Macroeconomic consequences of state fragility in sub‐Saharan Africa

Are poor macroeconomic outcomes primarily the result of economic policies, or of deeper underlying state fragility problems in sub‐Saharan Africa? We attempt to answer this question by using carefully specified dynamic panel regression techniques to show how state fragility conditions help to explain the differences in the macroeconomic performance of sub‐Saharan African economies, and to identify the most plausible mechanisms of transmission. We find that countries with greater fragility suffer higher macroeconomic volatility and crisis; they also experience weaker growth. When we disaggregate state fragility into its various components, we find that it is the security and social components that have the strongest causal impact on macroeconomic outcomes, while the political component is, at best, weak. Therefore, we conclude that it is state fragility conditions, and not necessarily macroeconomic policies, that are of first‐order importance in explaining the differences in macroeconomic performance for African countries. The knock‐on effects are mostly mediated through the fiscal channel, the aid channel, and the finance channel. Accordingly, we recommend that interventions in fragile states should best focus on exploiting the potential for using fiscal policy, aid, and finance as instruments to improve macroeconomic outcomes in sub‐Saharan Africa.     

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。     

Party alternation,divided government,and fiscal performance within US States

The literature on US state government fiscal performance has examined the role of institutional factors such as budget rules and divided government, but has largely ignored the impact of party alternation. This paper primarily focuses on whether party alternation in the governor’s office affects fiscal performance. Our hypothesis is that frequent party changes create a political environment that impacts fiscal performance. To further assess the impact of party alternation on fiscal performance, we consider our primary hypothesis in conjunction with the degree of division that exists between the governor’s office and the legislature. Using panel data from 37 states between 1971 and 2000 we test the hypothesis that frequent party alternation can be expected to affect fiscal performance and find strong support for the hypothesis. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2005 Public Choice Society Meetings. The authors would like to thank the conference participants, William Shughart, Charles Register, Jocelyn Evans, John D. Jackson, Amihai Glazer, and two anonymous referees for their comments. We would also like to thank Craig R. Stiller for his help in the collection of data. Any remaining errors remain the responsibility of the authors.     

国有公司财务监督问题研究

现行的国有公司财务监督中缺少真正代表国有资本所有者行使监督职权的机构和人员，董事会、监事会和财务人员管理体制的缺陷以及外部审计监督的不力使得国有公司经营管理者有机会违规获取个人利益，结果必然导致国有资产流失。应考虑建立国有公司出资者监督代表的再监督制度和对财务监督人员的激励约束制度，推行国有公司年报审计的公开招标制。     

改革现行会计委派制 建立会计代理制

对于国有企业(及国家机关部门和事业单位)来说,建立“外派”会计制度是内在的要求,应该坚持做好。“外派”会计是财务监督会计,与企业内部管理会计并行不悖。不过,现行的会计委派制确实增加了企业经理人员和委派会计人员或财务总监之间产生对立或合谋的可能性,某种意义上成为政府干预企业的新机制、新形式,这影响到会计委派制的实际效果。而由会计师事务所等中介服务机构来充当企业的财务总监的会计代理制却能较好地隔离政府与企业,并在两者之间形成适当的平衡。     

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.     

用科学发展观推进国有企业的深化改革

必须用科学发展观指导国有企业的深化改革，否则难以实现国企改革的目标。当前深化国企改革的要点有三：一是国有企业改制和产权转让的规范化问题；二是改革的配套协调问题：三是政府转型问题。