Search

In 2013, China launched her targeted poverty alleviation, and a large amount of fiscal anti-poverty funds have been invested. However, whether the enormous fiscal anti-poverty funds have had a positive impact on the local economy has been ambiguous. This study investigates the impact of fiscal anti-poverty funds on local economic growth, drawing on Chinese fiscal data at the county level. Our results indicate that fiscal anti-poverty funds are not conducive to local economic growth. Further analysis reveals that anti-poverty funds reduce fiscal support for the service industry, manufacturing industry, enterprise development, and technical innovation. This is because impoverished counties are forced to supply extra fiscal anti-poverty funds, which leads to compression of fiscal expenditures in other areas due to local deficient finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of digital inclusive financial development on local government expenditure incentives at the income level. It does so by constructing a multi-level government Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model that incorporates the financial sector. By employing empirical methods that involve uncertainty shocks and counterfactual simulations, the research yields several key findings. Firstly, the development of digital inclusive finance contributes to breaking down the urban-rural dual financial structure, thus facilitating balanced economic development within regions. Secondly, it reduces the proportion of financially excluded areas, accelerates fiscal decentralization, leading to an increase in local government fiscal revenue, and, consequently, an expansion of local fiscal expenditures. Thirdly, at a certain stage of digital inclusive finance development, it tends to crowd out residents' investment and consumption. Therefore, the decentralization of fiscal power and the expansion of local government expenditure at this stage may paradoxically inhibit regional economic growth. The study's conclusions validate the significant impact of digital inclusive finance on local government incentives at the income level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how natural disasters affect local public finances and their interplay with intergovernmental transfers and external resources. Exploiting the randomized nature of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history, we document its causal effect on the local government fiscal dynamics. Combining data on local government finance with reports on the level of damages and using difference-in-differences with instrumental variable to analyze the data, we show that local public revenue and expenditures remain largely unaffected, except for debt payments. However, we find important heterogeneity in local revenue responses: poorer municipalities raised comparatively lower revenue in the aftermath of the Typhoon. We also provide evidence that external funding did not lead to lower tax collection efforts, but instead leads to higher local expenditures, suggesting that disaster aid does not cause a moral hazard problem in local governments' spending decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management and accountability in the activities of regional autonomy and local finance are regulated by Government Regulation Number 1 of 2022, which states that financial management at the regional level starts from the initial planning to the supervision of the regional finances. The success of performance improvement is deemed effective when it aligns with government regulations. Kabupaten Tegal is one of the regions whose capacity to self-finance governance, development, and public services is still reliant on transfers from the central and provincial governments. This is evident in the low Regional Financial Independence Ratio, which stands at 22.10%. Kabupaten Tegal has yet to fully implement fiscal decentralization, as indicated by the fluctuating fiscal decentralization ratio, which falls into the low category. To provide better public services, Kabupaten Tegal must optimize its Local Own-Source Revenue (PAD) potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid globalization and the growth of immigration, countries worldwide have become multicultural societies and are experiencing social changes. Several studies have focused on the impact of foreign residents on society, particularly from a public finance perspective. The current study examines how foreign residents affect local budget expenditure in South Korea, which is currently facing a historically low fertility rate and the aging phenomenon. The employment permit system, which is a government-ordained system that allocates quotas for foreign employees by region and year, was adopted in the instrumental variable estimation to identify a causal linkage between foreign workers and local budget expenditure. We found that government spending decreases as the proportion of foreign residents among the total population increases, and this impact is particularly noticeable in social welfare spending. The results of a battery of robustness tests support these findings. Furthermore, the findings varied depending on the heterogeneities within regions and political regimes. Additionally, we found suggestive evidence that foreign workers are one of the main factors that contribute to the results, causing local governments to spend more money on non-productive areas such as administrative expenses. Overall, the results show that a sharp inflow of foreign residents may be a risk factor in terms of the quantity and quality of local budget expenditure in South Korea, suggesting that immigration policies should be operated effectively to secure the fiscal soundness and sustainability of local finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers and governments increasingly frame climate protection in terms of green growth, arguing that continued economic growth and climate protection are complementary and mutually beneficial. With such framing, governments hope to overcome the global common goods problem associated with climate change and to enable higher ambition on climate action within and across states. Yet, no empirical evidence to date has been provided on how widespread the support for green growth is in international climate politics. This paper, therefore, investigates which countries employ green growth framings at UNFCCC negotiations, and whether this relates to domestic factors, in particular economic structure, level of development and climate impacts. We conduct panel-data analysis on green growth positions derived from hand-coding a unique dataset of High-level Segment statements at the Convention of the Parties (COPs) from 2010 to 2019 for 151 countries. The results reveal that, to date, green growth proponents are those countries with the most advanced national clean energy technology (CET) capacities – as measured by the Green Complexity Index. The findings highlight that green growth is not promoted by all countries at international climate negotiations. In international climate negotiations, climate protection is increasingly framed as a green growth opportunity to motivate global ambition. Clean Energy Technology (CET) leading countries are more likely to use green growth framings than other less-technologically advanced peers and those with high exposure to climate risks. Mechanisms to support green growth pathways for all countries should be scaled up, including technology transfer and finance to foster local capacities and human capital. Given that green growth framings are not universally endorsed, further emphasis should be placed on additional co-benefits of climate action beyond economic growth, such as food and energy security, adaptation and resilience-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of scientometrics in evaluating scientists and institutions, highlighting the risks of prioritizing numerical targets over scientific quality. It discusses the complexities of using numerical indicators in research evaluation, including funding disparities among countries and the impact of international collaboration on scientometric figures.

