Fiscal policy is critical to the development of poor countries. Public spending on pro-poor services and public goods must be increased, tax revenues must be mobilized, and macro-economic stabilization must be achieved without inhibiting growth, poverty reduction and post-conflict reconstruction. This book provides both a comprehensive and balanced guide to the current policy debate and new results on the development impact of fiscal policies. It is essential reading for students of development economics as well as all those seeking to improve policy-effectiveness.

Any decision by a company regarding the use of profits to pay tax, remuneration or shareholder returns has ethical implications. Sharing Profits reviews high-profile ethical issues facing companies in how profits are used, and proposes a framework for understanding the ethical implications of decisions.

During recent years, American states have launched programs to promote direct foreign investment and product export, but there has been little self-scrutiny of these efforts. This book presents the findings of Michael Frazier's detailed empirical study of four, state-supported export trade agencies. Using the evaluation techniques of Mazmanian and Sabatier (the M-S Model), Frazier pinpoints the factors that determine how well states develop an international business orientation. He also expands the M-S model by identifying additional variables that should be considered in future program evaluations.

This book provides a survey of the literature on implementation research, and argues in favor of both theoretical and empirical evaluation. Using the the M=S Model for export trade agency evaluation, Frazier examines the public export trade agencies of four states: Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia. He concludes that four factors--geographic location, state politics, economic interdependence and federal government involvement--heavily influence a state's level of success. The political leadership of the agency director and his supervisors, including the governor, is especially crucial. This is a useful handbook for legislators, policymakers, administrators, and students of program evaluation.

European welfare states are currently under stress and the 'social contracts' that underpin them are being challenged. First, welfare spending has arguably 'grown to limits' in a number of countries while expanding everywhere in the 1990s in line with higher unemployment. Second, demographic change and the emergence of new patterns of family and working life are transforming the nature of 'needs'. Third, the economic context and the policy autonomy of nation states has been transformed by 'globalization'. This book considers the implications of these challenges for European welfare states at the end of the twentieth century with interdisciplinary contributions from first-rate political scientists, economists and sociologists including Paul Ormerod.

This book explores new forms of private, mutual municipal, public-private and "reverse" state funding of public investments, co-payments and shared contributions, vouchers, and pooled public risk-financing. It includes case studies taken from the Nordic countries, UK, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey and South Korea.

Monetary policies and international standards and norms on banking regulations have, once again, come to the forefront of the policy discussion in developed nations due to the recent crisis in the world's financial markets. This discussion is far from new, nor does it apply exclusively to the world's most advanced economies. A stable monetary policy and a sound and well-enforced regulatory regime can help developing nations channel financial resources more efficiently into investments. For open economies it can also act as a buffer, an important stability factor in today's shaky market environment.
This book assesses the challenges facing monetary policies and the independence of central banks. It explores banking systems and examines the impact of monetary policy and banking sector regulations on bank efficiency and economic growth in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, at the same time investigating the level of convergence of regulatory practices and efficiency to EU Mediterranean standards.

Property Tax Reform in Developing Countries provides a conceptual framework for property tax reform with the intention of making the most compelling argument possible to persuade the reader as to its validity. The text claims that a model for property tax reform in developing countries is derived from a theoretical distillation of empirical experience. The primary objective of this study is to establish, through logic, theory and observation: what constitutes a good property tax system, for whom, and under what conditions; why such a system works; and how inferior systems can be upgraded to approximate well-functioning systems. Property Tax Reform in Developing Countries develops its examination in three stages. First, a conceptual framework is presented for the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of property tax reform in developing countries. Second, attempts to reform property taxation in four developing countries are examined in detail. Finally, the results of the reform efforts described in the four case studies are evaluated and guidelines for reform are offered. The study concludes with specific recommendations for reforming property tax systems in developing countries, based on the conceptual framework and synthesizing lessons of the case studies.

This book offers a comprehensive assessment of the Mauritian economy and its financial system. The author investigates the pre- and post- crisis financial and economic environment of Mauritius thoroughly and looks to the future potential development of the economy. Chapters feature in-depth analysis of such aspects as the banking sector, the stock market, monetary policy, capital structure, the hedging practices of Mauritian firms, and the housing market in Mauritius, among others. Moreover, the author not only builds a credit risk model for Mauritian bankers, but also develops a financial stability model to provide the reader with a full account of the Mauritian economy. The author ends with a chapter dedicated to a 2030 vision for Mauritius. This book will be of interest to researchers, students, policy-makers, central bankers and economists who wish to explore an example of an upper-income developing economy in depth.

A wide-ranging survey of the theory and evidence on public goods, presenting the main literature on public goods, both theoretical and empirical, in a systematic manner. The breadth and depth of the book's coverage extends the existing literature in many ways.

