A Cross-Country Database for Sector Investment and Capital

This article presents a new database of investment and capitalin agriculture, manufacturing, and the overall economy. It covers62 industrial and developing countries for the years 1967–92.A common method is used in the calculations to facilitate comparisonsacross countries and sectors. The sensitivity of the calculationsto choices of parameters and estimation methods is tested. Collectively,the data show that as economies grow, capital stocks accumulate,but the composition of capital changes. Together and individually,capital stocks in agriculture and manufacturing constitute asmaller share of the total capital stock than they did 20 yearsago. Capital-labor ratios show that agriculture has become morecapital intensive in most countries. The composition of agriculturalcapital has changed as well; capital from investments in orchardsand livestock has declined relative to capital from fixed investmentsin machinery, irrigation, and buildings.     

Polish Public Sector Accounting in Transition: Evidence From the Mid 1990s

The Polish public sector is still under transition that began at the turn of 1989/1990. In the mid-1990s a new significant development in public sector accounting took place. A substantial differentiation of the accounting system was introduced. New elements and relationships appeared, along with general domination of the Accounting Act, tax regulations and the Budgetary Law. The system of basic regulation of accounting and reporting has also changed. There were also some changes in the auditing system. The enactment in 1994 of the Accounting Act has brought to light the political character and political importance of financial information in Poland. This paper presents the current mode of public sector accounting regulation and its relationship with the overall system of Polish accounting regulations. Much attention has been devoted to specific principles of public sector accounting and financial reporting in the public sector, and to government accounting. Some political contaminations and consequences of the current accounting system have been pointed out.     

Household Saving in Developing Countries: First Cross-Country Evidence

Although most studies have relied on domestic or private sectorsaving data, this article uses household data available fromthe U.N. System of National Accounts for a sample of 10 countries.Household saving functions are estimated using combined time-seriesand cross-country observations in order to test households'responses to income and growth, rates of return, monetary wealth,foreign saving, and demographic variables. The results showthat income and wealth variables affect saving strongly andin ways consistent with standard theories. Inflation and theinterest rate do not show clear effects on saving, which isalso consistent with their theoretical ambiguity. Foreign savingand monetary assets have strong negative effects on householdsaving, which suggests the importance of liquidity constraintsand monetary wealth in developing countries.     

Securitization in Public Sector Finance

Already commonplace in the private sector, the securitization of future income streams is now being promoted in the public sector as a means of accessing investment capital. This article reports on a British university's securitization of 30 years' future rents on its student accommodation. Although the securitization made it possible to refurbish the residences, it has turned out to be costly in other respects. The authors conclude that investment returns in the public sector will rarely be sufficient to cover the finance costs of securitization; that the loss of the securitized income in labour-intensive public services is virtually certain to cost jobs; and that the accounting treatment of securitization needs to incorporate a realistic calculation of the movements in effective debt. Finally the article recommends that the value for money of any proposed public sector securitization should be independently checked by comparing its total cost of capital with the returns on its proposed uses.     

Public Sector Downsizing: An Introduction

Authorities throughout the developing world are turning to downsizingin an effort to reduce budget deficits and address the inefficienciesengendered by state-led development strategies. Because large-scaleinvoluntary dismissals are often politically difficult, a voluntaryapproach to reductions in public sector employment is increasinglypopular among developing-country governments, multilateral organizations,and donor countries. This article (and, more generally, theresearch project on Public Sector Retrenchment) attempts tosketch a protocol for public sector downsizing that takes intoaccount the costs and benefits for the workers and the economy. After reviewing the international experience with downsizing,the article addresses five questions: how to identify the redundantworkers, how to predict their losses from separation, how todesign compensation and assistance packages, how to assess thefinancial and economic returns to downsizing, and how to dealwith downsizing in one-company towns. Based on the answers tothese questions, a decision tree is proposed.     

Exploring Fit in Public Sector Organizations

Municipalities are complex organizational systems composed of policies, activities and resources. Using an in-depth case study analysis, the elements that make up the organizational systems of three municipalities in southern California are explored. This analysis shows how variation in fiscal health can be attributed to structural and managerial choices regarding the design and organizing of towns and cities. With a better understanding of both the internal and external fit of the organization, a city's managers may be able to make more careful decisions and improve day-to-day management and develop an area.     

公共基金不排挤私营部门

小型企业创新研究计划建立于1982年7月,其目的是解决年轻技术型企业融资市场不完善的问题.     

Performance Assessment of Public Sector Scientists

Publicly-funded scientific research establishments are complex organizations requiring considerable management skills to optimize performance. This article identifies the performance indicators (PIs) used in the appraisal of public sector science in the UK and assesses their relevance in relation to the Balanced Score Card (BSC) management tool. The author found that current PIs in UK science relate primarily to scientific peer-group interests and are unlikely, on their own, to facilitate the optimization of organizational management. The article also suggests how concentration on these PIs could hinder the implementation of government science policies, for example public understanding of science, and wealth creation.     

Engagement Research in Public Sector Accounting

Abstract: This paper argues for the value of engagement research in order to encourage public sector accounting academics to take such an approach. Given that there is little evidence about the practice or value of engagement research, however, we set out to explore, evaluate and establish the lessons learned from a specific episode of engagement research. In outlining a project carried out between 2003 and 2005 by Amanda Ball and Vernon Soare, which sought to promote sustainability reporting in public service organisations, we argue that this form of research may positively impact government, public policy, professional accounting institutions and others involved in regulating or otherwise standardising public sector accounting practice.