This paper expounds the theoretical logic among digital inclusive finance, urbanization, and agricultural mechanization level, puts forward the research hypothesis, and then selects the county unbalanced panel data of 1309 counties in China from 2014 to 2020 based on the two-way fixed model with standard error clustering to county level and mediating effect model for empirical data regression analysis. Through baseline regression analysis, mediation effect analysis, and heterogeneity analysis, the findings of this paper are as follows. First, digital financial inclusion has a significant positive effect on the growth of agricultural mechanization. Second, digital inclusive finance at the county level can also indirectly affect the growth of agricultural mechanization through urbanization. That is, agricultural mechanization has an intermediary effect between the financial agglomeration at the county level and the growth of farmers' income. Third, the impact of county-level digital financial inclusion on the growth of agricultural mechanization level is significantly heterogeneous, and the promoting effect is significant in areas with balanced grain production, national-level poor county or contiguous areas of dire poverty, and areas with a good foundation for digital financial inclusion. By analyzing digital inclusive finance, urbanization, and agricultural mechanization, this paper proposes targeted policy recommendations. First, the government can promote agricultural mechanization by developing digital financial inclusion. Second, the government should guide and accelerate the process of digital financial inclusion, promoting urbanization thereby amplifying the positive impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural mechanization. Third, given the heterogeneity of the impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural mechanization, local development should focus on developing different dimensions of digital financial inclusion according to specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of democratic in 1999, couple with the 1999 constitutional provisions empowered States to control Local government finances; these have brought about the abuse of the fiscal autonomy of the local governments and the subversion of the capacity of that tier of government to perform its duties. The main thrust of this paper then is to investigate how fiscal federalism in Cross River State affects Akamkpa local government fiscal autonomy and its adverse implications on sustainable development in the rural areas. The study is a content analysis: Data for the study was generated from secondary sources. The study is anchored on the systems theory by David Easton (1965). The findings show that the absent of fiscal Federalism and autonomy in the Local Government has brought consequential affect on sustainable development in the rural areas. The researcher thus recommends that the provision in the constitution for state joint account should be amended to allow local governments have direct access to their statutory allocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the local economic impacts of extreme weather events and the role of local finance in economic resilience. We use data on the physical intensities of extreme wind and precipitation events for 284 prefecture-level cities in China between 2004 and 2013. We estimate impulse response functions using a bias-corrected method of moments estimator to capture the dynamic responses of affected cities up to 5 years after such events. We find that extreme precipitation events depress the growth of local GDP per capita for multiple years, while the negative effects of storms vanish after the first year. We then use this model to measure the economic resilience of cities to extreme weather events. Regressions of economic resilience on indicators of the local financial structure suggest that cities with higher levels of debt are less resilient. Moreover, the presence of state-owned commercial banks appears to be instrumental to regional economic resilience. As extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent and severe due to climate change, our results inform the emerging debate about regional economic resilience to weather-related shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abandoned houses have become a common feature of the local landscapes: the rising number of abandoned houses is a major challenge facing many counties in South Korea. Their presence negatively influences the neighborhood by undermining its aesthetic quality, depreciating the perception of safety in the neighborhood properties, and deepening the fiscal deficit of local financing. The detection of abandoned houses is the first step toward adequate housing management by local governments. This study aims to provide a cost-effective and prompt approach to identifying abandoned houses in rural areas. Multi-source data, that is, images and building registry data are utilized and a multi-input neural network is designed to adopt these heterogeneous datasets. Trained by the two source datasets, the proposed network achieves 86.2% accuracy in classifying abandoned houses, which is an acceptable performance level in administrative practice. The database of abandoned houses identified in this manner is expected to promote effective housing management by governments and ultimately contribute to mitigating vacancies in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the party alignment bias in Poland. Relying on quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design and 2006–2019 data for over 2,400 municipalities, we aim to establish whether the impact of political alignment on the distribution of grants from the central to the local governments has increased under the rules of populist, authoritarian government. We report robust evidence that provides an affirmative answer to this question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of decentralization is currently of great importance in Bulgaria. It is related to a number of reforms in local self-government, which require broad public consent. This consent should be derived or obtained after conducting a large-scale information campaign to acquaint the Bulgarian public with the administrative, political and financial framework of the local government. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the awareness of the local community on some key topics in the area of municipal revenue. The main method used is the survey method. The obtained results show that the local community has not reached this level of awareness, which would provide a solid basis for civil participation in the local self-government reform process. The conclusion to be drawn is that the state authority must conduct large-scale information campaigns and organize discussions on the issues of decentralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this article is to review and analyze the potential of local taxes in terms of increasing revenue to municipalities in Bulgaria. The analysis of local taxation covers a period of 4 years (2018-2021) and it is focused on two directions: to evaluate the collection level of local taxes and to indicate the degree of importance of local taxes compared to the revenues in the municipal budget. In order to guarantee proper information processing, the following methods are used: analysis and synthesis; grouping, systematization, classification, and structural analysis. Results and conclusions are providing information about the local taxes status and the need for change in the local policies in certain municipalities depending on their size and collection levels. The results will have a local impact on the evaluation of missed opportunities to the local budget's revenue capacity and the possibilities to increase their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal annexation has been one of the most widely adopted instruments for urban growth in the United States. Scholars of public choice and regional studies have long debated the fiscal effect of local government annexation. Few studies, however, examine the fiscal effect of municipal administrative annexations in China, where prefectural cities have extensively annexed county-level governments through forcefully converting rural counties into urban districts in a top-down manner. