Under pressure from both the Federal government and private citizens, local and state governments are restructuring their services, including the areas of education, highway, and transportation. While the federal government wants to reassign responsibilities to local governments, voters want greater efficiency and lower taxes via privatization. This edited collection considers these pressures, the responses from state and local governments, and specific experiments in privatizing local services.

The book's opening chapter presents an overview of the changing landscape, while the following chapters consider possibilities in both education and highway services. In education, interdistrict school choice and state-local structures are considered. Highway services are seen in federal-state and state-private relationships. Reporting on a variety of experiments, each chapter illustrates a type of service or arrangement for restructuring governmental services.

A study of budgeting and financial administration in developing countries, which probes reasons for failure and solutions for improvement. The contributors are all involved in relating prescription to practice, and theory to reality in this area. Their essays all seek to provide practical advice to administrators caught up in the ever-changing, unpredictable contemporary environment.

This book provides new interdisciplinary and comparative answers as to why banking sectors in 'liberal' and 'coordinated' market economies operated under a shared set of rules during the Global Financial Crisis. Exploring the role of complex interactions among interdependent structures, institutions and agents defines this banking behaviour.

In 1999 a number of member states of the European Union will adopt a common currency. This change in the monetary system requires that a Eur opean Central Bank is set up and a common monetary policy is pursued. There is general agreement among those countries which are likely to join the common currency that price level stability has to be the ultimate objec tive of monetary po1icy. It is an open issue, however, what kind of policy is best suited for that purpose. The alternative strategies under discussion are a direct inflation targeting, an intermediate monetary targeting or a mixture of both. For these policy strategies a stable money demand relation is of cen tral importance. Therefore a workshop on Money Demand in Europe was organized at the Humboldt University in Berlin on October 10/11, 1997. This research conference brought together academic and central bank econo mists and econometricians predominantly from Europe to discuss issues on specification, estimation and, in particular, stability of money demand rela tions both in a single equation and in a systems framework. In this volume revised versions of the papers presented and discussed at the workshop are collected. The volume thereby gives an overview of money demand analysis in Europe on the eve of the introduction of the Euro in some European countries. It contributes to the discussion on a suitable monetary policy for the new European Central Bank."

The Stability and Growth Pact provides for the systematic surveillance of the fiscal policies of 25 EU member states. On this basis, this book provides an overview of themes in current fiscal policy, including the impact of ageing populations on fiscal sustainability, fiscal policy over the cycle, fiscal decentralization and expenditure reforms.

The system for allocating public expenditure to the nations and regions of the UK has broken down. Money goes to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the notorious Barnett formula, but this is collapsing and cannot last long. Money goes to the English regions by poorly-understood formulae that work badly. People in every region think that the system is unfair to them. The Fiscal Crisis of the United Kingdom suggests how the system could be fixed, drawing lessons from Australia and Canada. It recommends a Territorial Grants Commission.

This book presents the first comprehensive and unbiased assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions about waste-to-energy (WTE) projects in the United States. Information about each WTE project initiated between 1982 to 1990 is combined with detailed socioeconomic data at the county level to identify the social and economic differences between counties that have completed WTE facilities and counties that have abandoned their projects during the planning process. To examine the effects of political objectives, public attitudes, and the decision process itself, the book reports on four in-depth case studies--two directed at communities that have accepted WTE and two that have canceled WTE projects. The book also discusses the potential health and environmental risks posed by WTE and alternative waste practices, legislative initiatives and regulatory uncertainties, and the potential for energy production from burning our municipal waste.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration, commonly called waste-to-energy (WTE), was adopted by many U.S. communities during the 1980s and now is used to manage about 16% of all U.S. MSW. Many experts forecasted that WTE would be used to manage as much as half of all garbage by the turn of the century. Those forecasts and the long-run viability of WTE are now challenged by massive cancellations of WTE projects across the United States. Between 1986 and 1990, 207 WTE projects were abandoned, compared to only 140 operational facilities in 1990.

Why have these cancellations occurred, and what do they tell us about the long-run viability of WTE? This book addresses these questions and presents the first comprehensive and unbiased assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions about WTE in the United States. The book adopts a three-pronged approach to investigate (1) the relationships between a community's decision about WTE and the social and economic characteristics of that community, (2) the impacts of recent changes in financial markets on the viability of WTE, and (3) the decision-making process by which communities decide about WTE. The first two objectives are met by the collection and analysis of data on all U.S. WTE projects from 1982 to 1990. The latter objective is met by way of four in-depth case studies--two directed at communities that have accepted WTE and two that have canceled WTE projects. The book also discusses the potential health and environmental risks posed by WTE and alternative waste practices, legislative initiatives and regulatory uncertainties, and the potential for energy production from burning our municipal waste.

