that, from a wealth maximization perspective, a tradeoff exists between motivating effort and encouraging risk-taking. We illustrate an inverted-U relation between budget levels and effort. Budget levels and effort are positively correlated until budgets become very difficult, at which point individuals “give up.” We illustrate an opposing, U-shaped, relation between budget levels and risk-taking. Low budgets provide the flexibility to take greater risks, whereas high budgets induce individuals to “play it safe” to ensure budget attainment. Risky projects provide the greatest probability of reaching very high (stretch) budgets. We conduct a laboratory experiment to empirically test this economic proposition vis-à-vis extant psychology research. Consistent with security-potential/aspiration theory, we find that individuals are willing to sacrifice expected wealth to either meet the budget or increase their potential payoffs. Our results suggest that the effort-risk tradeoff is mitigated at low budget levels, thereby increasing firm welfare, but is exacerbated at high budget levels, reducing firm welfare. Collectively, our results highlight the importance of understanding how managerial accounting practices such as budgets affect the various determinants of performance and not just performance per se. Our results also help reconcile conflicting evidence regarding where budget difficulty levels should be set.     

Has Devolution Increased Democratic Accountability?

This article examines the impact of devolution, the New Public Management and public management culture on accounting for democratic accountability in the first term of the devolved national assemblies and parliament in the UK. Although there is more openness, transparency, consultation and scrutiny with regard to budgets, accounts and performance as a result of devolution, there is extensive information overload. Thus, many politicians are highly dependent on the parliamentary division of labour and are reliant on experts and advisors functioning as buffers and filters of accounting information.     

Wagner’s law,fiscal discipline,and intergovernmental transfer: empirical evidence at the US and German state levels

Does fiscal discipline restrain the government from increasing its budget size? To answer this question, this paper investigates whether Wagner’s law is satisfied for two types of states: US states, in which fiscal sovereignty is established, and German states, in which fiscal transfer dependence is high and budget constraints are softened. In US states, we demonstrate that Wagner’s law is validated, while some of the balanced budget requirements weaken the validity of the law. In German states, we find an “inverse” law, especially after the bailouts of Bremen and Saarland. The “inverse” law is a new channel of growth in government size and means that soft budget constraints cause significant negative correlation between government size and output. These results are robust regardless of whether intergovernmental fiscal transfers are taken into account, while they quantitatively change the validity of the law. Our findings imply that the characteristics of fiscal discipline are the prime determinants of the channel and degree of growth in government size.     

High-quality regulation: its popularity,its tools and its future

This article examines the impact of devolution, the New Public Management and public management culture on accounting for democratic accountability in the first term of the devolved national assemblies and parliament in the UK. Although there is more openness, transparency, consultation and scrutiny with regard to budgets, accounts and performance as a result of devolution, there is extensive information overload. Thus, many politicians are highly dependent on the parliamentary division of labour and are reliant on experts and advisors functioning as buffers and filters of accounting information.     

转移支付与地方政府支出规模膨胀——基于中国预算制度的一个实证解释

自2000年以来,为了缩小地区间差距和促进基本公共服务均等化,我国的财政转移支付规模迅速扩大。本文利用1994-2015年省级年度数据发现,地方政府获得的一般性转移支付和专项转移支付每增加1元,年度一般预算财政支出将分别增加1.61元和2.12元,远远超过本地财政收入增加所产生的影响。这也意味着财政转移支付在我国产生了较大的“粘蝇纸效应”。在2010年提前下达固定数额转移支付指标改革后,一般性转移支付的“粘蝇纸效应”有所下降。使用分月数据的回归结果显示,“年底突击花钱”对专项转移支付“粘蝇纸效应”的贡献最大。本文的研究表明,转移支付引发的地方财政收入的不确定性、转移支付下拨时滞以及刚性的年度预算平衡制度是导致我国地方政府支出规模膨胀的重要原因。本文的研究结论意味着,中央应进一步规范转移支付制度、扩大提前下达转移支付指标的范围、加快转移支付的拨付进度、建立和完善跨年度预算平衡机制、积极防范转移支付的道德风险问题。地方各级政府应该加强预算执行管理,强化预算约束力。     

Moderating Role of Cost Accounting Information Quality on the Relationship Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Budgeting in Public Hospitals

Based on new public management, information processing theory and contingency theory, this study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on budgeting in public hospitals, focusing on budget use. The research hypotheses were tested using a survey of 82 responses from hospital CFOs. The results show that the organisations that were most affected by the pandemic increased their use of budgets for planning, resource allocation and control, compared to those that were less affected. This study also highlights the moderating role of cost accounting information quality in the relationship between crises and budget use. We find that public hospitals that have been most affected by the pandemic and have simultaneously better cost accounting information have increased their use of budgets for planning, resource allocation and cost control more than those whose costing system does not provide superior cost data.     

A study of the linkages between rolling budget forms,uncertainty and strategy

Addressing the dearth of studies on rolling budgets, we investigate how the importance of rolling budgets for various planning, control and evaluation reasons relate to a business unit's strategy and uncertainty, and report on the variation in these responses when partitioned into quarterly and monthly rolling budget types. We use a survey instrument with responses from 182 rolling budget firms in our investigation. Our findings reveal consistencies as well as deviations between our sub-samples (quarterly and monthly rolling budgets), and the total rolling budget sample. We report that the way rolling budgets relate to uncertainty and strategy in organisations are substantively different for monthly and quarterly rolling budget types, and vary across planning, control and evaluation budget reasons. Our findings show a greater sensitivity between monthly rolling budgets and uncertainty/strategy, and virtually nil relations between quarterly rolling budgets and uncertainty/strategy. We posit that monthly rolling budgets are used in a manner more traditionally associated to rolling budgets in prior studies, while quarterly rolling budgets might be used relatively more symbolically or in response to external pressures such as earnings forecast requirements, and are less sensitive to established organisational antecedents such as uncertainty/strategy.     

MULTILEVEL FRAMING: AN ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF BUDGET CONTROL IN PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

This paper addresses the question as to why there tends to be recurring budget deviations in public sector service organizations. In the public sector, budgets and actuals are loosely coupled, and budgets may serve other institutional functions than control purposes. However, little research has addressed how the framing of budget information may explain the different functions of the budgets as control devices. The paper argues that the valence of budget deviations varies between organizations, and that organizations that have a positively oriented valence towards budget surpluses have a propensity to underspend the budgets. Consequently, organizations that have a positively oriented valence towards budget deficits tend to overspend the budgets. The empirical part analyses the budget situations in the Central Bank of Norway and in a large university hospital in Norway. In the case of the Bank, it was found that underspending of budgets was framed as performance measures indicating high organizational efficiency. The Hospital, on the other hand, showed a different picture as budget deficits were the situation during all years studied. One main finding was the key actors’ roles as translators of the society's expectations as to the fulfilling of the organizations’ missions. These translators function as mediators between the institutional context and pressures, the organizations’ goals and the internal budget processes. The conventional wisdom that the budget also acts as a means of communication and as symbols and ritual acts that reflect the institutional contingencies of the organizations, is further developed by describing how organizations’ goals valence the role of budgets.