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) method coupled with an event study approach, we analyzed a panel data set of 282 prefectural cities from 2007 to 2015 to examine the fiscal impact of annexation in China. The findings show that prefectural cities have significantly increased their land conveyance fees through administrative annexation. Given that land conveyance fees serve as one of the most important own-source revenues at the local level, our findings shed light on the crucial link among the urbanization process, government reorganization, and local land finance in China and, potentially, in other transition countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federalism theorists debate the desirability of funding local services from local revenues or inter-governmental grants. Tiebout expects efficiency gains from local funding, but Oates says it perpetuates inequalities. Research using data from national probability samples has yet to show whether efficiency-equity trade-offs are associated with funding sources. We describe the trade-off in education by estimating the effect of revenue share from local sources on math and reading achievement. Data come from national probability samples of student performances on tests administered between 1990 and 2017. Relationships are estimated with OLS descriptive models, event study models of school finance reforms, and geographic discontinuity models that exploit differences in state funding policies. For every ten-percentage point increase in local revenue share, mean achievement rises by 0.05 standard deviations (sd) and socio-economic achievement gaps widen by 0.03sd. Voice and exit channels moderate the size of the efficiency-equity trade-off. Implications for inter-governmental grant policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most countries, the main financing source for local governments for infrastructure projects comes from the central government’s budget. However, considering the growing urban population, this source will be insufficient to meet the likely increasing infrastructure expenditures in the future as it is now. Local governments must explore alternative financing methods, including accession to capital markets. Nevertheless, most local governments, especially the small and medium-sized ones, do not have access to capital markets, due to their low creditworthiness and insufficient technical and administrative capacity. For this reason, some supportive mechanisms to increase the creditworthiness of local governments within the scope of the conventional financial system have been developed in many countries. Aspired by the well-proven methods of the conventional financial system, this paper proposes some supportive financing mechanisms for local governments based on Islamic financial principles. These mechanisms could help local governments to access capital with higher creditworthiness and contribute to the development of Islamic capital markets. In order to lower the borrowing costs for local governments by giving them direct or indirect access to capital markets, this study suggests five possible Islamic financing methods. However, because to the novelty of the subject, it attempts to lay the groundwork for future research that will yield fresh perspectives on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, China’s external demand growth has slowed down, and it is hard for domestic demand to replace its position. Therefore, increasing investment in network infrastructure has become an important choice for policymakers to stabilize growth. Based on this background, this article used the analytical framework of ‘Chinese‑style decentralization’ to theoretically analyze the interaction mechanisms of land finance, land financing, and local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. The study used the un‑ balanced panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2019 to empirically examine the interactive relationship between the three and then reconsidered the ‘land‑driven development’ mode. The results showed that: ① There was a positive interaction between land finance, land financing, and local governments’ investment in network infrastructure, and the interaction between the three showed obvious spatial and temporal differences. ② At the temporal level, there was a positive interaction between industrial land investment, land financing, and local governments’ investment in network infrastructure before 2012. Industrial land investment and land financing promoted local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. ③ At the regional level, in the eastern regions, there was a positive interaction between land financing and local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. Land financing promoted local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. In the central regions, land financing pushed local governments’ investment in network infrastructure, and in the western region, there was a positive interaction between land finance, land financing, and local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. In addition to the promoting role of land financing, the blessing of land finance also affected local governments’ investment in network infrastructure. Based on the empirical results, this article puts forward the following policy suggestions: Before finding a suitable alternative, it is not appropriate to completely abandon the ‘land‑driven development’ mode. Under the strict control of debt risks and other issues, it is still necessary for this mode to play an active role in promoting network infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with traditional finance, digital inclusive finance involves particular policies, different targeting, and wider coverage, plays a positive role in promoting the development of the real economy, and upgrades to industrial facilities. Based on the panel data of 288 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019, in this study, we empirically examined the impact of digital inclusive finance on upgrades to industrial structures. The experimental results showed a "U"-shaped nonlinear relationship between the development of digital inclusive finance and the upgrades to industrial structure. In particular, this conclusion remained valid after citing instrumental variables, replacing core explanatory variables, and performing other robustness tests. Furthermore, we used the threshold model to test the influence of digital inclusive finance on industrial structure upgrade, and observed a double threshold effect based on digital inclusive finance and local levels of economic development. Therefore, in the dynamic transformation towards digital inclusive finance and continuing economic development, the role of digital inclusive finance in promoting industrial structure upgrade continues to strengthen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article studies the effects of the competition for funds among Chilean municipalities. For this, a group of local officers with experience bidding