FISCAL ILLUSION AT THE LOCAL SPHERE: AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE FLYPAPER EFFECT USING SOUTH AFRICAN MUNICIPAL DATA1

While South Africa operates a relatively decentralised governance and administrative structure, an important feature of the country's intergovernmental fiscal relations system is the gap that exists between the expenditure responsibilities of sub‐national authorities and their assigned revenue bases. The resulting vertical fiscal imbalance is mainly addressed via significant intergovernmental transfers to provinces and local governments. This factor presents strong a priori grounds for assuming that in the South African context, the heavy dependence of many local governments on intergovernmental transfers may generate fiscal illusion. Despite this, there have not been many empirical studies of fiscal illusion in South Africa's intergovernmental transfer system. This paper extends existing literature on fiscal illusion by using the fiscal year 2005/06 financial and expenditure data from 237 local government authorities in South Africa to evaluate the flypaper variant of the fiscal illusion hypothesis. Empirical results indicate that the marginal effects of municipal own‐source revenues on local expenditure exceed those of intergovernmental transfers. No statistical evidence in support of the flypaper hypothesis within the context of municipal expenditures in South Africa is found.     

财政转移支付、地方政府治理和制造业增长

文章对财政转移支付影响地方经济增长的一种可能的机制进行检验,即转移支付通过恶化地方治理水平进而对地方经济增长产生负面影响。文章基于利用1999～2007年各省制造业细分行业面板数据,运用计量模型进行实证分析,发现在财政转移支付占财政支出比重越高的省份,制造业中对治理水平要求越高的行业增长越慢。这个结果证实了转移支付通过恶化地方政府治理,从而不利于制造业增长的假说。研究认为,更多的转移支付并不一定会导致更快的经济增长,如果没有良好的制度,转移支付还会对落后地区的经济增长产生负面影响。     

Are intergovernmental transfers in China equalizing?

Since 1994, China's central government has implemented a sequence of fiscal recentralization measures to increase its equalization capacity and reduce regional income disparities. However, the effect of intergovernmental transfers on equalization has been called into question by anecdotal evidence that seems to suggest that transfers from the center are not rule-based and are subject to heavy rent-seeking. Unlike past studies, which have focused on the equalization effects of total fiscal transfers from the center, this paper includes an examination of the equalization effects of different types of transfers because some transfers, which are inherently anti-equalizing, may mask the equalization effects of other types of transfers when they are lumped together to find the “average” effect. Using inequality measures, a decomposition of fiscal disparities, and dynamic panel data models, we find that China's intergovernmental transfer system that was established in 1994 does have some equalizing elements. To a large extent, these elements exist due to the mechanism designed to shrink the tax rebates that bear the legacy of the pre-1994 system; to a small extent, these elements exist due to the rule-based general-purpose transfer whose share in total transfers remains small but has increased since 2002. However, the equalization effects of the largest component of transfers, specific-purpose transfers, are anti-equalizing. They are typically not rule-based and thus subject to political influence. As a result, total transfers also exhibit significant anti-equalization effects.     

Fiscal Decentralization and Poverty Alleviation in a Transitional Economy: The Case of Viet Nam

Intergovernmental fiscal arrangements may play an important role in ameliorating poverty in many countries. Successful poverty alleviation generally requires both ‘capacity improving’ and ‘safety net’ policies, and both types of policies may, to some extent, be implemented through, or affected by, intergovernmental transfers. From this perspective, we analyse the efficacy of intergovernmental fiscal arrangements in poverty alleviation in a transitional economy, Viet Nam. We argue that both general and specific transfers are needed for this purpose: the former to enable all provinces to provide a given basket of public services at a given tax-price by offsetting their revenue and cost disabilities and the latter to ensure that minimum levels of those public services provided by lower levels of government are targeted to the poor throughout the country.     

如何促进股票市场稳定健康发展

本文认为要想真正促进股票市场稳定健康发展,不能靠一味宣扬"新兴加转轨"或者"买者自负"等来推卸市场监管者的责任;不能靠对广大散户投资者的肆意指责;不能靠反对降低印花税者的"横眉冷对";不能靠对监管者的厚颜吹捧;也不能靠对救市的简单呼吁;而必须依赖于诚信、公平、法治和互利多赢的四大法宝。以市场自由而言,必须格守诚信和公平;以市场秩序而言,必须依靠法治;以市场发展的根本目的而言,必须实现互利多赢。惟有如此,中国的沪深股市才能长久地充满生机和活力,才能步入稳定健康发展之路。本文还本着诚信、公平、法治和互利多赢的法则,就如何促进股票市场稳定健康发展的问题,提出了暂停征收印花税、设立国有证券投资基金、改革新股发行制度、严格监管等具体建议。     

Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers: International Lessons for Developing Countries

This paper reviews the central issues that arise in designing intergovernmental transfers and surveys the approaches adopted in a number of countries, with special emphasis on developing countries. Since circumstances and objectives differ from country to country, no simple, uniform pattern of transfers is universally appropriate but experience around the world makes it clear that if services are to be efficiently provided, transfers must be designed so that those receiving them have a clear mandate, adequate resources, sufficient flexibility to make decisions and are accountable for results.     

