Fiscal decentralization, revenue and expenditure assignments, and growth in China

Theory suggests that a close match between revenue and expenditure assignments at sub-national levels benefits allocative efficiency, and hence economic growth. That is, a convergence of revenue and expenditure assignments at sub-national levels of government should, according to the theory, be positively associated with a higher growth rate. In the case of China, this paper shows, divergence, rather than convergence, in revenue and expenditures at the sub-national level of government is associated with higher rates of growth. A panel dataset for 30 provinces in China is used to examine the relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth over two phases of fiscal decentralization in China: (1) 1979–1993 under the fiscal contract system, and (2) 1994–1999 under the tax assignment system. The seeming contradiction between the theory and evidence in the China case is reconciled by taking into account the institutional arrangements that prevailed during the two phases of fiscal decentralization, in particular the inconsistency between the assumptions of the theory of fiscal decentralization and the institutional reality of China.     

Mechanisms for controlling expenditure in the Spanish Royal Household, c.1561-c.18081

The purpose of this article is to examine the accounting and auditing in the Spanish Royal Household between 1561 and 1808. The Royal Household was the third most important item of expenditure that the State Treasury financed, after the Army and Navy and the National Debt. On studying spending control in the Royal Household, we have rejected the idea, often advanced by historiography, that there was no spending control within this institution. On the contrary, treasurers and accountants were only able to release funds for expenditure purposes on the basis of prior authorization. However, the efficiency of spending control was very limited due to technical, administrative and, above all, social and political elements.     

Demand for broad money and expenditure components in Japan: an empirical study

The main objective of the present study is to examine empirically the long-run relation of broad money demand and its determinants in Japan. In contrast with previous study, the present study considers various components of final expenditure demand as determinants that are final consumption goods, expenditure on investment goods and exports. Using quarterly data over the period 1973Q1–2000Q2, the results of the bounds test [J. Appl. Econ. 16 (2001) 289] indicate a stable long-run relationship between demand of real M2 and its determinants. The empirical results also highlight that different domestic demand components yields different effects on Japanese broad money demand behavior. The estimated unrestricted error-correction model appears to track the data well and the results have important policy implications.     

市场拥挤、财政支出和税后资本平均产出关系分析

税后资本平均产出的高低对私人部门投资决策产生重要影响,但是我国自1994年分税制改革以来,税后资本平均产出处于不断下降趋势,与此同时,财政支出规模呈不断扩大趋势。本文在财政支出解决市场拥挤框架下分析了财政支出对税后资本平均产出的影响,在理论分析中,说明财政通过增加支出缓解市场拥挤来影响税后资本平均产出,其影响程度由税率、财政支出的产出弹性、市场拥挤程度决定。在实证分析中,计量检验了世界范围内和中国地方政府财政支出对税后资本平均产出的影响,并结合现实对计量结果给予解释。     

增长失衡与政府责任——基于社会性支出角度的分析

当前中国的发展出现了以国富与民生关系失衡为本质特征的增长失衡。本文从教育、医疗和社会保障等与民生有关的政府责任切入,指出当前中国与民生状况直接相关的政府社会性支出的不足,是导致增长失衡的重要原因。为此,政府应在提供教育、医疗和社会保障等方面承担起基本的责任,加快财政支出结构转型,增加社会性支出的比重,改善民生状况,纠正增长失衡;并通过社会性支出的增加,促进人力资本积累,推动增长路径的转变,实现经济长期健康发展。     

基于公共财政构架下财政支出结构的优化

现阶段我国要建立与市场机制相适应的公共财政，就必须科学界定公共财政支出范围，优化财政支出结构，这样才能提高财政支出效率，降低政府运作成本，减少对竞争性领域的财政投资，强化公益性事业支出，最终实现支出结构的优化调整.     

我国财政收支划分的立法研究

财政收支划分是财政管理体制的重要组成部分.在市场经济体制下,财政收支划分立法有利于政府职能的履行和公共财政的运行,是完善分税制财政管理体制的丛然要求.完整的财政收支划分法律制度应当由财政级次划分、财政收支分类、财政支出划分和财政收入划分等制度构成.     

动态效率、生产性公共支出与结构效应

利用1979-2008年三次产业的数据和误差修正模型,本文估算了我国政府生产性公共支出与经济动态无效的长期关系,考察了政府生产性公共支出对三次产业的生产要素积累所产生的影响。研究发现:在结构效应为正的条件下,当期公共支出的增加能够影响资本和劳动在三次产业之间,以及三次产业内部不同行业之间的要素积累方式,起到改善经济结构、优化资源配置的作用;我国经济的投资拉动型增长方式及与之相伴随的公共品供给机制,通过"租金"创造机制诱导特定产业的发展,从而能够提升产业结构,促进资源和生产要素的优化配置,符合赶超型经济的目标要求。     

转型期我国财政支出结构与经济增长关系研究

通过数理方法对我国转型时期的财政支出结构及其与经济增长的关系进行分析研究,发现当前我国财政支出结构不尽合理,必须进一步优化.要严格控制财政直接用于一般竞争性领域,逐步加大对农业、就业和社保、环境和生态、公共卫生、教育和科技等经济社会发展薄弱环节的投入力度.同时要结合财政体制改革和其他配套改革,以提高财政支出效益.     

Over‐investment or risk mitigation? Corporate social responsibility in Asia‐Pacific,Europe, Japan,and the United States

We study the relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the distribution of stock returns for an international sample. Firms with a high level of CSR generally exhibit superior stock price synchronicity in the markets of Europe, Japan, and the United States. In particular, we identify optimal levels of CSR to minimize idiosyncratic risk for each region. Moreover, CSR has a mitigating effect on crash risk in Europe and the United States. In contrast, firms from the Asia‐Pacific region display CSR over‐investment followed by a higher crash risk. This appears to be a consequence of globalization, which forces firms from Asia‐Pacific to overinvest in CSR to adapt western standards.