地方财政政策逆周期调节：财政分权还是债务增发*

财政政策工具实际操作偏离最初设计将会降低政策工具的调控效果,导致宏观经济波动加剧。针对地方政府财政政策的逆周期性调控目标,本文关注财政分权深化和政府债务增发的逆周期性效应。研究发现：地方政府财政政策总体呈现顺周期特征。财政分权程度的提高放大了地方财政政策的顺周期性。地方政府债务增发使地方财政政策呈现逆周期特征。地方政府财政政策及其收入面、支出面均呈现顺周期性,由“顺”转“逆”的债务平衡点分别为0137,0113,0209。当前绝大部分地区的债务规模都在债务平衡点之下。驱动地方政府债务逆周期调控的内在因素是官员晋升激励。晋升激励的程度越高,地方债务逆周期调控的力度就越大。但外部市场融资环境的波动削弱了地方政府债务逆周期调控的力度。本文的政策主张是,不宜过度财政分权,应该扩大地方债发行规模,促使地方财政政策逆周期调节。     

积极财政政策与私人投资关系的区域差异——基于中国东、中、西部面板数据的检验与分析

本文利用面板数据模型分别考察了积极财政政策对我国东、中、西部私人投资增长和差异的影响.分析表明,积极财政政策对东、中、西部的私人投资具有一定的正向影响,从而证实了积极财政政策的有效性.本文通过地方财政各项支出对私人投资产生的影响分析,表明东、中、西部要根据自身的经济发展水平来安排财政支出的结构.     

消费者行为对财政政策的异质反应——以城镇分层收入者为例

对于财政政策与居民消费的关系,主要存在凯恩斯观点、生命周期观点和李嘉图等价命题三种研究视角.但对中国而言,当前的转型经济环境将使现实中符合上述三种视角的居民会同时存在,亦即不同消费群体对财政政策的反应是异质的.文章构建了一个扩展的生命周期理论框架,其中凯恩斯观点和李嘉图等价命题均为这个框架下的特殊形式,从而为消费者行为对财政政策的异质反应提供了一个理论性的解释.此外,文章将我国城镇居民按收入等级分为五组进行相关的经验检验,发现各居民户组对财政政策的反应模式大致按收入水平由高到低表现为李嘉图等价情形、扩展的生命周期情形和凯恩斯情形,这意味着财政政策的制定对各收入阶层的居民具有歧视性效果.文章最后从优化政府购买的支出结构和调整当前税制结构两个方面提出了若干政策建议以刺激国内居民消费的增长.     

从美日经验看地方政府债券制度

地方政府债务风险已经成为威胁我国经济安全与社会稳定的巨大隐患。地方政府是制度变迁的主体,造成地方财政困境的根本原因在于地方政府事权、财权不对称,没有规范的制度化融资渠道。而只要存在中央与地方分权的财政联邦主义,就具备发行地方政府债券的前提。     

后危机时代中国与欧美财政政策协调研究

本文通过达瓦斯两国财政离散度的测算和MSVAR模型对中美、中欧财政政策协调进行定量分析。结果表明,中欧的财政政策相关程度比中美要高,这主要是由于中国地方财政分权模式与欧元区相似,以及美元霸权地位的“资本双向流动模式”所决定。债务危机后需要各经济体进行统一协调的财政方案,否则一个开放经济体政策的作用效果会被抵消。目前中国在国际政策协调中仍处于从属地位,未来美国的财政赤字将大幅下降,同时欧元区的赤字也将波动下降,中国要加快做好经济结构调整。     

税收、政府支出与消费变动的关系——基于省际面板数据的实证分析

基于霍尔不确定条件下的消费理论,建立了一个分析消费决策的模型,并利用我国1992-2008年的省际面板数据进行实证分析。结果显示,减税与扩大政府支出都对消费有正向影响;投资收益的增加则会减少消费。在经济衰退时,减税和增加财政支出是提高消费、扩大内需的有效手段。在当前经济脆弱时期,采取积极的财政政策,扩大在民生领域的财政支出,是带动当前经济增长和奠定未来发展基础的最佳政策选择。     

The Effects of Fiscal Consolidation and Welfare Composition of Spending on Electoral Outcomes: Evidence from US Gubernatorial Elections between 1978 and 2006

This study attempts to make a contribution to the field of spending aspects of fiscal policy and their impacts on electoral outcome. Due to varying degrees of financial responsibilities and commitments to provide public goods and services, US state governments serve as a perfectly natural laboratory to test the electoral significance of fiscal policies. We adopt a probit model, with several specifications, to determine significant impacts of fiscal consolidation and increases in welfare spending on US gubernatorial elections from 1978 to 2006. The analyses show that voters are more concerned about the increase in debt than current budget deficits. An increase in welfare spending is negatively associated with reelection. Moreover, the impact of taxation on gubernatorial elections turns out to be insignificant. In particular, findings suggest that the political business cycle model does not hold true in US gubernatorial elections. Expansionary fiscal policy right before the election may not have crucial impacts on the chances of an incumbent winning the election.     