当前我国收入分配领域存在的突出问题与对策

当前我国收入分配领域存在居民收入和劳动报酬两个比重偏低,垄断行业收入畸高名不副实,社会转移分配平衡收入差距作用不足,群体间收入差距呈现全范围多层次的扩大趋势等突出问题,解决这些问题需要用发展和改革的眼光、思路和办法促进经济健康发展,坚持以人为本的分配理念努力提高普通劳动者收入,完善社会主义市场经济体制创造平等致富的环境,紧紧抓住社会转移分配的灵魂"公平",全方位缩小收入差距,使劳动者通过第三次分配获得捐赠性收入,通过第四次分配获得财产性收入。     

Capitalization of local government grants on land values: Evidence from Tokyo metropolitan area,Japan

This study investigates the capitalization effect of intergovernmental fiscal transfers from central to local governments on land prices. Using a drop in the size number of fiscal transfers following fiscal reform in the early 2000 s, this study examines the extent to which unconditional fiscal transfers to municipalities in the Tokyo metropolitan area are attributed to land prices. The result shows that the decline in the transfer has decreased the land prices in the municipalities. Furthermore, reducing one unit in the per capita grant reduced the value of housing area per capita by one or more units, even if the real discount rate was assumed to be as low as 2%. Therefore, the fiscal transfer reform more negatively affects the benefits of residing in a municipality in the area than the reduction amount in the transfer.     

中国地方政府总体财力不均等程度及其分解：1997-2005

本文以1997年～2005年全国31省级财政数据为样本,运用基尼系数和GE指数分解法对省级财力差异进行了分解,结果发现：1997年至2005年间我国省际间财力差距没有明显收敛迹象,省际间财力差距一半以上来源于地区内部,并且呈扩大趋势;对省际间财力差异贡献最大的是本级财政收入,其中营业税和增值税贡献是主要因素;净转移支付解释了财力差异的约30％,其中税收返还和专项转移支付是造成省际间差异的主要原因,唯一起到均等化作用的是农村税费改革转移支付,旨在均衡地区间财力差距的一般性转移支付并没起到相应的作用;预算外收入的不平等贡献率大幅缩小,从边际效应看,增加净转移支付和预算外收入的规模,可以降低总体财力差距。     

The Wage Elasticity of Informal Care Supply: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

This article focuses on the wage elasticity of informal care supply to elderly parents employing an instrumental variable approach to account for the fact that the wage rate is likely to be correlated with omitted variables. Using the 1998 wave of the 1998 ), the wage elasticity of informal care supply is estimated to be negative and larger in magnitude than found previously. The lower bound of this elasticity is estimated to be ?1.8 for males and ?3.6 for females. Additional findings suggest that this wage elasticity differs by the type of care provided to elderly parents and that it is larger in magnitude among individuals with siblings and those with independently living parents. Overall the reductions in the informal care constitute about 18% of the labor supply response for men and about 56% of the labor supply response for women, which are not compensated by monetary transfers.     

Are Antidumping Duties for Sale? Case‐Level Evidence on the Grossman‐Helpman Protection for Sale Model

Do contributions to politicians affect trade policy? To examine this question, we have compiled a new, unique database containing information on political donations by the specific firms and labor organizations that have petitioned for antidumping protection from imports, as well as data on the outcomes of their requests. Using an empirical framework based on the 1994 “protection for sale” model, we examine the relationship between antidumping decisions and political activism. Our results indicate that money does matter. We find that politically active petitioners are more likely to receive protection and that antidumping duty rates tend to be higher for that group. In addition, the relationship between the import penetration ratio and duties imposed depends on whether or not petitioners are politically active—antidumping duties are positively correlated with the import penetration ratio for politically inactive petitioners but negatively correlated for politically active petitioners, consistent with the Grossman‐Helpman model's predictions.     

日本政府间财政关系的演变及启示

在对日本的中央和地方政府之间财政关系的形成与发展进行梳理基础上,对日本近年来以三位一体改革及市町村合并为代表的政府间财政制度改革的动向与展望加以分析,并对中国财政体制改革提出对策建议。     

Local Economic Performance and Election Outcomes

This paper uses a logit model to test whether voters will alter their support for incumbents in state level elections, specifically gubernatorial and state house and senate elections, when local (i.e., county) economic conditions are observed. The results signify that voters do hold the incumbent party responsible for economic conditions. Furthermore, voters tend to place more emphasis on unemployment levels than on real personal income indicating that incumbent politicians might want to engage in policies that put people to work rather than on policies that raise income. The results also suggest that voters did not hold their state house and senate representative as responsible for local economic conditions as they did the governor.     

