The role of fiscal policy in short-run macroeconomic stabilization is, by now, well known in the academic literature and in policy circles. However, this focus on the short-run, especially in a democracy, means that much less attention has been paid to the other consequences of the use of fiscal policy. By studying the intergenerational-welfare aspects of fiscal policy, this book deals with some fundamental issues of fiscal policy. Why does public debt tend to rise over time in democracies? Why is there a tendency for government spending on consumption and on social security to grow? Why do governments fail to invest in public capital adequately? Should a dollar transferred from the young be treated as a dollar transferred to the old? By studying the international aspects of fiscal policy, the book establishes international differences in fiscal policy as determinants of persistent trade imbalances and international indebtedness. It also considers some basic questions on international transfers and austerity in open economies. What criteria should be used to define a successful foreign-aid programme? Why is foreign aid likely to fail in a world of global wealth disparity? Can reliance be placed on the international coordination of austerity to improve welfare in the long run? Is austerity accompanied by international transfers superior to austerity unaccompanied by international transfers? This book based on the OLG model fills a gap on fiscal-policy issues in the recent spate of books on overlapping generations.

Money's Fiscal Dictionary details information about fiscal terms in encyclopaedic format in relation to British industry in 1910 when originally published. This text originally began as a column in The Morning Leader but was expanded upon to present this information in a more accessible and convenient way. This title will be of interest to students of Business and Economics.

An account of the later years of Tsarism. Witte presents portraits of the statesmen around him, explains the problem of bringing the economy to a level commensurate with Russia's putative position as the greatest land power in the world and the effort to create a constitutional monarchy.

An account of the later years of Tsarism. Witte presents portraits of the statesmen around him, explains the problem of bringing the economy to a level commensurate with Russia's putative position as the greatest land power in the world and the effort to create a constitutional monarchy.

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Peter Dickson's important study of the origins and development of the system of public borrowing which enabled Great Britain to emerge as a world power in the eighteenth century has long been out of print. The present print-on-demand volume reprints the book in the 1993 version published by Gregg Revivals, which made significant alterations to the 1967 original. These included a new introduction reviewing recent work, and, in particular, 33 pages of detailed annotations and corrections, which, taken together, justified its status as a second edition.

Originally published in 1919, A primer of National Finance discusses elements of financial principles with reference to facts and figures of British National Finance, Britain's financial position and general outline of where finances stood at the time of publication. Higgs aims to explain essential information about the political economy in a simple and concise way to reach a wider audience on issues related to wealth and production. This title will be of interest to students of Economics and Political History.

Can participatory budgeting help make public services really work for the public? Incorporating a range of experiments in ten different countries, this book provides the first comprehensive analysis of participatory budgeting in Europe and the effect it has had on democracy, the modernization of local government, social justice, gender mainstreaming and sustainable development. By focussing on the first decade of European participatory budgeting and analysing the results and the challenges affecting the agenda today it provides a critical appraisal of the participatory model. Detailed comparisons of European cases expose similarities and differences between political cultures and offer a strong empirical basis to discuss the theories of deliberative and participatory democracy and reveal contradictory tendencies between political systems, public administrations and democratic practices.

Country-Risk Analysis is a comprehensive, practical guide to the management of international risk and cross-border lending. The last fifteen years of international commercial bank lending have witnessed a classical boom-and-bust cycle. Yet it is only recently that a formalized approach to country risk assessment has been implemented in the major international banks.

Ron Solberg's volume provides a state-of-the-art review of the country risk techniques that have evolved in the context of dramatic changes in developing countries' debt service capacity and in international lending itself. It deals comprehensively with sovereign credit decision making, portfolio management, lending behaviour and financial innovations.

Robert Holton argues that the relationship between economy and society is one of mutual dependence, in which political and cultural arrangements influence the functioning of economic life, just as much as economic contingencies influence the shape of politics and culture. This argument is pursued by means of a critical historical survey of major social scientific traditions, including economic liberalism and political economy. The author moves on to discuss the differentiation and re-integration of economy and society,the viability of the market as an economic institution, the centrality of power in economic life, the significance of economic values and economic culture and the globalization of economy and society.