to the Fondo de Desarrollo Regional (fndr) was interviewed. Regardless of its local relevance the competition for capital funds has been commonly scrutinized from a hierarchical perspective isolated from the administrative processes that took place before and after the fund's distribution. The article shows that the competition for fndr funds, despite securing the social return of investment, would favour better-off municipalities with larger populations jeopardizing the accomplishment of its objectives. Also, local projects would tend to seek central government compliance at the expense of what was locally proposed, evidencing an asymmetry between local and central officers. Finally, the competition would encourage the design of projects from a smaller magnitude and more visible for the community, thus affecting the development of the municipalities and the communities that inhabit them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of the tax impact on economic growth is of particular importance in the face of exacerbation of socio-economic, technological, environmental and other problems. Property taxes, as less distorting economic behavior, are attracting more and more attention of many researchers and are considered from the standpoint of a potential fiscal policy instrument in ensuring positive dynamics of economic development. The purpose of the article is to summarize modern approaches and research results on the impact of real estate tax on economic growth in order to identify opportunities for using tax instruments to stimulate economic development. It has been established that foreign researchers are studying the impact of taxes on real estate from the standpoint of distorting the distribution of resources in the economy, changing the decisions of economic agents on investment issues, growth rates of the housing stock, leveling income inequality, increasing the stability of tax systems to external shocks, etc. It was revealed that most authors consider the real estate tax as one of the most non-distorting, which, with a properly designed taxation mechanism, has practically no negative impact on economic activity, and therefore little hinders economic growth, helping to reduce income inequality, increase employment and income, efficient use of land. As a local tax, it is most often seen in terms of financing local budgets and is a useful tool for raising revenues and managing public finances, since raising effective rates and broadening the property tax base can offset cuts in other taxes that are more distortive of economic behavior. In Ukraine, the attention of the authors is focused on increasing the role of property taxes in providing income to local jurisdictions and strengthening their financial stability. There is a significant lack of domestic research on the impact of real estate tax on economic growth in Ukraine. Further research on the functioning of the real estate tax in the new conditions of changing paradigms of economic development and international relations, and on the impact of the real estate tax on economic growth in Ukraine could reveal new aspects of its use in the domestic tax system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals in low-income countries often contribute significantly to financing local public goods through informal taxation. However, there is limited understanding of how informal revenue generation relates to formal tax and governing institutions. We explore the relationship between informal revenue generation, public finance, and the state in the Gedo region in south-central Somalia, relying on original data from surveys with 2,300 households and 117 community leaders. Our evidence shows that informal revenue generation by non-armed actors in Gedo is prevalent, with informal payments deeply embedded within clan-based and Islamic institutions and rooted in a long history of decentralized political authority and self-reliance in the region. We argue that in such a context, rather than explaining how or why things 'work' outside of the state, it may be more relevant and valuable to consider decentralized non-state public authority as the default referent, with a need only to explain the puzzle of pockets of state effectiveness. Governance largely operates outside the state, with citizens playing a pivotal role in directly financing local governance institutions and public goods provision. These findings have important implications for our understanding of statehood and public finance in contexts of weak formal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement recognizes the important role that local level actors play in ensuring climate change adaptation that contributes to meeting the global temperature goal. As a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the largest dedicated climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is critical to achieving this goal. How GCF allocates its resources is therefore a critical area of research. This article assesses GCF's commitment to the local delivery of adaptation finance and identifies the key barriers to GCF's achievement of this commitment. The analysis finds that although GCF's policies and communications fully commit to funding local level adaptation, three key barriers still prevent it from delivering finance to the local level. First, GCF lacks a unified framework for identifying and defining the local level, local actors, and local adaptation processes. Second, GCF exhibits limited transparency and accountability in relation to how approved funding for adaptation is spent, particularly for projects that claim to generate local level adaptation outcomes. Third, some Accredited Entities have limited experience and capacity for designing and implementing projects that deliver finance to the local level. This is because the local delivery of finance is not prioritized by GCF during the accreditation of entities or provision of readiness support to Accredited Entities. Our findings indicate limited evidence of GCF's full operationalization of its commitment to supporting local adaptation. We recommend that GCF develop and apply a unified framework for defining what constitutes 'local'. GCF is committed to supporting local adaptation finance in developing countries but has failed to adequately operationalize this commitment. To increase local delivery of climate finance, GCF should develop a unified framework for local delivery of adapation finance that emphasises local actors' leadership in design, implementation, and management of adaptation projects. GCF should also increase transparency and accountability of funded projects to enable independent assessments of local delivery of adaptation finance by making project information, including financial reports publicly available. GCF should ensure that Accredited Entities have capacity to develop and deliver projects that deliver adaptation finance to the local level e.g. by requiring entities to provide evidence of support for local adaptation during accreditation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of the abolition of the civil service exam on local governance in early twentieth-century China. Before the abolition, local elites collected surtaxes that financed local public goods, but they were supervised by the state and could lose candidacy for higher status if they engaged in corrupt behavior. This prospect of upward mobility (POUM) gave them incentives to behave well, which the abolition of the exam removed. Using anti-elite protests as a proxy for the deterioration of local governance, we find that prefectures with a higher POUM experienced more incidents of anti-elite protests after the abolition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scenic area is a product of the improvement of living standards and the improvement of economic level. Many types of scenic