Best Value Audits in Scotland: Winning Without Scoring?

Best Value audits have encouraged improvements in the corporate capacity of Scottish local authorities. They are seen by local government as credible and, in contrast to Comprehensive Performance Assessments in England, are applauded for taking account of local priorities and contexts. However, there are some concerns about the consistency and transparency of the process, and reports have failed to attract public interest. In future, the Best Value audit process will need to pay more attention to the importance of partnership working between councils and other local agencies.     

Benchmarking as a Tool for the Modernisation of Local Government

This paper examines benchmarking as a tool of the modernisation process in local government and the contradictory tensions in the Best Value scheme are explored. Benchmarking is shown to encapsulate the dichotomous nature of a modernising philosophy which espouses innovation and local solutions alongside the government's centralising tendencies. One consequence is the advancement of 'compulsory' and 'defensive' modes of benchmarking with local authorities benchmarking for external accountability reasons; issues of tangible improvement are secondary concerns. These tensions are viewed as irreconcilable, the implication is that local government will need to carefully manage and evaluate its benchmarking activities.     

中部地区地方政府支农实证分析

本文从中部地区基层地方政府财政收入来源、财政支出结构、财政支出影响因素角度,分析了当前中部地区财政支持新农村建设的问题。结果表明,中部地区基层政府财政收入较多的依赖中央政府的转移支付,其支出受制度安排影响,缺乏财政决策权;财政支出类别繁多,资金利用效率不高;基层政府教育负担过重;回归分析表明,增加基层政府本级财政收入,能显著增加基层财政的农业投入和教育投入。本文提出,合理界定各级政府的事权,合理划分税权,加强基层财政资金的监督和管理,将有助于中部地区地方政府充分发挥在新农村建设中的重要作用。     

Council Leaders in the 'New Britain': Looking Back and Looking Forward

This is an interesting time to review the attitudes and expectations of some leading figures in local government as the old age of despair is drawing to an end and a new dawn seems to be brightening the horizon. This article reports the view of half a dozen local government leaders. Early indications are that the Labour Government is serious about restoring at least some of local government's lost powers and functions. These interviews suggest that Ministers will find a ready and eager response when they do so, for example the enthusiasm with which the best value scheme has been greeted. In other areas, including tax capping and the introduction of regional government, the future is less certain but the more radical proposals being canvassed are likely to command support from senior councillors if Ministers have the nerve to proceed with them.     

无锡新区:跨国公司业务代表谈如何面对WTO

不久前,在无锡新区国际咨询顾问委员会召开的第三届年会上,不少委员(这些委员大都是已在无锡新区投资的跨国公司亚太区或中国区的高级行政管理人员和长期以来始终关注无锡新区发展的国外跨国公司和投资咨询机构的高级管理人员等)就中国加入WTO与无锡新区跨世纪发展等重大问题进行了广泛、深入地讨论与论证。这些意见可供有关部门参考。本刊择其部分发言摘要刊发于后,以飨读者。     

台湾中国输出入银行之转型经验

子台湾在经历了成功的经济发展初期之后，为因应出口替代需要，以及持续扩大出口以巩固经济成长，开始以政策性金融之方式，补足一般私有金融未能充分发挥之功能。特别是关于出口产业方面，为提高长期融资之比重，政府在成立了中小企业银行后，依循世界各国对进出口金融之先例，在1979年由财政部100名出资，成立了“台湾中国输出入银行”。该行主要任务为配合政府经贸政策，提供金融服务，协助厂商拓展对外贸易与海外投资，并增进国际合作，以持续推动台湾经济稳定与发展。输出入银的转型，仍将扮演资金供给者角色，有助于其业务触角与利茎，提升知名度。     

Strengthening Political Leadership in UK Local Government

Many councillors and officers in local government have begun to question long-established approaches to local authority leadership and management. This article shows that there is growing interest in developing new ways of revitalizing local democracy and projecting the value of local government. It examines some of the models of local authority management found in other countries, including the directly elected mayor. The article argues that the responsibilities of the executive need to be separated from those of the council. Legal barriers which prevent UK local authorities from reshaping their organizations to meet new challenges need to be removed.     