The aim of this book is to analyse specific sets of macro and structural policies in selected Eastern European countries. The book includes studies on the major Western CIS countries, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, plus a set of cross-country and regional studies. The analysis in this book contributes importantly to the discussion about the economic prospects of the CIS countries.

This book presents case-studies in accountable government and the management of public funds, with particular reference to the multi-party political systems of Botswana, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Zambia under the Third Republic. Criteria for judging accountability are set out, and the role and influence of political leadership, elections, parties, parliaments, interest groups, the media and external donors are explored. Conclusions take account of the comparisons which are drawn with the experience of single-party regimes in Africa and Asia.

Situating Gorbachev and perestroika historically and ideologically, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of Soviet political economy in the context of socialist theory and seven decades of its application in the Soviet Union. A. F. Dowlah challenges the belief that socialism is sternly committed to centralized economic and political structures, and claims that socialism contains several theories, some more decentralized or democratic, others more authoritarian. Although the contemporary crisis in the socialist economies powerfully challenges the foundations of socialist theory and practice, Gorbachev, up until the coup attempt of August 1991, claimed that perestoika embodied more socialism, not less, and he was looking within the socialist tradition to solve contemporary Soviet problems. This work examines Gorbachev's claim and evaluates perestroika as a strategy of transition to a new variant of socialism. Based on thorough inquiry, textual evidence, and historical facts, the study concludes that Gorbachev's claims are substantially legitimate, and that a democratic version of socialism is possible within the Russian socialist tradition. It remains to be seen, however, in light of recent political and economic developments, whether this, or some more radical set of reforms, will emerge in Gorbachev's troubled economy.

To follow.

Alberto Heimler and Daniele Meulders In the last decade the modelling of the interrelationship between public finance and the rest of the economy has seen substantial advances, reflected in many of the papers delivered to the Applied Econometrics Association Conference held at Confindustria, Rome, on 30 November and 1 December 1989. In particular, the development of the literature on applied general-equilibrium modelling has found most of its applications in the field of taxation, enlarging and completing the estimation of the welfare loss due to distortionary taxes. In this context an important extension has been the introduction of overlapping-generation models. Furthermore, it has become clear that most individual decisions, especially the decision whether or not to work, are dependent upon the tax system, in the sense that the higher the marginal income tax the larger the wedge between labour cost and take-home pay, the last one being the decision variable in the demand for leisure. Finally, in the European context, the completion of the internal market has brought about the necessity to harmonize fiscal systems in the EEC member countries. A number of papers study, therefore, the effects of fiscal reform on efficiency, welfare and growth.

Provides descriptions, instructions, and exercises to help readers master government budgeting as it is actually practiced.

The Handbook of Public Finance provides a definitive source, reference, and text for the field of public finance. In 18 chapters it surveys the state of the art - the tradition and breadth of the field but also its current status and recent developments. The Handbook's intellectual foundation and orientation is truly multidisciplinary. Throughout its examination of the standard material of public finance, it explores the connections between that material and such neighboring fields as political science, sociology, law, and public administration.

The editors and contributors to the Handbook are distinguished scholars who write clearly and accessibly about the political economy of government budgets and their policy implications. To address the needs and interests of international scholars, they place European issues next to the American agenda and give attention to the issues of transformation in Central Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

General Editors: JA1/4rgen G. Backhaus, University of Erfurt
Richard E. Wagner, George Mason University
Contributors: Andy H. Barnett, Charles B. Blankart, Thomas E. Borcherding, Rainald Borck, Geoffrey Brennan, Giuseppe Eusepi, J. Stephen Ferris, Fred E. Folvary, Andrea Garzoni, Heinz Grossekettaler, Walter Hettich, Scott Hinds, Randall G. Holcombe, Jean-Michel Josselin, Carla Marchese, Alain Marciano, William S. Peirce, Nicholas Sanchez, David Schap, A. Allan Schmid, Russell S. Sobel, Stanley L. Winer, Bruce Yandle.