spots have been developed in most areas. The development of scenic spots will affect the economic development level of a region, and it will also affect the living standards of local residents because the construction of scenic spots will consume a lot of financial and human resources. If the scenic area can be managed well, it will bring greater economic benefits to the local area. However, if the scenic area fails to operate, it can affect the local finances. This requires local managers to be able to grasp the development of the scenic area, which will avoid abnormal performance. However, the performance management of scenic spots is more difficult for local managers, and more cumbersome data will be involved here. This study uses the convolutional neural network (CNN) method to realize the image recognition technology of the characteristics of the scenic area's flow of people and tourists' preferences, and these characteristics will be displayed to the managers in the form of images. In this study, the collaborative filtering algorithm can be used to complete the active recommendation of abnormal performance of tourist scenic spots. This also enables CNN to achieve collaborative monitoring. The research results show that image recognition technology can better assist managers to manage the abnormal performance of scenic spots. CNN also has good accuracy in predicting related features such as the flow of people in scenic spots. The similarity index of the three features exceeds 0.9. This has achieved a high accuracy for anomaly detection of tourist attractions. The largest similarity index has reached 0.963. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural subjects, the agricultural industrial structure, public services and rural governance are fully empowered by digital villages. This empowerment effectively compensates for the urban-rural digital divide and promotes the equalization of urban-rural income, consumption, education, medical care, and governance. Based on the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and Malmquist index, this article conducts an in-depth study of the static and dynamic efficiency trends of digital villages that empower urban-rural balanced development in 31 provinces in China from 2015 to 2020. The results show that comprehensive technical efficiency of 31 provinces is weak DEA effective, and that the scale efficiency is the main factor affecting comprehensive technical efficiency. The educational level, local finance and industrial structure optimization have a significant positive impact on efficiency evaluation, but technological innovation and the urbanization level have a significant negative impact. Total factor productivity shows diminishing marginal utility based on the Malmquist index and its decomposition change. Restricted by the change in technological progress, the efficiency of digital villages in China in enabling urban-rural equilibrium needs to be further improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimize administrative management processes in the municipalities, it is necessary to have more training for civil servants so that they can redistribute resources more efficiently. The municipal revenue model for the State of Mexico in 2020 showed that: 1) The population and real estate cadastral value variables were determinant in explaining total public revenues-following in significance the municipal GDP; 2) Cadastral value explains with high significance the amounts collected in municipal revenues and taxes in the State of Mexico, thus, as cadastral properties have a higher value, it would result in increases in municipal revenues and taxes-while the population variable explains, in the inverse sense, these two figures, resulting in that, with increases in population, there would be decreases in municipal revenues and taxes; 3) There is no fiscal laziness since the resources obtained from federal participations do not discourage the collection of local taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study over Municipal Solid Waste-Income, dataset 103×18, Italian provinces. • Panel threshold, rolling Chow test for structural breaks. • The rolling chow test signs structural breaks in 2008, 2011 and 2013. • 71 provinces have decoupled economic activity from waste production in 2018. Municipal solid waste prevention represents a topical point in circular economy policies within the European Union. It is therefore paramount to assess its state of decoupling from economic activity. There is weak evidence from empirical research that Italy managed to achieve this structural change locally. Decoupling is not arising homogenously in the waste generation-income relationship in Italy over the last two decades. The heterogeneity in economic performances and waste policies could be an explanation. However, it is possible to find common patterns between decoupler against non-decoupler provinces. This paper involves panel data of 103 provinces during eighteen years (2001–2018) of Italian Provinces (NUTS3) to assess the drivers of structural changes in the income-waste relation. The innovation consists of the use of a threshold model to assess the minimal requirements of socio-economic performances to decouple economic activity to non-separated waste. The threshold point differs from the tipping point as it is always observable in the panel. Previous studies mostly estimated the latter involving panel data analysis. This often resulted in fallacious interpretation, especially due to spurious regressions. The observability is a relevant criterion, as several provinces have achieved the decoupling state. Results indicate that economic activity and tourist are relevant threshold variables in waste prevention. Both are sources of local financing; thus, it is probable that circular practices are dependent on the volume of potential expenditure rather than structural characteristics such as population density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only the Central Government, local governments also have a role to shape, adapt and provide a holistic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most important actions taken by local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic is to make immediate, timely, and targeted decisions for the right institutions in order to give an effective response. Regarding financing, the main point is to focus on increasing support and accelerating fiscal transfer funds to local governments in an effort handle COVID-19. This paper wants to observe the empirical practice of local governments in various countries in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in terms of financing various programs and activities related to the COVID-19 response. Literature was obtained from several databases, namely PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Of the 783 articles obtained at the start of the search, in the end only 11 articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is aparrent in all parts of the world, including in countries' local governments, that forced them to carry out various efforts of mitigating the severity of the pandemic. Although the detailes of local governments budgeting were not found in most of the articles studied in this literature review, it is sufficient to provide a fairly significant picture of the function of local government in tackling the spread of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only the Central Government, local governments also have a role to shape, adapt and provide a holistic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most important actions taken by local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic is to make immediate, timely, and targeted decisions for the right institutions in order to give an effective response. Regarding financing, the main point is to focus