In 1918, the Soviet revolutionary government repudiated the Tsarist regime's sovereign debt, triggering one of the biggest sovereign defaults ever. Yet the price of Russian bonds remained high for years. Combing French archival records, Kim Oosterlinck shows that, far from irrational, investors had legitimate reasons to hope for repayment. Soviet debt recognition, a change in government, a bailout by the French government, or French banks, or a seceding country would have guaranteed at least a partial reimbursement. As Greece and other European countries raise the possibility of sovereign default, Oosterlinck's superbly researched study is more urgent than ever.

This book explores the system of financing local governments in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Using evidence from the last two decades, the authors, experts on their particular countries, describe the development of the current local government finance system in each nation, and the major challenges and policy options they face. The contributions in this book provide comprehensive coverage of a transitional Europe that encompasses both modern local public finance theory and specific applications in the target countries. The book is a recommended read not only for students of local government and local public finance, but also practitioners and all those who have to deal with the accountability and financial issues at local government level in Central and Eastern Europe.

The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought enormous political, economic, and social challenges. Since 1991 fiscal reform has been a pillar of Russia's reform agenda. This book analyzes the effort to adopt a modern tax code where previously there were few recognizable taxes, establish an efficient tax administration where taxpayers had never paid taxes directly, and decentralize the system of governance where power had been centralized and dictatorial. Despite the remarkable achievements, many old and new challenges remain. The authors bring an analytical approach to fiscal reform in Russia, providing a detailed analysis of the tax system and estimates of tax compliance and evasion. The book offers a careful examination of the fiscal architecture of Russia and concludes with a presentation of remaining reform needs and options for Russia. Based on Russia's reform experience, the authors also draw lessons for fiscal reform in other developing and transitional countries. Given the dynamic nature of Russia's economic development, this book will prove a timely and informative resource for academics in economics, public finance, political science and public administration as well as for policy makers. Its lessons will also be useful for officials involved with finance in transition and developing countries.

Sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging Asian economies requires high levels of public investment in areas such as infrastructure, education, health, and social services. The increasing complexity and regional diversity of these investment needs, together with the trend of democratization, has led to fiscal decentralization being implemented in many Asian economies. This book takes stock of some major issues regarding fiscal decentralization, including expenditure and revenue assignments, transfer programs, and the sustainability of local government finances, and develops important findings and policy recommendations. The book's expert contributors assess the current state of the allocation of expenditures and revenues between central and local governments in emerging Asian economies, and discuss their major strengths and weaknesses. They also present relevant case studies of experiences and reform measures related to strengthening and monitoring local government finance, including the implications of expanded fiscal capacity for infrastructure investment and other public spending. Covering the major Asian economies of the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, and Japan, among others, the book focuses on the economic incentives of transfer schemes, how intergovernmental fiscal equalization works, and how subnational government borrowing regulations could influence debt dynamics and the fiscal deficits of local governments. This book's insightful analysis will be essential reading for policymakers in Asian economies, and academics and researchers in the areas of economic development, public finance, and fiscal policy as well as development aid officials, multilateral banks, and NGOs. Contributors include: S. Barrios, S.-i. Bessho, P. Chakraborty, P. Das, Z. Fan, R.K. Goel, S. Li, D. Martinez-Lopez, J. Martinez-Vazquez, P.J. Morgan, A. Nasution, J.W. Saunoris, P. Smoke, L.Q. Trinh, V. Vulovic, G. Wan, N. Yoshino, Q. Zhang

This book contributes to the current debates on the shadow economy and related issues of tax evasion and corruption. The approach taken here is one that will develop a better understanding of these related issues, which are increasingly seen as impediments to country competitiveness and economic growth. Economists and policymakers are increasingly focused on how the shadow economy operates. The contributors discuss how effective corporate governance may help to reduce both the occurrence and effects of illegal activities. The book begins by considering institutional governance and how issues such as economic growth and development can be better understood by gaining a deeper understanding of the decision-making process. The importance of collective persuasion and collective decision-making in an institutional context is illustrated. The remainder of the work details a series of empirical studies outlining the role of governance and institutional capacity in assessing economic performance, the role of political competition in reducing corruption and measures of, and influences on, corruption in different countries around the world. Institutions such as the WTO, World Bank and the IMF will find much to engage them in this book as will policy makers in government and research policy agencies. It will also hold great appeal to academics (postgraduate and above) in the fields of political economy, economic development and international economics.