There is a long-standing difference amongst public economists between those who think that collective choice must be formally acknowledged, and those who derive their policy recommendations from a social planning framework in which politics plays no role. The purpose of this book is to contribute to a meaningful dialogue between these two groups, in the belief that the future of both political economy and of normative public finance lies somewhere between the two approaches. Some of the specific questions addressed in the book include: does public finance need political economy? Should collective choice play a role in the standard of reference used in normative public finance? What is a 'failure' in a non-market or policy process? And what have we learned about the theory and practice of public finance from three decades of empirical research on public choice? The book also provides a practitioner's view of the political economy of redistribution. The distinguished list of authors, many of whom are pre-eminent in their fields, includes Robin Boadway, Geoffrey Brennan, Albert Breton, AnIbal Cavaco Silva, Walter Hettich, Gebhard Kirchgassner, Dennis Mueller, William Niskanen, Hirofumi Shibata, Eugene Smolensky, Heinrich Ursprung, Frans van Winden, Stanley Winer and Donald Wittman. The importance of political economy to any understanding of why public policy evolves as it does is now widely accepted by public finance scholars and practitioners. This book goes a step further by considering the role of collective choice in defining what constitutes 'good' or 'better' policy. It will be an essential companion for all scholars of public finance and political economy.

Robert Holton argues that the relationship between economy and society is one of mutual dependence, in which political and cultural arrangements influence the functioning of economic life, just as much as economic contingencies influence the shape of politics and culture. This argument is pursued by means of a critical historical survey of major social scientific traditions, including economic liberalism and political economy. The author moves on to discuss the differentiation and re-integration of economy and society, the viability of the market as an economic institution, the centrality of power in economic life, the significance of economic values and economic culture, and the globalization of economy and society.

First Published in 1992. The federal budget has attained unparalleled significance at the heart of American politics in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The modern budget system has become the mechanism by which a distinctively American administrative state was put in place and made operative. The growth of the administrative state has transformed politics in America, but many Americans are unaware of its existence. This study looks at budget control within the realms of Congress, the Presidency and the development of the Administrative State.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume offers a new answer to an age-old problem: the meaning of a just or equitable distribution of resources. Julian Le Grand examines the principal interpretations of equity used by economists and political philosophers, and argues that none captures the essence of the term as well as an alternative conception relating equity to the existence or otherwise of individual choice. He shows that this conception is not only philosophically well-grounded but is also directly relevant to key areas of distributional policy. The theoretical argument is complemented by detailed discussion of the application of the central idea to specific areas of policy, including the distribution of health and health care, central government grants to local governments and the measurement of income for tax purposes. This book is written by an economist, but is intended for political philosophers and social policy analysts as well as economists. The key chapters are written in a non-technical fashion, with specialized material relegated to appendices.

This century has seen the continuation of long-term trends in the movement of the territorial boundaries of nation states alongside the emergence of new tensions. The repercussions of the Scottish referendum and the heightened urgency of the Catalonia question along with the continued economic problems faced by the Eurozone have given new energy and context to debates on institutional and fiscal autonomy. Assessing the impact of increasing calls for wider fiscal autonomy in the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy and the USA this volume updates and adds significant new context to the debate. Framing the discussion on fiscal autonomy and drawing out ethical considerations it portrays the problems connected with the devolution of responsibilities and financial resources to sections of the population, sometimes content to be part of a lower layer of government, sometimes aspiring to an asymmetrical position or total independence.

This text offers a new answer to an age-old problem: the meaning of a just or equitable distribution of resources. Julian Le Grand examines the principal interpretations of equity used by economists and political philosophers, and argues that none captures the essence of the term as well as an alternative conception relating equity to the existence or otherwise of individual choice. He shows that this conception is not only philosophically well-grounded but is also directly relevant to key areas of distributional policy. The theoretical argument is complemented by detailed discussion of the application of the central idea to specific areas of policy, including the distribution of health and health care, central government grants to local governments and the measurement of income for tax purposes. The book also includes chapters on the elusive trade-off between equity and efficiency, and on the incorporation of equity considerations into the measurement of changes in economic welfare. This book is written by an economist, but is intended for political philosophers and social policy analysts as well as economists.

In 1962, the Committee on Urban Economics held a conference on public expenditure decisions in order to promote analysis of the issues facing the public sector of the urban economy. Originally published in 1965, this report pulls together key papers presented at this conference discussing issues such as urban services, the patterns of public expenditure and the quality of government services in urban areas to draw conclusions on the difficulties of analysis and how economic tools could be utilised more effectively to solve these difficulties. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies and economics.

Public choice approaches have revolutionized contemporary political science, particularly in the United States. In addition, because public choice methods are closely associated with new right political movements, their impact on practical politics has also been considerable, for example, in encouraging the adoption of privatization and bureaucratic competition.