on increasing support and accelerating fiscal transfer funds to local governments in an effort handle COVID-19. This paper wants to observe the empirical practice of local governments in various countries in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in terms of financing various programs and activities related to the COVID-19 response. Literature was obtained from several databases, namely PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Of the 783 articles obtained at the start of the search, in the end only 11 articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is aparrent in all parts of the world, including in countries' local governments, that forced them to carry out various efforts of mitigating the severity of the pandemic. Although the detailes of local governments budgeting were not found in most of the articles studied in this literature review, it is sufficient to provide a fairly significant picture of the function of local government in tackling the spread of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study provision of schools in the Indian setting and the challenges associated with a heterogeneous society when local communities play an active role in provision. Based on the political economy literature we expect more fragmented communities to have weaker collective action. We hypothesise that this weak tendency to act collectively impacts different schools differently depending on the extent of their reliance on local community action. Consistent with our expectation, we show that there are fewer schools financed by local community (private and local government schools) in fragmented districts. Presence of public schools, provided by state and central government, for which the community has little discretionary financing powers, is not impacted. However, since public schools rely on active community action for monitoring of schools, they are found to be of poor quality. Exhaustive empirical tests have been performed to support the mechanism and discount alternative explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conspicuous feature of cities in India is that the basket of revenue sources with municipalities is very narrow. However, the authorities have not exploited the revenue sources already available to them such as property tax, vacant land tax, and other land‐based revenue instruments. This is puzzling as land values in Indian cities are increasing exorbitantly, creating windfall benefits to landowners. The economic theory highlights the merits of land as a tax base to finance local public goods on efficiency, ability to pay, equity and benefit principles. Further, internationally, countries have successfully adopted land‐based instruments to finance, urban development projects during their urban transition. This article attempts to draw lessons from theory and practice for municipal finance reforms in India. As the context of fiscal federalism differs between countries, obviously not all revenue instruments adopted in other countries can be readily applied in India. Accordingly, we study the initiatives of Hyderabad and Bengaluru cities in using urban land as a resource to identify appropriate instruments for Indian cities. We combine theory with the practices followed by the two pioneering cities to suggest a reform agenda in India for designing land‐based tools to finance city infrastructure and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to highlight the importance of funding through the M19 LEADER measure on eligible territories from a qualitative perspective through the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods: questionnaire and interview, designed to confirm or deny the importance of LEADER funding on rural development of the LAG territory at the level of the Romanian regions. The analysis was realised in period between 31.10.2020 - 31.05.2021. The data collected come in support of a deeper understanding of the LEADER approach and the way in which it acts in the territory, implicitly of the identification and remedy of deficiencies. Following the analysis, based on a series of questions sent to the representatives of the local action groups, questions related to territorial, financial and social issues were found that: over 70% of LAGs face an aging population and lack of jobs work, over 70% of the eligible territories being inhabited by the population aged between 40 and 50, territories where agriculture is the main income-generating resource (100% of respondents). All respondents consider that LEADER financing is very important but also insufficient for the needs of the territory (over 85% of respondents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative banks perform a strong role in the EU economies and the banking sectors. In 2015, an Italian reform forced the Italian cooperative banks with assets higher than 8 billion euros to leave their mutual nature (one head one vote) and to transform into limited companies. The rationale underlying this law would support the idea that corporation is a superior banking model than the cooperative one, at least for larger banks. However, in many European countries (France, Germany, The Netherlands, Finland, etc.), large cooperative banks still operate and represent leading banks in national and international economies. Using a sample of 253 European commercial banks, of which 68 cooperatives, from 8 European countries, where the cooperative model is important (as it was in Italy, before the reform), we found that in 2019 larger cooperative banks (i.e., with assets higher than 8 billion euros) have lower systematic and business risk, better asset quality, are more oriented to finance the local real economy as well as to satisfy their customers (borrowers and depositors) rather than their shareholders, in comparison with comparable non-cooperatives. In addition, they are more homogeneous among themselves and adopt a stable and recognizable business model, no matter if they differ in size. Therefore, more than 10 years after the 2008 crisis, they still represent a good model of financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the "land-debt" financing pattern in China in the context of local governments under fiscal pressure and analyzes the development and economic effects of land financialization. Using a difference-in-differences approach based on the exogenous shock of city–county mergers, we find that city–county mergers significantly boost local governments' debt issuance, causing land financialization. City–county mergers relax land resource constraints on local governments, increasing land held by local government financing vehicles (land mortgages) and land transfer revenue (land guarantees). Accordingly, it is as such an impact mechanism rather than a fiscal pressure that mainly leads to debt expansion. We also document that this effect is more pronounced in China's central and western regions, where land is more correlated with local economies; in periods when the central government does not regulate local land financing; and in areas where officials have strong promotion incentives. Further analysis reveals that most of the debt funds raised by city–county mergers are used for infrastructure construction and loan repayment, and the increasing debt risk of local governments should also be a matter of concern. • City–county mergers significantly boost local governments' debt issuance, causing land financialization in China. • City–county mergers relax the land resource constraints, enhancing land held by local government financing vehicles and land transfer revenue. • Debts raised by city-county mergers, mainly for infrastructure and loan repayment, pose rising risk concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation between renewable energy technology innovation (RENTI) and carbon neutrality has been studied