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Federal deductibility of certain state and local taxes (SALT) creates an opportunity for state and local governments to export their deductible taxes. Using the Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income data, this research estimates the extent to which a state can export its tax burden. The research furthermore shows that a state with higher levels of deductible taxes exports more of its tax burden, and relevant state tax structure features and federal tax reforms influence the exportability of state and local taxes. The empirical evidence reveals that tax exporting through federal deductibility creates a moral hazard because it incentivizes states and localities to increase their broad-based taxes in the belief that a part of the tax burden will be borne by other jurisdictions. The findings shed light on the ongoing debate on federal policies constraining the deductibility of certain state and local taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before 1941, U.S. regulatory bodies were unrestricted. By 1946, several states and the federal government had imposed restrictions. It further took 40 years for every state to enact an Administrative Procedures Act (APA), a law that dictates how regulatory agencies promulgate regulations. Despite being overlooked, APAs significantly impact states in often missed or ignored ways. We analyzed each state's rulemaking procedures at four different points in time to see if they've increased or decreased restrictions on regulatory agencies. We created two indexes: a Restrictiveness index, a summative index, and another derived from multiple correspondence analysis. We studied how legislative professionalism, interest group constraint, citizen ideology, and government partisanism affect APA restrictions.

This study quantifies intergovernmental transfers' contemporaneous and lagged effects on local tax revenues of districts/municipalities in Indonesia. This study found that transfer as aggregate and unconditional transfers/ Dana Alokasi Umum have crowding-in effects on local tax revenues. Meanwhile, revenue sharing/ Dana Bagi Hasil and conditional transfers/ Dana Alokasi Khusus do not significantly affect the tax revenues of districts/municipalities. In addition, system-Generalized Method of Moments estimation results show that the contemporaneous effects of transfers are more prominent in magnitude than their lagged effects. It indicates that local tax enforcement due to transfers provides a larger portion than the local spending stimulus in determining local revenue increases. Our findings refute the negative stigma that emerged after implementing fiscal decentralization, particularly related to the disincentive effect of transfers on local government efforts to generate their revenues. Therefore, equitably endowing local governments with intergovernmental transfers will improve their accountability and build public trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subject and purpose of work: The purpose of the study was to identify the areas of activity of the local authorities in the context of the implementation of public tasks that could be financed with funds from the issue of the so-called green bonds.

The article aims at analyzing the possibility of including developers (private companies focused on profits) into the process of revitalizing tenement houses located in the center of Poznan. The consideration is located in the capital city of Wielkopolska and takes into account the analysis of both the local housing real estate market and developers’ enterprises in the city. The authors, supported by economic calculation and a case study, have researched the case of a free-market developer’s project of revitalizing a well-located, yet run-down tenement house, and, on the contrary, the case of a developer taking over a property being a municipal resource. Having researched the market in order to set the parameters of further research works, both scenarios where evaluated when it comes to their economic, social and spatial results.

This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and economic geography by identifying factors that determine the attractiveness of a site in a metropolitan area, as the basis for the emergence of high-tech firms' spatial concentration. The econometric model provides distinct advantages over the largely descriptive approaches that have been dominant in the point pattern analysis literature for clusters. We focus on the role of two types of knowledge spillovers on a firm's location choices: (1) those that arise from collocating with other companies from the same industry, and (2) universities' knowledge spillovers. A model is estimated using data on firm births in high and medium–high-technology manufacturing industries, during 2000–2016 in Madrid. Our results show that the main source through which firms benefit from knowledge spillovers is through proximity to firms in the same industry and not from universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do intergovernmental transfers reduce revenues collected by local government authorities (LGAs)? There is already a well-established body of literature in public finance, which argues that intergovernmental grants “crowd out” local revenues. Most existing studies, however, explore the fiscal implications of intergovernmental transfers in high-income countries where sound fiscal systems are taken for granted. In this paper, I explore the impact of intergovernmental transfers on local revenues in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where local fiscal capacity is limited and endogenously determined by financial support from international donors and the central government. I argue that in places where the existing capacity of LGAs to administer tax collection is weak and political costs of enforcing taxation are low—which are perennial features of many rural districts in Africa—intergovernmental transfers facilitate local revenue generation instead of undermining it. Analyzing newly available quarterly fiscal data on local revenues in Tanzania, I show that intergovernmental grants improve the mobilization of local revenues, and also that the positive effect of fiscal transfers on local revenue collection seems to be more pronounced in rural districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the latest years, one of the major concerns with political systems around the world is what some authors have called the "democratic recession". Some recent discussions on these issues focus on the capacity of the state to respond to the demands of its citizens. This paper studies the relationship between state capacity -understood as state performance on areas such as providing security, justice administration, tax collection and guaranteeing rights-, and support for democratic principles and Colombia's regime. The empirical results show that lower levels of assessment of state's capacity are associated to lower levels of support for democratic principles and performance. These results are discussed in the context of the peace agreements between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, as well as the implications posed by this relationship in regards to the challenges and opportunities for post conflict Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the latest years, one of the major concerns with political systems around the world is what some authors have called the "democratic recession". Some recent discussions on these issues focus on the capacity of the state to respond to the demands of its citizens. This paper studies the relationship between state capacity -understood as state performance on areas such as providing security, justice administration, tax collection and guaranteeing rights-, and support for democratic principles and Colombia's regime. The empirical results show that lower levels of assessment of state's capacity are associated to lower levels of support for democratic principles and performance. These results are discussed in the context of the peace agreements between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, as well as the implications posed by this relationship in regards to the challenges and opportunities for post conflict Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gugl and Zodrow (Natl Tax J 68:767-802, 2015) derive a general condition for (in)efficient public-input provision under production-tax financing. Their condition is described in terms of log modularity of production technology. This paper shows that in the case of 'factor-augmenting' public inputs, the Gugl-Zodrow condition can be characterized in terms of the technical changes caused by public-input provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bolivia experimentó una importante transformación territorial después de que se aprobó la Ley de Participación Popular en 1994. Los efectos benéficos de tal reforma estuvieron acompañados de una serie de efectos contraproducentes, entre ellos los que se derivan del modelo de transferencias centrales hacia los municipios. Este artículo propone un nuevo modelo de transferencias que complementa el actual ¿sistema de dotación fiscal a municipios según el principio per cápita¿ con uno de ¿ecualización fiscal intermunicipal por bloques¿.

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There is an ongoing debate among researchers and policy-makers on how to make transparency a powerful tool of healthcare systems. This study addresses how the availability and accessibility of information about medical services to the general population affects healthcare outcomes in Russia. A systematic review was conducted and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviewing and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Transparency indicators of health facilities used in the world's most efficient healthcare systems are also reviewed. Although the increase of transparency in the Russian healthcare system is considered as a tool for improving its efficiency, very little has been done to improve the actual level of transparency. The existing institutional specifics of the Russian healthcare system impose serious restrictions on acceptable levels of transparency. In the reviewed empirical Russian studies, transparency is often viewed simplistically as either information available on the websites of medical organizations or issues related to the amount of accessible indicators of compulsory medical statistical reporting. The novelty of this study consists in (a) reviewing the most recent studies on the topic and (b) including studies in Russian in the analysis. We elaborate on general and specific policy implications for improving transparency-driven outcomes in the Russian healthcare system.

Signature requirements are often used as hurdles to prevent overuse of direct democratic instruments such as citizen initiatives. We evaluate the causal effect of lowering signature requirements on the number of observed citizen initiative petitions. Based on municipal-level data for Germany, we make use of changes in signature requirements that occur at specific population thresholds to build an identification strategy using a regression discontinuity design. We find that reducing the signature requirement by 1 % point increases the probability of observing an initiative petition in a given city-year by 8-10 % points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government of Indonesia has now piloted two different output-based performance grants to regions. One focuses on increasing the amount and quality of local government capital spending. The other provides incentives for local governments to augment equity investments in their water enterprises and for the enterprises to use those investments to increase the number of household water connections to the poor. Impact evaluations of the two grants suggest some reasonably positive outcomes against the stated objectives. While the assessed impacts may not match the expected outputs (as argued by many performance grant enthusiasts), these impacts provide a plausible basis for the sustained development and use of such grants. The alternative would be to continue to rely exclusively on the equity-based approaches that have dominated intergovernmental fiscal relations in Indonesia and have led to rather weak local public service outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data provided by the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module Role of Government IV, we empirically investigate the micro-foundations of citizens' perceptions of public officials' fairness. Our results support the idea that (perceived) fairness of