This is a basic examination of basic tax systems, for both Layperson and Student. It describes the various forms of tax, both historical and theoretical. It examines each in turn, bringing insight to its advantages and hazards. The Author gives a cursory study of tax impacts, the problems of tax collection, and the amounts of revenue, which can be expected. The basic thesis of the Work consists in the idea current American methods of tax form and tax collection need serious revision. The Author attempts to express why he holds this belief, the observed detriment to economic performance of current tax placement, and the causes of such economic disadvantage. He presents potential alterations to the current tax intermix, suggesting consolidation of tax forms would present savings in cost of tax collection, and ease of payment to Taxpayers. He outlines his beliefs on the proper tax system for American society.

This book opens up the secret world of tax havens and offshore finance centres (OFCs), a vast offshore business valued at over one trillion US dollars. It is a timely and original analysis of the role of OFCs in the emerging global economy. The book discusses who uses OFCs, how OFCs work and what drives their development. Extensive use of case study material from Jersey illustrates the growth of a successful OFC and its impact upon a small island.

"Public sector organizations are about to enter one of the most challenging environments they have ever had to face as they bear much of the cost of the credit crunch. This timely book shows public sector leaders what they need to understand in order to be able to cope with these challenges"--

This book features the main papers of Gunter Schmolders (1903-1991), a pioneer in economic psychology for the first time in the English language. Schmolders incorporated psychological considerations in his economic analyses at a time when the distance between the two disciplines was much larger than today. His research on 'fiscal psychology' is of particular and lasting interest, impacting greatly on continental economics. During his lifetime, Schmolders failed to build bridges to enable his contemporary fellow economists to appreciate the importance of his work, however the relevance of his approach is much more obvious in the world's current economic climate.

Common wealth dividends are universal cash payments funded by fees on the private use of common resources like land, minerals, and the atmosphere as a carbon sink. Thomas Paine's 1797 pamphlet Agrarian Justice and Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend are staples in the literature on Basic Income, but there is much more to common wealth dividends beyond these highlights, and common wealth dividends have a distinctive ethical justification and distinctive policy implications that merit discussion. This monograph, the most comprehensive study of common wealth dividends to date, will be of interest to students, teachers, and advocates of Basic Income and those in the field of environmental studies, including sustainable development, natural resource management, and climate policy.

This book is the follow-up to How to Get a SARS Refund, which explained individual taxes. How to Get a SARS Refund for Small Businesses explains small-business tax and is written in easy-to-understand language. The practical examples in the book will allow those who have never studied the subject to understand the tax rules quickly and easily, and will provide aspiring entrepreneurs with extra confidence to take that first step on their business adventure. Current business owners will gain a better understanding of how their business operates.

The book covers different types of tax that a small-business owner may encounter, including income tax, VAT, pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and dividends tax. The book details how different types of entities are taxed, such as a private company compared with a sole proprietor.

How to Get a SARS Refund for Small Businesses aims to bridge the current education gap that exists for entrepreneurs and small-business owners who were never taught about tax in school or at university.

This book covers a broad range of the most challenging topics in US international taxation laws before breaking into separate discussions of the issues related to both inbound and outbound taxes. Real examples and selected seminal cases are analysed at the end of each chapter to simplify even the most abstract tax provisions. Practitioners, academics, and advanced students specializing in specific areas of international finance will welcome this comprehensive overview of the US tax system's international laws.

The tax system profoundly affects countless aspects of private behavior. It is a powerful policy influence on the distribution of income and it is the one aspect of government that almost every citizen cannot avoid. With tax reform high on the political agenda, this book brings together studies of leading tax economists and lawyers to assess the various reform proposals and examine the effects of tax reform in several distinct areas. Together, these studies and comments on them present a balanced evaluation of professional opinion on the issues that will be critical in the tax reform debate. The book addresses annual and lifetime distributional effects, saving, investment, transitional problems, simplification, home ownership and housing prices, charitable groups, international taxation, financial intermediaries and insurance, labor supply, and health insurance. In addition to Henry Aaron and William Gale, the contributors include Alan Auerbach, University of California, Berkeley; David Bradford, Princeton University; Charles Clotfelter, Duke University; Eric Engen, Federal Reserve; Don Fullerton, University of Texas; Jon Gruber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Patric Hendershott, Ohio State; David Ling, University of Florida; Ronald Perlman, Covington & Burling; Diane Lim Rogers, Congressional Budget Office; John Karl Scholz, University of Wisconsin; Joel Slemrod, University of Michigan; and Robert Triest, University of California, Davis.

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.