extensively. Meanwhile, an efficient digital financial system and a favorable innovation environment are essential to promote RENTI. This paper examines the effects of digital finance and the regional innovation environment on RENTI using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces spanning 2011 to 2020. The findings demonstrate that digital finance directly promotes RENTI. The marginal effect of digital finance is more significant for eastern regions and regions with developed finance. The threshold effect analysis shows that the positive impact of digital finance on RENTI reaches a higher level when government financial support and ICT development exceed a certain threshold. In addition, appropriate levels of human capital are conducive to the positive impact of digital finance. Finally, we find that digital finance promotes local RENTI and benefits RENTI in neighboring regions. Our findings offer insights for policymakers to guide digital finance to support RENTI and optimize the innovation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the policy to replace the business tax with a value-added tax was launched, local finance has encountered greater difficulties. In recent years, the economic downward pressure has made the dilemma far more serious. Some scholars, even from state level, showed some intentions of recommending that the consumption tax should be changed from the current central tax to a local tax or a shared tax to relieve the pressure of local governments. In this paper, we proved by presenting recent year's tax figures of business, consumption, and local and central fiscals and their growth rate that replacing the consumption tax with a local tax does not exactly correspond to the trend of China's reform of the financial system, the functional orientation of the consumption tax, and the nature of the consumption tax itself and may trigger some problems, and it may still be a better choice for the consumption tax to serve as a central tax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure upon local governments to redeem their debt could affect government fiscal ability. It could consequently affect their fiscal policies on corporations, which might distort corporate innovation. Based on the data of Chinese Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies and the local government implicit short-term debt financed by local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) in 31 provinces, this paper shows that local government debt (LGD) negatively affects corporate R&D investment in China, thereby suggesting a strong crowding-out effect. The crowding-out effect is more pronounced when the firm is a non-state-owned enterprise (NSOE), the firm's size is small, the firm's age is young, or the firm is in the lower market competition. This paper provide evidence by interacting the terms that local government actions, such as consumption of fiscal resources, strengthening tax collection efforts, or consumption of credit resources, might partially account for the crowding-out effect. This study illustrates the innovation costs of local government debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the impacts, actual and potential, of China's development experiences upon development thinking and policies elsewhere. New Structural Economics, a theoretical innovation by Professor Justin Yifu Lin drawing on a longer tradition of pragmatic 'learning by doing' development strategies, provides a framework in which three agendas stand out: structural transformation as a policy priority; the return of industrial policy; and the use of Special Economic Zones. We integrate related drivers of growth in China: rapid urbanisation pulling in massive rural migration in an economic transformation process; the financing of provincial and city governments by improvised local government financing vehicles based on rising urban land values; and competition and accountability processes in China's subnational governance system. While China's experiences cannot be directly replicated elsewhere, we argue that lessons on why and how to achieve structural transformation are relevant for other developing countries, especially in fast urbanising and integrating Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a challenge faced by all countries worldwide. This paper focuses on a factor that has been less well documented: the consumption loss of farmer households caused by the fluctuation of rural public expenditure. Based on large-scale micro household data and climate data, the instrumental variable estimation results show that every 1% fluctuation of rural public expenditure will lead to a 0.113% decrease in farm household consumption. In addition, the fluctuation of rural public expenditure is also a main cause of long-term consumption loss of farmer households. Furthermore, it was found that the impact of rural public expenditure fluctuation on consumption loss is of certain spatial heterogeneity. The worse the spatial environment is, the more serious the consumption loss will be. The policy suggestion of this paper is to ensure a stable scale of rural public expenditure through the central transfer payment, so as to improve the ability of local governments to implement counter cyclical public policies, and transform local finance (industrial investment) into public finance (infrastructure and education) to improve the local space environment. Overall, this study reveals the impact of spatial externality on rural poverty from the perspective of public expenditure fluctuation, and at the same time provides empirical evidence for a better evaluation of the relationship between development and poverty and support for rational regional anti-poverty policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the research The aim of the study was to analyze and evaluate the financial indicators of local self-government and on this basis to make recommendations on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of local self-government. Methods: Both general and specific scientific methods were used in the research, such as analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, method of expert evaluations. Results: An analysis of the legal framework in the field of local finance and the methodology for assessing the financial condition of municipalities was performed. Based on the development, an assessment of the local self-government was made according to the tested indicators. A number of author's conclusions have been made regarding the current state of the municipalities. Author's views on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of local self-government are presented. Conclusions: The system of local finances is a reflection of the relations between the central and local government, between the local government and the representatives of the local community. At present, a significant part of local budgets are still heavily dependent on government transfers from the central budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land prices are the key problem of urban land management, with prices of residential land being the most sensitive and the strongest social reflection among the different land types. Exploring spatial and temporal variation of residential land prices and the effect of land market factors on residential land prices can help the government formulate targeted regulations and policies. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal evolution of residential land prices and the factors influencing the land market in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on land transaction data from 2014–2017 using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results show the following: ① Residential land prices in Beijing and Tianjin are significantly higher than those in other regions, while Zhangjiakou, Chengde, and western mountainous areas have the lowest residential land prices. Over time, a development trend of residential land price polycentricity gradually emerged, and the locational correlation has gradually increased. ② Under the influence of the land finance model of local governments in China, three factors, namely, the land stock utilization rate, revenue from residential land transfers, and the growth of residential land transaction areas, have significantly contributed to the increase in residential land prices. ③ Under the land market supply and demand mechanism and government management, four indicators, namely, the land supply rate, the per capita residential land supply area, the degree of marketization of the residential land supply, and the frequency of residential land transactions, have suppressed the rise in residential land prices. ④ The overall effect of land market factors on residential land prices in the central and northern regions of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is stronger than that in the southern regions, which may be related to the more active land market and stricter macromanagement policies in Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous expansion results in urban problems such as congestion, pollution, and crime that seriously threaten the sustainable development of Chinese cities. How to promote the development of efficient and livable cities in China is of great significance in easing the pressure of urban development and promoting healthy urban development. Based on Didi's "urban development index," this study explores the spatial distribution and spatial driving factors of urban livability in China through Theil index decomposition, standard deviation ellipse analysis, global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, and multiscale geographically weighted regression with lagged dependent variables (MGWRL) model analysis. The results reveal the following three points. First, China's urban livability presents a spatial pattern of "east-west-middle" decreasing, with large spatial distribution differences and significant spatial dependence. Second, the effects of urban livability influencing factors have spatial scale differences. The impact of global variables such as human capital, fixed assets investment, medical level, and greening degree on urban livability is consistent at the global level. Local variables such as finance, urbanization, advanced industrial structure, and foreign trade only have consistent impacts on urban livability in local regions, and the scope of these regions varies with different variables. Third, it is further found that the effects of some local variables on urban livability have spatial heterogeneity. The effects of finance on urban livability shows a decreasing trend from east to west and from north to south in space; the effects of advanced industrial structure on urban livability are spatially characterized by outward radiation attenuation along the Yellow River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River; only less than one-third of the local regression coefficients of variables such as spatial lag, urbanization, and foreign trade passed the significance test. Relevant government departments should pay full attention to the spatial pattern and spatial dependence of urban livability in China, and make overall planning and improvement strategies; attention should be paid to the spatial scale difference and the spatial heterogeneity of influencing factors in policy formulation, and the differentiated development policy of livable cities should be put forward according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of local development, the sources of financing are decisive and own sources are even more so, due to the complexity of accessing external sources. Within this framework of monetary resources, tax fees, due to their peculiar taxable event and the specific purpose of their collection, occupy a special place. In Cuba, even when local development is a priority in the country's policy and there are several sources of financing, these are insufficient, while tax fees do not play a leading role. In this sense, the objective of this work is to argue the theoretical assumptions to introduce in Cuba tax fees that contribute to finance local development and for this purpose the following methods have been used: analytical-legal, in order to assess the different legal provisions that regulate the sources of financing in Cuba, particularly tax fees and other related revenues, whether they expressly recognize them, as if their configuration responds to that of a fee without declaring it and the legal comparison to contrast the different rules that provide tax fees, although they are diverse regulations. The main result consists of a proposal for a uniform and systemic regulation of a set of fees which taxable event is constituted by the provision of a service or the performance of an activity by the State or the special use of things of public domain, of municipal competence, which collection has a specific purpose, thus favoring the financing of local development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive funds that are necessary to finance China's capital-intensive urbanisation are channelled through Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVs), which are established by local governments to circumvent the prohibition on borrowing. This study examines LGFV development and how this land financing development strategy influences villagers. We argue that China's discriminatory land property system and the feature of land being a captive asset allow local governments to transfer their debt pressure to land-losing villagers. Specifically, we find that more indebted local governments take a more extractive approach by paying land-losing villagers less compensation, suggesting the intrinsic connections of the local state, land-centred local public finance and society in China's urban transformation. Our findings suggest that local governments can be developmental and predatory at the same time. Our arguments are developed using data that combine a self-compiled data set on LGFV debt with the China Household Finance Surveys. It systematically examines the connections between land financing via LGFVs and land-losing villagers. It contributes to a better understanding of the debt-fuelled urbanisation in China and, more broadly, of how the state intervenes in the economy and impacts distributive justice in developing and transition economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local party-state has always been a major source of extrajudicial influence in China. Drawing on interviews with judges, this article examines the impact of Xi Jinping's ambitious judicial centralization reforms, which are aimed at enhancing judicial autonomy by transferring authority over local court personnel and finances from local to provincial level. It finds that the reforms have achieved limited results. Although many appointment and budgetary powers were formally transferred to the provincial level, the local party-state retains considerable influence in both areas owing to its superior manpower, local knowledge and, in the case of developed regions, financial resources. Moreover, the local party-state maintains significant informal influence over the courts, which require many forms of discretionary assistance from various state organs – ranging from appropriating land for new courthouses to providing police protection for remote tribunals – in order to function. This setback highlights the depth and complexity of the courts' political and economic embeddedness and serves as a reminder of the inherent difficulty of institutionalizing judicial autonomy, however limited, in a large and diverse party-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]