Intra‐provincial Revenue Sharing and the Subnational Government's Fiscal Capacity in China: The Case of Zhejiang Province

This study investigates whether the tax‐sharing system has deteriorated the fiscal capacity of subnational governments by analyzing how fiscal revenues are divided between provincial and sub‐provincial governments. Our study of county‐level fiscal data from Zhejiang Province in China during 1994–2007 shows that intra‐provincial revenue‐sharing rules favor county governments in two ways: (i) they improve county governments ‘fiscal autonomy in terms of using their own revenues; and (ii) they enhance county governments ‘fiscal capacity through province‐to‐county general transfers. In addition, we find that intra‐provincial fiscal revenue‐sharing rules and transfers reduce fiscal disparity between counties.     

The redistributive role of government social security transfers on inequality in China

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the redistributive role of government social security transfers on inequality in China. We attempt to answer two questions. First, does inequality of after-transfer income narrow, compared to that of before-transfer income? Second, given the scale and distribution of existing government social security transfers, will a small percentage increase in the transfers narrow or widen the inequality of total income? By employing the methodologies of the Musgrave-Thin (MT) index and decomposition of the Gini coefficient of total income by its sources, we find a positive answer to the first question and a negative answer to the second question. Government social security transfers have a positive role on inequality in the sense that the Gini coefficient of after-transfer income is smaller than that of before-transfer income. However, government social security transfers have a negative role on inequality, as current inequality will go up if there is a universal increase in government social security transfers for all recipients. Of all the components of government social security transfers, formal sector pensions are most unequalizing, whereas dibao and rural pension benefits have equalizing effects on the income distribution in China.     

Buchanan,Popular Myths,and the Social Responsibility of Economists

This article presents and discusses “The ‘Politics’ of Economic Policy,” an essay that remains unpublished and that James Buchanan wrote in 1953. In this essay, Buchanan, for the first time, claimed that politicians and bureaucrats are not benevolent despots—it was not an assumption. This helps to understand that Buchanan had abandoned the “romantic” belief that politicians were acting for the interest of the public early in his career, much earlier than usually acknowledged and even earlier than his first works in “nonmarket decision-making.” Beyond this historical insight, we show that Buchanan wrote his article in response or echo to Knight's “The Rôle of Principles in Economics and Politics” (1951). Comparing Buchanan's and Knight's texts, we show that Buchanan adopted a Knightian perspective while criticizing Knight and departing from his views. Of particular importance is what Buchanan wrote on how economists should frame their policy recommendations and on how they may need to avoid very sophisticated theories.     

SOUTH AFRICA'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS: AN EVOLVING SYSTEM

Across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the transition economies of Eastern Europe, the need to enhance the capability and capacity of sub‐national governments (SNGs) in providing public goods and services has become a main theme of development programmes. Central to this theme is the need to design an intergovernmental fiscal relations (IGFR) system that enhances the effectiveness of sub‐national governments in mobilizing revenues and implementing expenditure programmes. For South Africa, the post‐1994 dispensation has involved significant reforms to the structure and administrative capacity of the three spheres of government. Critical to these reforms is the need to formulate an IGFR framework that takes cognisance of South Africa's past, and serves as an effective policy tool in ensuring that public sector service delivery is well structured and managed. This paper provides an analysis of South Africa's evolving IGFR system. It outlines the historical evolution of the current IGFR system, identifies current challenges, and discusses implications that these challenges have for the functioning of the IGFR system. The general conclusion emerging from this study is that in the South African context, the key elements necessary for an effective IGFR system are in place. Ongoing reforms have improved the capacity of provincial and municipal authorities in carrying out their revenue and expenditure responsibilities. However, the evolving nature of South Africa's IGFR system requires that significant attention be devoted towards enhancing coordination between delivery departments and improving the capacity of many SNGs. These should not only aid the effective functioning of the IGFR system but also ensure that the gains of decentralisation are sustainable.     

企业竞争中的“黑洞现象”及其对策探讨

文章针对国际企业竞争中出现的新趋势,即随着全球化进程的加快,资源和市场份额愈来愈集中在少数几个跨国巨头手中,而无论从资金、技术还是管理和人力资源都不是很强的国内企业如何应对,尤其是中国按照加入WTO时所作的承诺将在2005年全面开放市场,国内企业失去了政策保护,将和跨国巨头直接展开厮杀的关头,我们如何提高胜算,本文将对此作一简要分析.     

Upstream Intergenerational Transfers

This study analyzes upstream intergenerational transfers from middle-aged children to their elderly parents. We formulate a model in which the middle-aged child transfers both money and time to an elderly parent based on an altruistic motive. We examine substitution between financial transfers and time transfers using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Empirical results support the assumption that upstream transfers are motivated by altruism, particularly financial transfers. Parents financially worse off than their middle-aged children receive more money. They are more likely to live nearby if not coresident. Overall, the results for time transfers provide weaker support for our model than financial transfers. A child with a high wage tends to transfer money rather than time, suggesting that the two types of transfers are partial substitutes.