This book covers several areas of economic theory and political philosophy from the perspective of Austrian Economics and libertarianism. As such, it deals with Epistemology and Methodology, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, International Economics, Political Philosophy, Law and Public Policy, all from the Austro-libertarian perspective. Hence, this book offers an integrated view of libertarianism and Austrian economics in the light of recent debates in the areas of economic science and political philosophy. Moreover, it builds from the foundations of the Austrian approach (epistemology and methodology), while the latter material deals with its application to the individual from the microeconomic perspective, which in turn allows an exploration of subjects in macroeconomics. Additionally, this work applies Austro-libertarianism to law, politics, and public policy. Thus, it offers a unified view of the entire approach, in a logical progression, allowing the readers to judge this perspective in full. Futerman and Block say that their book is not a manual, which I suppose it is not. But it is a collection of highly pertinent essays, from which you can understand what is mistaken in the orthodoxy of economics, law, and politics. The central term of art in Austrian economics is that phrase "human action." It is the exercise of human will, not the blind bumping of one molecule against another or one organism against another, as in the physical sciences... Futerman and Block distinguish Austrian economics as a scientific enterprise based on liberty of the will from "libertarianism" as an advocacy based on policies implied by such liberty. "Although Austrian economics is positive and libertarianism is normative," they write, "this book shows how both are related; how each can support the other." Indeed they do. Deirdre N. McCloskey, PhD UIC Distinguished Professor of Economics and of History Emerita, Professor of English Emerita, Professor of Communication Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago

Which programmes of income redistribution across jurisdictions are likely to be chosen in democratic countries and why? How does the degree of government centralization affect these choices? How does redistribution of income across regions interact with the migration of factors of production? Do these processes reinforce or do they obstruct each other, and why? This book tries to answer these questions and others related to the issue of income redistribution across states and regions. The book adopts a positive, public choice approach in the theoretical analysis and tests the predictions on evidence drawn from a highly centralized country (Italy) and a highly decentralized one (the United States). The Politics and Economics of Regional Transfers will be of great interest to scholars of economics, public finance and public choice. Students of economics, economic development, political economy, regional and local economics, public finance and public choice will also find it of interest, as will policy analysts.

The study of urban political economy needs no justification, for cities are the heart (and arguably the soul) of our civilization, and their political and economic conditions are the linchpins of its existence. But how should we study urban political economy? Urban Political Economy deals with different nations - Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway, the UK. and the USA - and with different problems - expenditure patterns, service provision, economic development, fiscal strain, budgetary cuts, and borrowing systems - but they all agree on two fundamental points about the study of their subject matter: first, that the urban economy cannot be understood outside its political context, just as urban politics cannot be understood without its economic background; and second, that the local and the national are knitted together so closely and so tightly that it is necessary to think of them as forming a single system. Urban Political Economy explores the idea of the fusion of factors by demonstrating the extent to which local and national conditions react upon one another to analyze the urban political economy.

This book deals with the Neglected Links in economics and society. These neglected links are the inner bonds and lines which keep the society and economy together and are almost interconnected although they are very often treated and discussed separately in different discourses. Contemporary discussion has forgotten to think universally and to integrate items into one common field of observation. Instead, too often particular items are studied and discussed as being independent of each other without acknowledging a broader context. The book gives an exemplary instruction on how to treat reciprocal links and how to work in an interdisciplinary way, which tackles history, sociology and economics at least. By so doing, the book as also serves as an educational instruction for integrative and interdisciplinary science instead of recapitulating mono-disciplinary approaches. Discussion includes topics such as social and economic inequality research, limits of rationality, and orthodoxies and heterodoxies of economic research, as well as a discussion of the heroes of interdisciplinary thought.

In the "Handbook of Public Economics, vol. 5, " top scholars provide context and order to new research about mechanisms that underlie both public finance theories and applications. These fundamental subjects follow the recent, steady movement away from rational decision-making and toward more personalized approaches to tax generation and expenditure, especially in terms of the use of psychological methods and financial incentives. Closely scrutinized subjects include new research in empirical (instead of theoretical) public finance, the methods for measuring taxes (both in revenue generation and expenditure), and the roles that taxes play in specific settings, such as emerging economies, urban settings, charitable giving, and among political entities (cities, counties, states, countries). Contributors look at both the "tax" and "expenditure" sides of public finance, emphasizing recent influences that psychology and philosophy have exerted in economics with articles on behavioral finance, charitable giving, and dynamic taxation. To a field enjoying rapid growth, their articles bring context and order, illuminating the mechanisms that underlie both public finance theories and applications.
Editor Raj Chetty is the recipient of the 2013 John Bates Clark Medal from the American Economic AssociationFocuses on new approaches to both revenue generation and expenditures in public financePresents coherent summaries of subjects in public economics that stretch from methodologies to applicationsMakes details about public economics accessible to scholars in fields outside economics

