The performance of fiscal policy under an inflation targeting regime: What can be learned by the Brazilian fiscal rules?

This paper aims at, on the one hand, analyzing the Brazilian fiscal performance since the implementation of inflation targeting regime (ITR), June 1994, and the usefulness of fiscal rules to reach fiscal discipline in Brazil. On the other hand, it tries to evaluate what would have happened to the Brazilian government deficit if the new fiscal regime, that was implemented in 2016, would have been applied after the implementation of the ITR. Into this direction, we present an empirical analysis to describe three different fiscal rule scenarios, which includes a restriction related to inflation, depending on the preferences of the fiscal authorities: the austere, the symmetric or indifferent or the growth‐promoting environment. The main result of our empirical analysis is that, even in a context of ITR, the use of proper fiscal rule (countercyclical fiscal policy) helps to rationalize fiscal consolidation efforts by promoting a favorable environment for economic growth.     

Fiscal policy under a minimum‐time objective

In an endogenous growth model, we characterize the fiscal policy driven by a minimum‐time objective of economic development. We find that in equilibrium government should levy the highest possible consumption taxes, reduce public expenditures to the lowest possible level, and keep labor income tax rate and capital income tax rate satisfy a substitution relationship at the balanced budget constraint. We also identify the condition under which income tax rate should be set to zero. We further find that the equilibrium fiscal policy is equivalent to the growth‐maximizing fiscal policy, whereas it generally deviates from the welfare‐maximizing fiscal policy. We hence identify a circumstance where setting the policy goal of reaching an economic‐performance target as soon as possible cannot be justified in the sense of maximizing the welfare of households.     

Endogenous trade policy in general equilibrium: An interaction of redistribution rule,trade openness,and labor market condition

Using a general equilibrium framework, the paper derives trade policy endogenously for a small country. It shows that, contrary to the existing literature, a lobbying industry is not guaranteed trade protection; it may even face trade taxes. Besides lobbying, trade policy depends on other factors such as the trade revenue distribution rule, income distribution across groups, trade openness, factor substitutability in production, industry employment size, and labor market flexibility. The paper also shows that the observed phenomenon of government preference for import tariffs over export subsidies—a long overdue puzzle—is an inherent outcome of lobbying equilibrium. It also shows that trade policies such as import tariffs and export taxes that have the same impact on economic market—Lerner symmetry (1936)—are driven by the same forces in the political market.     

试论宋代盐钞对社会经济运行的影响

盐钞是宋朝财政收入的重要组成部分,它的发行对宋代社会经济运行产生了较大的影响,增加了国家的财政收入、缓解了宋政府的财政压力,改变了地方政府与中央的盐利分成方式,弥补了宋政府因养兵导致的军需不足等问题。宋政府通过发行盐钞,实现了食盐从直接专卖到间接专卖的转变,这种转变一方面为商人获利提供了机会,另一方面也为政府剥削盐商提供了便利。     

建立鄱阳湖流域生态补偿机制的财税政策研究

文章从鄱阳湖提供的生态经济价值、保障长三角水生态安全及促进江西经济更好更快发展这三个角度,分析建立鄱阳湖流域生态补偿机制的必要性,并依据流域的生态资源特点和经济基础,结合流域现有的财税政策,通过借鉴国内外生态补偿政策的相关经验,从优化相关财政政策和建立生态税收体系两方面提出保障鄱阳湖流域生态补偿机制建立的相关具体财税政策。     

基于新疆经济增长的财政支出最优规模估算

财政支出规模反映了政府对经济的干预程度,然而财政在支出过程中有个量的把握,即占GDP的比重存在一个最优值。在最优值以内,财政部门为私人企业提供公共产品以及弥补外部性等,提高财政支出能够提高经济增长率,当财政支出超过这个最优值时,税收的扭曲作用会不断加强,增加财政支出对经济增长起阻碍作用。将财政支出纳入生产函数模型中,通过实证分析,估算出新疆的最优财政支出规模。     

财政政策对经济增长和收入分配的长期影响效应分析

政府财政政策对经济增长和收入分配有不同的影响,其中,政府消费性支出和投资性支出均对经济增长有正的促进作用,但政府支出却加大了居民收入分配的差距;税收对我国经济增长的影响均为负,其中,间接税缩小了居民收入分配差距,而直接税却拉大了居民的收入分配差距。     

财政转移支付的横向财力均等化效应

财政转移支付的横向财力均等化效应会影响到各地区财政能力均等化水平,进而影响到地区公共服务均等化实现程度。研究结果表明,从总体效应上看,转移支付起到一定的横向财力均等化效果,但各地区财力差异仍然很大;从分项转移支付效果来看,一般性转移支付的财力均等化效应最强,专项转移支付次之,税收返还效果最差。因此,可以通过调节转移支付的地区分配结构和建立均等化转移支付体系来提升转移支付的横向财力均等化水平,以促进各地区公共服务均等化。     

地方政府卫生支出效率核算及影响因素实证研究——以中国31个省份面板数据为依据的DEA-Tobit分析

文章利用1997—2007年中国31个省份的面板数据,在DEA-Tobit两阶段分析框架下研究了中国地方政府的卫生支出效率。首先,通过数据包络分析方法(DEA)核算了各省份政府卫生支出的综合技术效率、纯技术效率和规模技术效率。在此基础上,利用受限因变量Tobit模型对效率得分与其影响因素之间的关系进行了实证研究。研究结果表明:中国地方政府的卫生支出效率存在显著的地区差异,而人口密度、居民受教育水平、人均GDP、财政分权和医疗体制改革等社会、经济和政策变量则是造成这种效率差异的重要原因。     

中国财政分权的数量化度量及其地区间差距——基于1979—2008年省级面板数据

厘清1978年后中国的财政分权到底"分"到了什么程度,这就涉及一个财政分权程度衡量的问题。本文通过特定的指标设计,采用1979—2008年的省级面板数据对中国各省级地区以及四大区域(东部地区、东北地区、中部地区和西部地区)的财政分权程度进行了数量化度量,得到了各省级单位的平均财政分权度以及各地区间的财政分权度差距,这可以加深对中国财政分权的理解。