Funding infrastructure has always been a challenging issue in any country and at any time, yet the topic is still largely unexplored. The social returns of investment in water, roads, railways, or more recently telegraph or communication satellites are often apparent in the long run, but this distant horizon poses special problems to governments and investors. This volume provides a broad overview of the main financing solutions implemented in Europe to support infrastructures from the fall of the Roman Empire up to the end of the 20th century. It explores the diverse historical paths pursued in order to solve the problem of infrastructure finance in various European countries, and draws upon the findings of an international and interdisciplinary research project. It brings together case studies by economic historians, economists, and engineers, and the clear taxonomy guides the reader through the financing solutions that have been developed to fund infrastructure over almost three thousand years. The volume is organized into four parts; after an introductory chapter by the editors, Part One offers 'horizontal' contributions that cover the history of European infrastructure finance. Parts Two, Three, and Four each focus on a single sector, namely water, transport, and telecommunications. The findings show how history can inform thinking on contemporary infrastructure problems.

The single market has been operating in Europe since 1 January 1993 but the twelve national fiscal systems remain independent. How will this be resolved? Harmonization and coordination or fiscal competition with distortions in the allocation of resources, in factor use, in localization of activities?

Judicial Interpretation of Tax Treaties is a detailed, comprehensive analytical guide to the interpretation of tax treaties at the national level. The book focuses on how domestic courts interpret and apply the OECD Commentary to the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. Adopting a global perspective, the book gives a systematic presentation of the main interpretive proposals put forward by the OECD Commentary, and analyses selected cases decided in domestic tax systems in order to assess whether and how such solutions are adopted through national judicial process, and indeed which of these are of most practical value. The book operates on two levels: Firstly it sets out a clear and comprehensive framework of tax treaty law, which will be an important tool for any tax practitioner. Secondly, the book provides crucial guidance on issues of tax treaty law as applied at domestic level, such as investment or business income, dispute resolution and administrative cooperation. Key features: - A detailed and structured introduction to the main issues of tax treaties - Ideal for practitioners requiring a grounding in the functioning of tax treaty law - Concise summaries of the relevant issues, cases, and problems for each discrete chapter - Offers a basic 'globalized' handbook that is missing in the current literature about judicial application of tax treaties. This comprehensive treatment of tax treaty law is a ready reference for tax practitioners, and an essential introduction for non-specialists. The book can also be used as a companion to courses in international taxation.

Global warming is a serious threat to the stability of world climate and to economic prosperity in some regions. The book offers a theoretical analysis which focuses on double dividend issues. Moreover, the ecological tax reform in Germany and the options of modern energy policy are described and evaluated. The volume presents innovative model simulations and analyzes, in the context of the model, the benefits of a modified tax reform, based on a Schumpeterian approach. Finally, implications for the European Union and other countries are discussed.

Motivated by the recent proliferation of fiscal consolidation episodes in the advent of Monetary Union, this book explains the causes and consequences of fiscal policy in Europe. This book answers three related questions: What explains the timing of fiscal adjustments? What explains their different duration and composition? What are the economic and political consequences of having implemented different adjustment strategies?

The Politics of Global Debt is a detailed political analysis of the origins and consequences of the `global debt crisis' which emerged in the early 1980s. It assesses both `imperialist' and `New Right' interpretations of the crisis, and also presents a series of case studies of the effects of external debt upon Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. The book focusses upon the `sovereign debt' of states, and its management, and examines the ways in which global economic structures, inefficient policies, weak institutions, and corrupt political leaders contribute to a global debt crisis which has both international and domestic roots.