This book addresses the gaps in the present institutional structure of inclusive finance framework in India. It provides a comprehensive review of the role of banks in financial inclusion policy and micro-finance landscape in India at present. It identifies the key issues within the banking system which prove to be obstacles in the way of achieving financial inclusion and sustainable growth. The book conceptualizes inclusive banking, delves into the theoretical foundations thereof and suggests an institutional framework to avoid overlapping of their functions in order to ensure profitability. It reviews the existing market structure and competition in the inclusive finance arena while considering the role of banks, micro-finance institutions and SHGs in financing the poor. The book proposes a distinct change to the existing business model, examines the bank business model for inclusion and how the banks can and should treat the micro lending clientele as their core client base to counter the issues of profitability and competition in today's banking sector. It also discusses some of the latest initiatives in inclusive finance and the importance of entrepreneurship development experiments in India and their efficacy in comparison with the micro-lending model.

This important collection presents an authoritative selection of papers on public private partnerships. The literature is relatively new, and draws on the disciplines of both economics and engineering. As well as examining the recent experience of these schemes - whose evolution has accelerated in recent years - this insightful collection also considers the intellectual origins of the concept, and investigates the organisational and risk management aspects of PPPs. It will be an essential source of reference for all those with an interest in this topical subject. 36 articles, dating from 1991 to 2003

The original essays in this book connect the microeconomic and macroeconomic approaches to public debt. Through their thought-provoking views, leading scholars offer insights into the incentives that individuals and governments may have in resorting to public debt, thereby promoting a clearer understanding of its economic consequences. The authors explore public debt along two distinct but complementary analytical paths. One path concerns microeconomic aspects of public debt as it emerges through budgetary processes where individuals respond to the costs and gains of different courses of action. The other concerns the systemic properties of rational individual acting within a democratic system of political economy. Within this scheme of thought, the two levels of analysis are integrated by recognition that efforts to control macro-level outcomes must address the micro-level circumstances and conditions that promote public debt as systemic budgetary outcomes. Scholars and students, as well as policy makers in public debt and political economy, will find this critical resource invaluable to understanding this vital issue. Contributors include: A. Alupoaiei, F. Balassone, G. Brennan, S. Cecchetti, M. Cecioni, M. Cioffi, W. Cornacchia, F. Corneli, F. Dragu, G. Eusepi, E. Longobardi, K. Mause, F. Neagu, A. Pedone, A. Rieck, L. Schuknecht, G. Semeraro, L. Voinea, R.E. Wagner

Environmental taxes differ from each other according to the functions they serve and the manner in which they are implemented. This study highlights the appropriateness of different kinds of environmental taxes against a rigorous framework of theory and case study evidence. The purpose of this book is to analyse the way in which environmental taxes are categorized and which factors affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the different kinds of environmental taxes in practice. This pragmatic approach is emphasized along with the multiplicity of regulatory problems such as: At what level should the environmental tax rate be set? What is the proper time schedule for introducing an environmental tax? What are the most appropriate taxable characteristics and how should they be determined? What activities should be exempt from environmental taxation? How can tax relief be implemented? These are only some of the regulatory problems explored in this study, which also encompasses an examination of the theory of regulation. The author argues that economists have often paid too little attention to the administrative and legal issues concerning the implementation of legislation, such as environmental tax laws, which are of course vital to the success of any potential policy. Lawyers too have in turn neglected the theory of regulation, which would assist in analysing problems in a future-oriented way. Environmental Taxes will therefore be of great interest to a wide audience of environmental economists, law and economics scholars as well as policymakers.

This volume presents Richard Blundell's outstanding research on the modern economic analysis of labor markets and public policy reforms. Professor Blundell's hugely influential work has enhanced greatly our understanding of how individuals' behavior on the labor market respond to taxation and social policy influence. Edited by IZA, this volume brings together the author's key papers, some co-authored and some unpublished, with new introductions and an epilogue. It covers some of the main research insights in the study of labor supply. The question of how individuals adapt their behavior in response to policy changes is one of the most investigated topics in empirical labor and public economics. Do people reduce their working hours if governments decide to raise taxes? Might they even withdraw completely from the labor market? Labor supply estimations are extensively used for various policy analyses and economic research. Labor supply elasticities are key information when evaluating tax-benefit policy reforms and their effect on tax revenue, employment, and redistribution. The chapters cover empirical and theoretical developments as well as applications to tax and welfare reform, and each represents a substantive research contribution from Blundell's publications in top research outlets.