房价调控、地方政府债务与宏观经济波动

在地方政府债务高企的背景下,房价调控能否使资本流向非房地产部门？房价调控如果触发地方政府债务违约,宏观政策应如何应对？本文基于中国宏观经济的特征事实,引入地方政府的土地财政行为,将房价变动与地方政府的偿债能力联系起来。研究表明,由于地方政府依赖土地出让和土地抵押贷款筹集收入,房价管控导致的地价下降会带来地方政府收入的下降,直接影响地方政府的偿债能力。如果地方政府债务不出现违约,那么房价管控带来的地价下降会降低地方政府从金融部门获得的抵押融资额,使非基建部门的融资成本下降,非基建部门投资和产出上升。而如果调控房价带来的地价下降导致地方政府出现债务违约,金融部门资产受损,使金融中介减少贷款和提高贷款成本,带来整个社会的信贷紧缩,经济中各个部门的产出大幅下降。进一步的政策分析表明,有必要在避免地方政府债务违约的同时,使用财政资金补充银行资本金等多种方式稳定金融中介的资产负债表,从而将房价调控对经济的负面影响程度降到最低。     

Multi-Level Networked Governance—Reflections from the Better Government for Older People Programme

The concept of joined up government has been interpreted mainly in terms of the need for horizontal integration between services which traditionally have been delivered through stand-alone departments, specialist professions, and 'silo' organizational structures. Two parallel concepts within the Government's modernization programme, namely 'citizen-centred governance' and 'community leadership', imply the need also for vertical integration between different levels of governance. This article explores multi-level governance in terms of the complex inter-relationships between UK central government, local government, and civil society, drawing on an evaluation of the Cabinet Office-led programme of Better Government for Older People (BGOP). New structures, on their own, are inadequate without the necessary changes in the inter-connections and inter-relationships. A number of suggestions are made on how the Government might bring about the type of cultural changes required to make multi-level networked governance a reality.     

“营改增”影响地方政府税收努力研究

基于随机前沿分析法（SFA）测算2011-2015年我国地方政府税收努力程度,并运用双重差分法考察“营改增”对地方征税行为的影响。研究发现：“营改增”将地方税（营业税）变为共享税（增值税）,显著降低了地方政府税收努力程度;改革对税收努力的冲击受经济发展水平、转移支付额度和税收返还的影响,获取转移支付收入和税收返还越多的地区税收努力下降速度越快。后“营改增”时期,如何提高税收效率,缓解地方财政收入对转移支付和债务收入的依赖性,是理顺中央和地方财税关系,完善财税收入体系的重要问题。     

地区竞争、支出责任下移与地方政府债务扩张

地方政府债务过度扩张容易引发系统性经济风险。本文通过一个地方政府举债行为理论模型,分析了政府间共同事权的支出责任下移、竞争性地区的举债行为对地方政府债务规模的影响。在此基础上构建空间面板计量模型,利用279个地级市数据进行回归分析,结果表明:地方政府债务扩张是支出责任下移与标尺竞争机制共同驱动的结果;政府间支出责任下移造成的财政压力是地方政府被动负债的重要原因;地方政府间的标尺竞争使其在举债融资行为上表现为明显的策略模仿;各地区在债务扩张的主因上存在异质性,东部地区政府债务的增加主要是地区间竞争的结果。这意味着化解地方政府债务风险不仅应规范政府间财政支出责任划分,更重要的是完善地方政府的政绩考核体系和违规举债的问责机制。     

Peas in a Pod: Are Efficient Municipalities also Financially Sustainable?

Are efficient councils financially sustainable? We argue that an efficient council may not necessarily be financially sustainable. Our subsequent empirical analysis finds limited evidence in favour of an ‘efficiency–sustainability’ nexus. Thus, policies aimed at improving a council's efficiency may not automatically enhance their financial sustainability. Public policy makers have principally focused on improving the operational efficiency of local government on the presumption that this will result in a more financially sustainable sector. We argue that it is erroneous to assume that an efficient local government entity will necessarily be more fiscally sustainable. To test this argument, we apply an innovative method for empirically testing the association between financial sustainability and operational efficiency to the New South Wales local government system. Our results suggest limited positive associations between financial sustainability measures and municipal efficiency.     

