Allocation of authority under central grants

This study deals with an analysis of allocation of government authority between local and central governments. Using a relatively simple model, we examine three classes of issues: First, what type of public project is implemented under a (de)centralized system? Second, is the size of governments (or public projects) larger or smaller when the system is (de)centralized? Third, should the system be (de)centralized? Which level of government should be allocated an authority? The most interesting result of the analysis is that the optimal allocation of authority varies with the cost differential between local and central government in a non-monotonic way.     

集权还是分权：政府发展旅游业的两难境地

政府在发展旅游业中应取的角色,是目前全球各国共同面临后个问题,本文集中分析了全球政府在发展旅游业的地位的特点与趋势,综合和探索了集权与分权这两种主要途径,得出了全球发展旅游业集权与分权应该兼而有之,而不能偏袒一方的结论。     

地方政府周期性财政收支、融资依赖与地区出口结构

在财政分权与政治垂直管理的激励体制下,地方政府财政支出的逆周期性弱化。同时,地区间初始禀赋差异和风险异质性则使得地方政府财政政策的周期性特征存在明显的地区差异。本文借鉴Rajan与Zingales(1998)发展的固定效应估计模型,采用2004年我国29个省份29个行业的相关数据,考察了周期性财政政策对地区出口结构的影响。本文研究显示,财政政策逆周期性较强的地区,在外部融资依赖性高的行业出口相对更多,具有比较优势。同时,在控制了人力资本、物质资本和自然资源禀赋等传统比较优势影响因素,以及外部市场接近度、国内市场容量和基础设施等新经济地理的因素之后,本文的结论依然成立。     

林业部门的民主分权：非洲、亚洲和拉丁美洲的经验教训(续)

总结了约20个发展中国家林业部门分权管理的研究结果,并通过对在森林治理中起到主要作用的机构和参与者的分析,探讨了成功和失败的范例和主要的因素。研究表明,执行民主分权的案例并不多见,表现在:真正的决策权力、森林资源及其效益仍然是集权管理、选择处理的当地参与者往往不具有代表性或不负责任。现行政策有时伤害了当地的穷人。强调了全国性的对话和对公民社会特别是边缘群体的授权的重要性。研究结果证明,林业分权管理应当始于与当地民众一起工作,建立和完善他们已有的机制;具有代表性和负责任的地方政府将成为这一过程最适合的对话者。     

Local Governance: Impacts of Fiscal Decentralization on Government Size and Spending Composition in Vietnam*

The study provides an understanding of the impacts of fiscal decentralization and local governance on government size and spending composition. We use a balanced panel data set of 63 provinces of Vietnam over the 2006–2015 period. By estimating the spatial Durbin model, we find that local public spending and government size grow over time and have spatial spillovers. Fiscal decentralization significantly reduces public spending and government size, which supports the Leviathan hypothesis. More interestingly, combining local governance, the marginal spatial spillover effects of the fiscal decentralization on public spending and government size are intensified. Our findings imply that local governments should enhance interregional collaboration in fiscal management to limit duplicate public spending and promote regional sustainable development.     

Making Economic Policy in a Democratic Indonesia: The First Two Decades

After three decades of rapid economic growth during the authoritarian Soeharto era, followed by the deep but relatively short‐lived Asian financial crisis, Indonesia transitioned rapidly to democratic and decentralized governance. We examine policy‐making processes and economic outcomes during the first two decades of this new era, leading up to the 2019 national elections where it was widely conjectured that Indonesia might follow the global trends of authoritarian rule and illiberalism. We conclude that, thus far, Indonesia has navigated the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule quite successfully. Compared to the Soeharto era, growth has been somewhat slower, inequality has risen, and policy reform is slower and generally incremental. But living standards continue to rise and all major political players have elected to operate within the new democratic parameters. Macroeconomic management has continued to be effective. Nevertheless, there are no grounds for complacency: there is a large outstanding reform agenda, and the economy is not providing enough economic opportunities for the better‐educated senior secondary and tertiary graduates entering the workforce.     

财政分权对中国环境治理绩效的合意性研究——基于系统GMM及门槛效应的检验

文章选择2007-2016年30个省（市、自治区）的面板数据，采用系统GMM和门槛效应模型探讨财政分权对环境治理绩效的影响。结论表明：从系统GMM检验来看，财政分权对环境治理绩效具有显著的负向抑制作用，并呈现出地区差异性，其中，东部表现为正向促进，而中西部表现为负向抑制。从门槛效应来看，财政分权对环境治理绩效存在显著的单一门槛效应。其中，自有收入分权表明，不论其分权化水平高低，均产生负向抑制作用；收入分权表明，在分权化水平较低时，产生负向抑制作用，在分权化水平较高时，抑制作用不显著；支出分权表明，在分权化水平较低时，抑制作用不显著，在分权化水平较高时，产生负向抑制作用。最后，依据实证结论得出相关政策启示。     

Central–provincial sharing of financial responsibilities for China's social safety-net

Using Chinese provincial panel data from 2004 to 2014, this paper describes the division of fiscal responsibilities in basic social assistance and services (BSAS): China's social safety-net programme. The results suggest that there has been a recentralization—provinces with weaker economic conditions rely more on central governmental transfers, showing signs of fiscal equalization. The authors did not find any evidence of ethnicity-based preferential treatments.     

环境规制对工业企业绿色创新效率的影响——基于空间杜宾模型的实证分析

对我国省域工业企业绿色创新效率的测算和财政分权条件下不同环境规制对企业绿色创新效率影响的分析表明,工业企业绿色创新效率具有明显的正向空间集聚效应,财政分权对工业企业绿色创新效率存在显著的抑制作用,不同环境规制工具存在明显差异,财政分权和环境规制的交互效应在“行政命令型”环境规制中尤为显著。不同地区的环境规制以及与财政分权的交互效应具有显著的区域异质性。我国应优化财政分权制度与地方官员绩效考核评价体系,充分考虑环境规制工具与地方财政分权的交互效应,在不同区域选择不同的环境规制工具,制定跨区域的环境规制政策,发挥东部地区绿色创新的优势,进一步完善中西部地区的绿色创新补偿机制。     

Government size,decentralization and growth: empirical evidence from Italian regions

The aim of this study is to empirically assess the relationship among government size, decentralization and economic growth in Italian ordinary regions. The empirical analysis, based on a panel dataset on Italian regions, provides evidence in support of the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between public expenditure and economic growth, that depends on the degree of fiscal decentralization. In particular, according to our estimates on the specific Italian case, the optimal degree of decentralization is around 32%, while the optimal government size value is approximately 52%.