public officials is associated with a number of citizens' characteristics. In greater detail, we find evidence that receiving fair treatment from public officials is positively and significantly correlated to having connections with influential people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fiscal rules are mentioned as instruments to commit political actors on long-term fiscal sustainability. However, fiscal rules may have stronger effects on projected than on realized fiscal outcomes because of window-dressing measures or because they alter the bargaining situation in the budget process. In our analysis for Swiss cantons, fiscal rules significantly lower the probability of projected and realized deficits with the former effect being twice as large. Projections are generally over-pessimistic but fiscal rules increase the probability of accurate projections. Thus, fiscal rules seem to substitute for finance ministers' over-pessimistic projections intended to reign in fellow ministers and legislatures (100 words). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a data set that covers all Portuguese mainland municipalities for the period 1979-2005, this study performs an empirical analysis of the economic determinants of mayors' decisions to run for another term in office. The literature on the subject is mainly centered on the United States and, as far as we know, there are no papers addressing the economic factors influencing those choices. Probit panel estimations show that local economic conditions matter more than the national or regional economic environment. The results also confirm that political variables are important and that they influence the likelihood of seeking reelection in much the same way as they affect vote and popularity functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tasan-KokT., GroetelaersD. A., HaffnerM. E. A.,van derHeijdenH. M. H. and KorthalsAltesW. K. Providing cheap land for social housing: breaching the state aid regulations of the single European Market?,Regional Studies. European Union member states are not permitted to provide aid that will distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods which may then undermine trading in the European market. This prohibition also affects government authorities that are willing to provide cheap land for social and affordable housing. This paper reviews the ways in which land is provided for social housing in the Netherlands and explores possibilities for reshaping current practices to make them compatible with the regime of the Single European Market. Tasan-KokT., GroetelaersD. A., HaffnerM. E. A.,van derHeijdenH. M. H. and KorthalsAltesW. K. 为社会公屋提供廉价地：欧洲市场国家辅助性管制？区域研究。欧盟成员国禁止导致不公平竞争的国家性辅助，如偏向于某种特定物品的特定生产方式，这种偏向可能会影响在欧洲市场中的贸易。这种禁令同样影响到那些希望为社会公屋及可供给住房提供廉价地的政府。本文回顾了荷兰土地用于社会公屋建设的方式，探讨了重塑当前实践以使之与单一欧洲市场标准相符合的可能性。 国家辅助 社会公屋 土地价格 Tasan-KokT., GroetelaersD. A., HaffnerM. E. A.,van derHeijdenH. M. H. et KorthalsAltesW. K. Fournir du foncier à prix faible pour la construction de logements sociaux: ne pas respecter la réglementation communautaire sur l'aide de l'Etat,Regional Studies. Aux pays membres de l'Union européenne il est interdit de fournir de l'aide susceptible de fausser la concurrence en favorisant certaines entreprises ou la production de certains biens qui à leur tour pourraient ébranler le commerce sur le marché européen. L'interdiction touche aussi les administrations gouvernementales qui sont tout disposées à fournir du foncier à prix faible pour la construction de logements sociaux à des prix abordables. Cet article cherche à faire la critique des manières dont les Pays Bas fournissent du foncier pour la construction de logements sociaux et examine la possibilité de repenser les pratiques actuelles afin de les rendre compatibles avec le régime communautaire. Aide de l'Etat Logements sociaux Prix du foncier Tasan-KokT., GroetelaersD. A., HaffnerM. E. A.,van derHeijdenH. M. H. und KorthalsAltesW. K. Verbilligte Grundstücke für den sozialen Wohnungsbau: Verstoß gegen das Verbot der staatlichen Subventionen im europäischen Binnenmarkt?,Regional Studies. Um den Handel auf dem europäischen Markt nicht zu behindern, dürfen die Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union keine wettbewerbsverzerrenden Subventionen durch eine Bevorzugung von bestimmten Unternehmen bzw. von der Herstellung bestimmter Waren gewähren. Dieses Verbot gilt auch für staatliche Behörden, die Grundstücke für erschwingliche Sozialwohnungen zu verbilligten Preisen anbieten möchten. In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, auf welche Weise in den Niederlanden Grundstücke für den sozialen Wohnungsbau zur Verfügung gestellt werden, und es werden Möglichkeiten zur Umgestaltung der momentanen Praktiken erörtert, um sie mit den Vorschriften des europäischen Binnenmarkts in Einklang zu bringen. Staatliche Subventionen Sozialer Wohnungsbau Grundstückspreise Tasan-KokT., GroetelaersD. A., HaffnerM. E. A.,van derHeijdenH. M. H. y KorthalsAltesW. K. Ofrecer suelo barato para alojamiento social: incumplimiento de las normativas sobre ayudas estatales en el mercado único europeo?,Regional Studies. No se permite a los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea ofrecer ayuda que pueda distorsionar la competencia favoreciendo a determinadas empresas o la producción de ciertas mercancías que puedan luego debilitar el sistema comercial en el mercado europeo. Esta prohibición también afecta a las autoridades gubernamentales que quieren ofrecer suelo barato para alojamiento social y asequible. En este artículo revisamos los métodos con los que se ofrece el suelo para alojamiento social en los Países Bajos y analizamos las posibilidades de reorganizar las actuales prácticas para que sean compatibles con el régimen del mercado único europeo. Ayuda estatal Alojamiento social Precio del suelo [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The richest neighborhoods in the unincorporated suburbs have a stronger incentive to form a new city to escape the redistribution that is occurring there. Wealthy families also may desire to establish a new city if this enables the provision of government services that middle income voters would not fund. With three different measures of household well being-based on educational attainment, income, and home values-we consistently found that the relatively wealthier