完善地方自发自还债券制度体系建设的思考

财政部于2014年5月正式推出地方政府自发自还债券试点。自发自还债券试点可谓地方政府市场化融资的标志性事件,试点省市将成为独立的举债主体,须主动适应市场规则,接受市场检验,此次试点具有里程碑意义。但同时也要看到,目前包括自发自还债券融资在内的地方政府各类举债行为,还欠缺完善的制度保障。文章回顾了地方政府债券市场融资的模式变迁,在梳理地方政府融资现有制度的基础上,分析了地方政府融资相关制度存在的问题,就构建并完善我国地方政府债券的制度体系提出相关建议。     

地方政府债券置换对银行信贷及货币供给的影响

通过构建基于商业银行资产负债结构的地方债置换分析框架,研究表明,地方债置换将通过商业银行资产结构在贷款与债券之间的配置调整影响货币供给,它将使银行可贷资金增加,并导致贷款规模的变化,在贷款创造存款的信用放大机制下,引起货币供应量的变化,进而造成货币政策的扩张(收缩).贷款市场的供求弹性将决定地方债置换的扩张效应或收缩效应.在经济增长放缓、银行为弥补持有地方债收益下降、地方债纳入货币政策工具的抵押品和质押品范围的情况下,地方债置换具有货币政策扩张效应.为减少地方债对金融市场的冲击,央行需密切监测商业银行资金运用情况,提高货币政策操作的针对性,并加强同财政政策的协同配合.     

我国开征不动产税与增强地方政府公共服务能力的思考

在物质生活基本得到满足的情况下．老百姓对医疗、教育、社会保障、公共安全以及环境保护等公共产品和公共服务的需求越来越突出，对地方政府的目标要求也不再是发展经济这一单一目标，而是更加强调其公共服务的能力。地方政府的公共服务能力在很大程度上取决于其收入能力。本文将探讨不动产税改革将如何在增强地方政府公共服务能力中发挥作用，并针对开征不动产税过程可能遇到的难点问题，提出相关对策建议。     

分税与地方财政支出结构

本文研究了税收分成对地方财政支出结构的影响。理论分析发现,在地方政府的财政支出结构竞争中,税收分成比例的提高将直接导致地方政府增加生产性公共支出,发挥生产性支出的产出外部性,提高产出水平和自身税收收入水平,实现福利最大化。一系列经验分析显著地验证了上述结论,即当地级市政府的税收分成率提高10%,该地区生产性支出占比将提高1.39%。本文的分析和结论有助于解释中国地方财政支出结构变动的原因,从而为政府间税收分配改革提供有效的政策建议。     

论地方政府负债与公共经济绩效评价

近些年来,我国地方政府负债数额大大增加,大到有风险了,对这一现象如何认识,不仅牵涉到财政体制的问题,还对政府的公共经济管理绩效有较大影响。本文根据中央和地方财政支出比重的22年数据说明增加的程度,然后从几个方面剖析地方政府负债猛增的原因,评价地方政府负债这一公共支出对公共经济绩效正反两面的影响,提出对地方政府负债要合理利用和管理,促进公共经济绩效提升。     

Calculating education spending need, 1976–82

The Welsh Office has proposed that local government in Wales be restructured to produce a system of 20 unitary authorities based on the boundaries of the existing 37 district councils. All eight of the Welsh county councils will be abolished. The consultation paper on reform in Wales claims that a single tier of local government has four main advantages: greater public accountability; the removal of friction between counties and districts; better service co‐ordination; and enhanced efficiency. The consultation paper contains neither reasoned arguments nor empirical evidence to substantiate these claims. A better approach to local government reform would enable diverse local circumstances and preferences to be reflected in diverse local structures.     

权力异化、国家审计与地方政府负债

地方官员权力异化和国家审计监管对地方政府负债行为有显著影响。官员权力异化越严重,地方政府债务增长速度越快,债务风险越大。但是,国家审计监管力量越强,越有可能降低官员权力异化对地方政府负债的影响程度,进而降低地方政府负债增长速度和债务风险。结果表明,较强的国家审计监管力度有助于防止地方政府官员权力滥用和寻租,规范地方政府融资行为。