Thisbookisacollectionofeightpapersthatwerepublished in aspecial symposium issueofEmpirical Economicsdur- ing 1999. These papers cover several areasofinterest in contemporary public economics, including tax incidence, underground economy, welfare system, fiscal federalism, public infrastructure and the growth of government. The contributionsutilizeavarietyofquantitativetoolsofanaly- sis,includingappliedeconometrics,appliedgeneralequilib- rium modeling analysis, technical efficiency analysis and institutional analysis. The introductory essay in the book summarizes the contributionsofapplied public economics papers inthisbookandplacesthem inabroadercontextof modempublicfinanceeconomictheory.Theobjectiveofthe bookistomaketheseessaysavailableinaconvenientform toscholarsandstudentsengaged inresearchonpublic pol- icytopicsaswell astoinstructorsofcoursesinpubliceco- nomics, both undergraduate and graduate. A briefmotiva- tionforthebookisgivenbelow. Thestudyofpubliceconomicshasexperiencedanumber of dramatic changes during the past two decades. These changes have revolutionized, in a fundamental way, the subjectofpublic economics. This is due largely to several majordevelopments ineconomictheory,includingtheroles ofinformation theory and game theory along with its de- rivative theories, such as designofinstitutions as well as inter-temporal analysis. These economic theory develop- ments have altered in a fundamental way the way econo- mists and policy analysts perceive the roleofgovernment. Alsothesedevelopmentshavecalledintoquestiontheabil- ityofgovernmentstocarryoutsomeofitstraditionaltasks, particularly the efficient design of redistribution and tax systems. The theoretical research in public economics has contributedtothedevelopmentofnew instrumentsand ap- proaches to tackle problemsofeconomic policy in a more effectivemanner.Giventhattheevaluationofpolicyoptions requiresasoundunderstandingofboththenatureandmag- nitudeofeconomic,behaviouralandinstitutionalconstraints Preface VI thatarefaced bygovernments,there isaneedforempirical analysisofunderlyingpolicyquestionsandissues. Thiscollectionofessays on empirical finance indicates thatempiricalassessmentispossibleusingarichanddiverse setofempirical approaches. The various papers exemplify someofthevarioustechniquesthatcan beused byapplied researchersforsheddinglightonthequestionsofinterestin appliedpublicfinanceanditsapplications.

Population ageing has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, often expressed in alarmist language that advocates evasive policy action to avert an imminent demographic crisis. This forward-looking book evaluates the debates surrounding population ageing and offers a more optimistic outlook on its effect on the economy.William Jackson initially considers general theoretical approaches to population ageing, particularly in relation to the rising dependency burden. He then goes on to examine traditional topics such as employment, productivity, pensions and social security, along with less traditional topics such as informal care, within the context of long-run structural changes. The author draws on an extensive range of economic literature and considers neoclassical arguments before analysing the issue from a non-neoclassical economic, social gerontological and sociological perspective. He maintains that conventional economic theory tends to overstate the effects of population ageing on the economy. Thus, he argues that while population ageing is a complex issue requiring some policy adjustments, it is a less acute problem than is suggested in popular and academic discussion. This book will be of great importance to scholars and students with an interest in population economics and the economics of social policy.

This book presents a theoretically-based comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic consequences of fiscal policy using a popular economic model: the overlapping generations growth model. A wide range of essential public finance issues is analyzed, including the effects of tax reform on dynamic efficiency, positive and normative effects of public spending, considerations of taxes on fixed assets and monetary holdings, and sustainability of deficits. A unique approach is applied in the study of public finance: one expected to generate substantial interest among current graduate students and active researchers.

In the Netherlands, CPB often adopts the MIMIC model to explore the structural labour market implications of changes in the tax and social-insurance system. This applied general-equilibrium model combines microeconomic theory with a rich institutional detail and a firm empirical basis. This book describes the structure of MIMIC and discusses a large number of policy measures that have been proposed during the last five years. Moreover, it elaborates on proposals that are currently in discussion, such as the flat tax. To ease the understanding of the model, we also present a core version with only a few equations.

This volume covers the proceedings of the ZAFIN Finance and Sustainability conference, organized by the Wroclaw University of Economics in cooperation with the Corvinus University of Budapest and the University of Economics in Prague. The authors analyze a variety of issues related to recent finance problems, including corporate finance, public finance, monetary and fiscal policy issues, and risk management. The book also discusses topics related to sustainable finance, the transition to green economies, corporate sustainability and sustainable development. The target audience for this book includes researchers at universities and research and policy institutions, graduate students, and practitioners in economics, finance and international economics working for private or government institutions.

This textbook examines the economic problems of military organizations from an institutional perspective. It discusses the efficiency and effectiveness of military performance, using a capability-based conceptualization. Constitutional, historical and economic considerations complement the analysis. Neither the analysis nor the conclusions depend on any specific armed force, culture, organization, or language. On the contrary, the challenge of defense economics analysis and armed forces management is reduced to a fundamental economic problem, and solutions to this problem are offered. This book is a must-read for students, scholars and practitioners interested in a better understanding of defense economics.

Population ageing is an important trend which will be experienced in industrialized countries in the early years of the next century. This significant book examines aspects of population ageing and pensions, with an emphasis on the design and use of simple economic models to focus on particular aspects of a very broad problem. The analysis of pensions presents many complex problems. A major aim of this book is to demonstrate how reasonably simple economic models can be designed and used to shed some light on the issues involved in population growth and pension provision. The basic analytics of population growth and pension structure are first explored. Projections for Australia are examined and used to model ageing and social expenditure and to estimate the 'burden' of aged care on future workers. The author goes on to investigate pensions and pension finance, and examines several types of economic model before turning to the analysis of alternative pension arrangements using a lifetime simulation model. The results of the study suggest that both lower contribution rates and a universal pension encourage a later retirement age. This book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of public sector economics, welfare economics, social economics and public finance.