地区差异、财政支出与居民消费

笔者利用跨期优化理论导出实证方程,然后运用1998年~2006年中国省级面板数据进行估计,并分析各地区政府财政总支出及其功能性分类支出对当地居民消费的影响。研究表明:1.地区差异对地方财政支出对居民消费的效应有重要影响。地方财政总支出对居民消费是一种不显著的挤出效应,这种挤出效应因不同地区、不同时期而不同;2.在国家实施积极财政政策时期,只有西部地区其他支出对居民消费有显著的挤出效应,其他地区的其他功能性分类财政支出对居民消费的效应均不显著;在国家实施稳健性财政政策时期,功能性分类财政支出对居民消费的影响随地区不同而不同。     

How big is the Chinese Government debt?

China’s public debt does not provide a meaningful guidance about the government’s overall debt burden, since it also has various forms of contingent liabilities such as shortfalls in the pension fund, debts of local government investment vehicles, and nonperforming loans of the state-owned commercial banks. However, there is no authoritative data on the government’s overall debt burden. In this paper, we try to put together a complete picture by piecing together information available, following a consistent framework. Our results suggest that the Chinese Government’s total debt could be already above 100% of GDP, in contrast to the public debt/GDP ratio of 15.5. Urgent reforms are needed in order to reduce fiscal risks, although risks of debt crisis look small in the short term, given sound balance sheet of the public sector. Local governments’ borrowing without hard budget constraint presents the greatest risk to sustainability of China’s fiscal system.     

Is Fiscal Policy Procyclical in the Euro Area?

We test the relationship between the cyclically adjusted primary balance and alternative indicators of cyclical conditions for the euro area and 18 OECD countries over the period 1970–2009. A countercyclical stance of discretionary fiscal policy is found during bad times after 1999 in the euro area as a whole and in a few member countries only (France, Ireland and The Netherlands). It is also associated with high public deficits or low public debts. There is no significant case of procyclical fiscal policy after 1999, neither in good times nor in bad times.     

Simulation Analysis of Public Debt and Fiscal Deficit in Austria – Optimal Economic Policies for the Past and the Future

The macroeconometric simulation model AMOD1 and the optimization algorithm OPTCON are used to evaluate fiscal policies for Austria since the late seventies. In particular, the question of optimal (debt stabilizing) fiscal policies for the past and for the future is analyzed within the framework of a medium-scaled simulation model. The first set of optimization experiments aims to assess optimal fiscal policies for debt stabilization for the historical period 1978–2000 while trying to maintain reasonable growth rates of approximately 2 percent of real GDP. Optimal values of the instruments and the targets are compared to empirical data for Austria. A second set of simulations calculates optimal paths for the fiscal instruments for the period 2001-2010, particularly with respect to the criteria of the Stability and Growth Pact, which is mandatory for member states of the Euro zone.     

Budget consolidation in a small open economy: a case study for Slovenia

In this article, we use the macroeconometric model SLOPOL10 to calculate simulations of the development of the Slovenian economy until 2030. Starting from the present favourable prospects of the European economies, the forecast is very optimistic but it can nevertheless be improved by optimal fiscal policies as calculated using the OPTCON2 algorithm. If a negative shock to world trade of a size comparable to the Great Recession occurs, it will entail a decline in GDP and a slow recovery. In this case, optimal fiscal policies should not act in an expansionary way as the effectiveness of fiscal policy with respect to output and employment is rather limited in a small open economy like Slovenia. Instead, the goal of budget consolidation will call for a more restrictive fiscal policy, at least if the shock is temporary.     

我国积极财政政策拉动消费需求的实施效果

1998年以来,为了应对严峻的国内外经济形势,我国实行了以国债投资为主体的积极财政政策,产生了明显的效果,应进一步调整和完善该项政策,使其作用得到充分有效发挥。     

我国现阶段财政政策若干问题的思考

１９９８ 年下半年以后, 中央把宏观调控的重点, 放在实施积极的财政政策上。即运用适当规模的财政赤字和向商业银行增发国债, 加大财政支出力度, 作为启动国民经济增长的重要手段。但是, 如果没有消费需求的支持和货币政策的配套, 就不可能把行政启动转变为市场启动, 这种投资增长和经济回升, 是不会持久的。这就要求政府的宏观调控的着眼点, 要放在鼓励和促进消费需求增长上, 使投资和消费双向启动, 才能带动国民经济增长的良性循环。