Dynamic fiscal policies and unemployment in a simple endogenous growth model

This paper analyzes the growth and employment effects of dynamic fiscal policies in an overlapping generations model with endogenous growth and imperfect labour markets. With balanced-budget policies, the modelled closed economy grows at a constant rate which is higher, the lower are the labour tax rate and the unemployment rate. Constant-flow budget policies are not feasible, while government Ponzi games are feasible only if economic agents have implausibly high savings rates. Furthermore, while constant-stock fiscal policies are sustainable, an increase in the debt-to-capital ratio is accompanied by higher taxes, a rise in unemployment and lower economic growth. JEL Classification E24 · J51 · H63 · O41     

The Pricing of Property Trust IPOs in Australia

Following Brounen and Eichholtz (2002) this paper adds to the international literature investigating the underpricing of REIT initial public offerings (IPOs), with a study into Australian property trusts. This study finds that initial day returns can in part be explained by forecast profit distributions (or dividends) and the market sentiment towards property trusts from the date of the prospectus to the date of listing. There is some support for the “winners curse” explanation of underpricing with evidence that large investor or institutional involvement at the outset of the IPO also has some explanatory power.     

Public inputs and the credit market

This paper studies the impact of public goods provision in an adverse selection environment. Public inputs used collectively by firms have indirect spillovers in imperfect credit markets by affecting the random returns of borrowers in this market. Public inputs change the nature of the binding incentive constraint and mitigate distortions in the credit market. The magnitude of such indirect benefits depends upon the ‘type’ of the public input being considered. Public inputs targeted to benefit the less-efficient borrowers in the economy have greater indirect benefits as compared to pure public inputs that benefit all. These additional efficiency gains, emerging out of information-asymmetries in the credit market, should be considered in the cost-benefit analysis of such public inputs. JEL Classification: H4 · D8 · O16     

The Private Finance Initiative: risk, uncertainty and the state

This paper analyses the UK's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) at a conceptual level by focusing on the management of risk, which is central to the justification for the policy and its application across the public services, and uncertainty, which underlies the role of the state. The paper argues that the rhetorical support for PFI rests on a conflation of risk and uncertainty and that PFI leads to contractual arrangements that are inappropriate for the provision of public services over the medium term.     

Is the US fiscal deficit sustainable?: A fractionally integrated approach

In this paper, we examine if sustainability of the US fiscal deficit holds by means of studying the univariate properties of the difference between expenditures and public revenues using a methodology based on fractional processes. Furthermore, we incorporate the possibility of structural breaks in the deficit process. The results show that when allowing for a break in the mid-1970s, the public deficit in the US is an I(d) process with the fractional integration parameter d being slightly less than unity, implying that the fiscal deficit is mean reverting, and thus, sustainable, though the adjustment process towards equilibrium will take a very long time.     

Purchasing strategies in the Kraljic matrix—A power and dependence perspective

Kraljic's purchasing portfolio approach has inspired many academics to undertake further research into purchasing portfolio models. Refined models typically recommend one purchasing strategy for each portfolio quadrant. Yet, it has been shown that purchasers make a clear distinction between alternative purchasing strategies within each quadrant. The fundamental assumption of portfolio models seems to be that differences in power and dependence between buyers and suppliers exist. Still, little is known about how these concepts influence the choice for a specific purchasing strategy. In this paper, ‘relative power’ and ‘total interdependence’ for a number of portfolio-based purchasing strategies have been quantified empirically, using data from a comprehensive survey among Dutch purchasing professionals. The survey data largely confirmed the hypotheses that were deduced from the literature.     

The impact of a state mandated expenditure floor on aggregate property values

Using a test of allocative efficiency in the local public sector developed by Brueckner [Journal of Public Economics 19 (1982) 311–331], this study empirically examines the impact of a state minimum education expenditure requirement on aggregate property values in Connecticut communities. The empirical results reveal that the typical community in Connecticut spends less on education and municipal services than the level that maximizes aggregate property values. The results further indicate that spending on education falls further below the property maximization level in those communities constrained by the state expenditure floor. It follows from the analysis that some state expenditure floors can raise aggregate property values and promote efficiency.     

加强医德医风建设促进医疗卫生制度改革

随着我国经济体制改革的不断深入，对医疗卫生制度改革的要求越来越高，医德医风建设日益重要。加强医德医风建设必须认清医德医风建设的意义，抓好医德医风建设工作的重点，并要有组织保证，促使医患关系缓和，构建和谐的医患关系，促进医疗卫生改革，推动医疗卫生事业的发展，是社会主义精神文明建设的迫切需要，为构建社会主义和谐社会作出贡献。     

财政风险:防范的路径与方法

公共风险是财政风险的源头.防范财政风险,应至少从4个方面入手:一是通过制度创新来控制公共风险,从而有效地减少财政风险;二是减少政府干预公共风险中的各种失误,防范由此而引发新的财政风险;三是建立风险管理机制,打破"风险大锅饭",抑制道德风险,减少风险的积聚和集中;四是增强政府抗风险能力.     

强化地方政府税权的对策探讨

随着市场经济的发展,地方政府在地方经济中的重要作用越来越突出,而这离不开地方政府的税收支持。可是长期以来,我国的地方政府在税权方面欠缺,成为经济发展的制约因素,因此,如何从理论与实践上来认识并解决这一问题,具有重要意义。