An inside view of the forces which shaped SEPA and the PSD written from the unique perspective of someone closely involved throughout the process. It uncovers the strategic, legal and practical implications of the full harmonization agenda and provides an assessment of where these initiatives stand today, including key lessons learned.

To accompany the hugely successful 'Methods for Economic Evalution of Health Care Programmes 2 e', this book is a thorough and rigorous discussion of the methodological principles and recent advances in the rapidly advancing field of theory and practice of economic evaluation in health care. Written by an internationally acclaimed group of authors, the book provides an in-depth discussion of the latest theoretical advances and gives comprehensive reviews of the available literature. The book covers the main areas of economic evaluation, including the methods for measuring costs and outcomes, the collection of data alongside clinical studies, ways of handling uncertainty, discounting and issues relating to the transferability of ecoonomic data.

It is an ideal book for those studying economic evaluation on postgraduate or professional courses in health economics or public health.

Using a comparative framework, this volume presents case studies of issues of public procurement and discusses how procurement professionals and policy makers in different regions are responding to these challenges. This book discusses current issues in public procurement. Over the past few decades, public procurement has had to evolve conceptually and organizationally in the face of unrelenting budget constraints, government downsizing, public demand for increased transparency in public procurement, as well as greater concerns about efficiency, fairness and equity. Procurement professionals have also had to deal with a changeable climate produced by emerging technology, environmental concerns, and ongoing tension between complex regional trade agreements and national socioeconomic goals. The first section discusses innovation and reforms in public procurement and how practitioners are adapting to and making use of new technologies. The second section addresses the challenges of maintaining transparency, equity, and fairness in public procurement. The final section discusses preferential public procurement and introduces strategies for building sustainable public procurement systems. By combining theory and analysis with evidence from the real world, this book is of equal use to academics, policy makers, and procurement professionals.

This book on the different aspects of international economic policy covers financial crises, reserve accumulation, capital flows and currency wars as well as issues relating to foreign direct investment and developments in China and India.

The Japanese Postal Savings System is the largest financial institution in the world, private or public. It controls gigantic amounts of financial assets. Whether, how, and when to privatize it is a major issue in Japanese politics which has ramifications for the financial world outside Japan. This is the only book to provide an overall view of the system. It is a rich mixture of policy, institutional, and quantitative analysis.

This book proposes a method for calculating China's debt based on a quantitative econometric analysis. This is conducted by measuring the relationship between China's debt size and economic growth. The conclusion that is reached is as follows: China's current debt has already exceeded the inflection point, and that means that it is now having an adverse effect on its economic performance. The book also focuses on China's debt problems as a whole, highlighting debt issues faced by different entities and industries, as well as the ratio and structure of the virtual and real economies. The contents are presented in three major principles: theory, oriented,data, and oriented policy.

Consumer credit is an integral part of many western societies. This book provides a comprehensive view of how credit granting institutions operate and discusses the relationship between the strategic objectives set by senior management and the operational strategies employed by credit professions working at the coal face of credit provision.

Denmark and Switzerland are small and successful countries with exceptionally content populations. However, they have very different political institutions and economic models. They have followed the general tendency in the West toward economic convergence, but both countries have managed to stay on top. They both have a strong liberal tradition, but otherwise their economic strategies are a welfare state model for Denmark and a safe haven model for Switzerland. The Danish welfare state is tax-based, while the expenditures for social welfare are insurance-based in Switzerland. The political institutions are a multiparty unicameral system in Denmark, and a permanent coalition system with many referenda and strong local government in Switzerland. Both approaches have managed to ensure smoothly working political power-sharing and economic systems that allocate resources in a fairly efficient way. To date, they have also managed to adapt the economies to changes in the external environment with a combination of stability and flexibility.

The book provides an overview of the governmental accounting status quo in Europe by analysing the public sector accounting, budgeting and auditing systems in fourteen European countries. IT sheds light on the challenges faced by European countries as they move towards adoption of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS).

This book develops current thinking on fiscal policy, emphasizing the role which fiscal policy can play in macroeconomic policy and challenging the view that macroeconomic policy should rely on monetary policy alone. This book offers theoretical insights in defence of fiscal policy as a valid macroeconomic instrument.

Some goods and services are normally left to the market mechanism. Health care is often described as an exception to the rule. Society wants care to be allocated equitably; it wants the financial burden to be kept within bounds; it wants treatments to be both medically effective and economically efficient. These shared concerns lead to a demand for State intervention which this book seeks impartially to appraise and evaluate.