neighborhoods were more likely to be part of a new city by the end of the decade. Population density also played a big role [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the tax competition analysis of public inputs to the case where the number of regions that compete for business investment is endogenous. To determine the number of competing regions, a fixed cost of regional development is introduced into the Zodrow-Mieszkowski model of public-input provision. It is shown that allowing for region entry does not affect the analytical results of inefficient public-input provision under tax competition. This paper also shows that the equilibrium number of competing regions is inefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of the interplay between the two objectives of equity and efficiency for national policy-makers in charge of regional policy is becoming topical once again in regional economics. This paper first reviews this issue theoretically and looks at recent literature contributions to show that, although many advances have been made, little attention has been paid to the effects of regional structural differences on the trade-off between the two objectives. Then, to demonstrate that differences between the regions of which a country is composed may influence the results of the models, a new simple short-run two-country four-region model is introduced to study the trade-off (differentiating for different regional productivity and different strengths of agglomeration economies—which are innovatively modelled on the demand side). In this short-term model, the national policy-maker can affect entrepreneurship through the set-up costs of firms. Similarly to the traditional literature, for countries composed of identical regions, spatially dispersed allocations of public support to production are more efficient with low agglomeration economies whereas spatially concentrated allocations are more efficient with high agglomeration economies. As the regions become different, however, unbalanced allocations of public support to the most advanced region become more efficient even in the case of relatively weak agglomeration economies, until, when regions are sufficiently different, the most efficient allocation of public support to production is always concentrated in the most advanced territories. If some sort of compensating mechanisms were available, in the short-run the policy-makers could decide to support the competitiveness of the already more-productive regions and transfer income to the lagging ones. All these issues are studied with reference to southern Italy (“Mezzogiorno”) and eastern Germany (former DDR) in order to show not only the similarities with the model’s predictions but also the many differences, resulting from the far greater complexity of actual development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are dynamic economic and social structures that play a dominant role in both national and international economies. They are centers of population, production, consumption, and development. Cities utilize all advantages of economy of scale, proximity, and concentration. On the other hand, they produce high environmental pressures and diminish thereby the quality of life for urban residents. Indicators (environmental, economic, and governance and management) are seen as a tool that would help policy-makers in formulating urban policy that would lead cities towards sustainability and provide assistance for monitoring their development and municipal performance. The aim of this paper is to consider the role that urban indicators can play in city management. We present basic features of urban indicators that will determine their usefulness in urban management. This paper provides the framework to include environmental and economic indicators, as well as governance and management indicators, in successful urban management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of revenues pocketed by a government during the fiscal year often deviates from that projected by this government in its budget. Despite a flourishing literature on, for example, the technical or procedural determinants of such forecast errors, little is yet known about how political stratagems may affect forecast errors. In the present paper, we analyse whether differences in the level of government fragmentation are useful in explaining local government tax revenue forecast errors—controlling for various other factors. Using data on 242 Flemish municipalities for the period 1992–2002, we find that two-party governments are more optimistic than single-party governments. In contrast to our initial expectations, governments with at least three parties are significantly more careful (or less optimistic) in their revenue projections than single- or two-party governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When both vertical and horizontal externalities are at work in a federation, they generally distort levels of taxation in opposite directions. This article is an extension of the Keen and Kotsogiannis (Am Econ Rev March: 363–370, 2002) model. It focuses on state tax policy when states provide an industrial public good increasing firms’ marginal productivity rather than a residential public good intended to households. We find that some results related to whether equilibrium state taxes are likely to be too high or too low are much more complex when state-provided industrial public goods are considered. First, we show that in the presence of industrial public goods, a dominant vertical externality may result in state tax rates being too low (and not too high as it is the case with residential public goods). Second, we find that under certain conditions, horizontal and vertical externalities may point in the same direction and reinforce each other towards tax rates being too high or too low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is shown that integrated tariffs can be used to extract the consumer’s surplus when there are a lot of connections supplied so that the law of large numbers applies in the estimation of the consumer’s willingness to pay. The time validity limitations of tickets are explained by a nonlinear pricing approach. Links between optimal pricing in local public transport and network characteristics are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]