This collection of articles traces the evolution over the 1980s of budget policy and tax reform by an architect of the Bradley tax reform bill. The articles present a chronological analysis of tax changes and the heated controversy over budget policy and the deficit. It concludes with an analysis of what the future holds. The author, currently staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, has the perspective of a fiscal expert with many years on the Washington scene.

This collection of articles traces the evolution over the 1980s of budget policy and tax reform by an architect of the Bradley tax reform bill. The articles present a chronological analysis of tax changes and the heated controversy over budget policy and the deficit. It concludes with an analysis of what the future holds. The author, currently staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, has the perspective of a fiscal expert with many years on the Washington scene.

First published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

`Some think that decentralization has not gone "far enough" to be considered successful; others argue that it has already "failed". As the studies of decentralization in 15 developing countries in this volume clearly show, every case is different, and persuasive generalizations are hard to find. Fortunately, the introductory chapter usefully pulls this diverse reality together to highlight some key obstacles to successful decentralization and to suggest some approaches that might - provided that those in power are sufficiently supportive - lead to better outcomes in the future.' - Richard M. Bird, University of Toronto, Canada This insightful study examines the decentralization experiences from 15 countries in different regions of the world. All of these countries have actively attempted to decentralize, or continue to do so, and have faced obstacles serious enough to either derail or significantly delay their decentralization objectives. Decentralization in Developing Countries evaluates the main obstacles to the decentralization process. The contributors expertly discuss the flaws in the decentralization design, resistance from those holding traditional or central power and, uniquely, weak central governments. They then extract lessons for policymakers, regarding what may be done and what should ideally be avoided. This important book focuses on how to implement decentralization plans as whole complete processes, rather than examining individual aspects of decentralization. It will therefore prove invaluable for academics and researchers of development economics, public finance and in particular decentralization. Employees of various bodies, including DFID, UNDP, the World Bank, as well as other development banks and bilateral aid organizations, will also find it an informative resource.

State fiscal decisions have a significant impact on the US economy. Taken together, subnational governments employ more than one out of every eight workers and provide the bulk of all basic governmental services consumed by individuals and businesses. Sustaining the States: The Fiscal Viability of American State Governments will give you a basic understanding of trends in, current status of, and future prospects for the fiscal sustainability of state governments. After reading this book, you should have a great appreciation for the reach and multiple contributions of state governments to individuals and communities across the nation. The book examines the broad range and depth of state revenues, responsibilities, and activities. It begins with an assessment of executive budgeting in the states, then presents the experiences of states with strong executive-driven systems and the various rules and institutions that impact state government budget discipline. The book goes on to examine state revenue sources, debt, pensions, and spending, honing in on vital state functions including education, transportation, health services and public safety. It concludes with an assessment of the challenges that will test the fiscal vibrancy of US state governments going forward: vulnerability to future economic downturns, growing dependence on an increasingly austere federal government, the obsolescence of state tax systems and an ever more coercive system of federalism. Edited by experts, with a hand-picked panel of contributors, the book delineates the resources that states generate and use to conduct the business of government. The chapters outline the very real and significant constraints on the ability of the states to fulfill their responsibilities and introduce several challenges that state governments face and are actively addressing as they strive for fiscal sustainability. These features provide a clear, realistic understanding of state operations and financing in the United States, today. The book should also leave you with a sense of optimism for the capacity of state governments to advance forward.

What is the appropriate design for environmental regulation? Gert Tinggaard Svendsen sheds new light on the appropriate mix of economic instruments to implement environmental regulation in the context of the world-wide attempts to abate CO2 emissions. Gert Tinggaard Svendsen offers a detailed and comprehensive study of two alternative methods for controlling CO2 emissions - tradable permits and taxation - using examples of varying success from the United States and Europe. He applies a blend of environmental economic theory and public choice theory to analyse these methods and reveals that they both have merits. He proposes a design incorporating the best features of the two approaches because it is both cost-effective and politically and administratively feasible. In the case of C02 regulation, a CO2 permit market based on the US experience with free historical emissions should be applied in relation to industry, electric utilities and environmental organisations. The author proposes that a CO2 tax should be applied to non-organized interests, such as households and the transport sector, based on the EU experience. In particular, these policy recommendations are applied to potential CO2 permit markets in Europe and the United States. The interdisciplinary approach and the resulting policy recommendations make this book relevant to policymakers and academics across the social sciences. It will be particularly pertinent to those interested in environmental economics and public choice economics.