This book assesses the 2008-2009 financial crisis and its ramifications for the global economy from a multidisciplinary perspective. Current market conditions and systemic issues pose a risk to financial stability and sustained market access for emerging market borrowers. The volatile environment in the financial system became the source of major threats and some opportunities such as takeovers, mergers and acquisitions for international business operations. This volume is divided into six sections. The first evaluates the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis and its impacts on Global Economic Activity, examining the financial crisis in historical context, the economic slowdown, transmission of the crisis from advanced economies to emerging markets, and spillovers. The second section evaluates global imbalances, especially financial instability and the economic outlook for selected regional economies, while the third focuses on international financial institutions and fiscal policy applications. The fourth section analyzes the capital market mechanism, price fluctuations and global trade activity, while the fifth builds on new trends and business cycles to derive effective strategies and solutions for international entrepreneurship and business. In closing, the final section explores the road to economic recovery and stability by assessing the current outlook and fiscal strategies.

No single system of development can accommodate all variations of the economic, social and political environments in developing economies. The authors of this book analyse the changing role of the public sector in promoting socioeconomic development. They concentrate their study on the three major issues of macroeconomic management in development planning: market mechanisms, financial management and enterprise management, and the transfer and development of technology. Planning practitioners and scholars and students of economic development should find this book provides important theoretical insights, as well as the experiences of various countries in managing their economic progress.

Written especially for portfolio managers, financial analysts, and corporate economists, this volume considers the practical implications of government economic policies. The contributors illustrate how incentives and disincentives affect economic behavior and the performance of the economy through an in-depth discussion of monetary, fiscal, and international economic issues. In addition, the authors present a unique top-down approach that enables the reader to trace the impact of government policies through the economy and thereby discover the investment strategies most likely to be successful within a given policy context.

The first section of the book focuses on monetary issues and explores issues related to inflation, likely government intervention mechanisms to control inflation, variants of the monetarist model, interpreting the demand curve, and the development of a portfolio strategy designed to take advantage of anticipated changes in financial variables. The next group of chapters looks at supply-side economics and analyzes the effects of the economic incentives and constraints imposed by government. Particular attention is paid to the effects of taxation policies on equity values, economic growth, and savings. In the third section, the contributors present a supply-side view of selected international economic issues including the relationship between tax rate reductions and foreign exchange rates and the trade balance. The concluding section examines the portfolio strategies that can be derived from the analyses presented in previous chapters. An indispensable resource for finance executives, this book will also be of significant value to graduate students in economics, financial management, and business programs.

During the last 30 years, finance has increased not only its share of economic activity but also of peoples aspirations. This has transformed society by increasingly organizing it around the search for financial efficiency. Is a society based on fundamental values of free judgment, responsibility and solidarity still possible? This book answers this crucial question.

Gain a thorough understanding of tax research today with the hands-on practice you need to succeed in class and on the job. Sawyers/Gill's market-leading FEDERAL TAX RESEARCH, 12E's step-by-step approach uses current examples and engaging discussions to focus on the most important elements of federal tax law and tax practices. You work with the latest versions of today's most popular online tax research tools, including Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, CCH IntelliConnect, and BNA Bloomberg. Significant updates address ethical challenges in taxation today, qualified business income deductions and other legislative changes enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as well as how Congress enacts technical changes. Coverage of professional and legal responsibilities and IRS practices and procedures helps you prepare for the CPA exam, while a focus on key research skills, critical problem-solving and communication skills prepares you for success in today's workplace.

First published in 1919, Taxation in the New State explores the practical application of tax policy to the financial situation of post-World War I Britain. Hobson assesses policy according to the tax payer's ability to bear the burden and draws a distinction between 'cost' and 'surplus'. He proposes a number of reforms and considers the pitfalls of attempting the find required revenue using ordinary taxation in a post-war financial crisis.

The specific concern of this study is 'politicization' or the relationships between contests in national politics and the capacity for international cooperation. Progress towards fiscal harmonization in the European Community is selected as the substantive focus for the study, although the object is to learn from the EC rather than about it. The author argues that common EC policies usually reach fruition as complex compromises, derived from decisions based on the perceived effect on domestic politics and rivalries, rather than transnational neatness. Lack of political will is frequently blamed for delays in the acceptance of common policies, whereas the truth often lies in the fact that national governments believe that domestic political costs would be prohibitive. Politicization is studied in four major areas: 1. Identification, causes and effects 2. The effect on domestic politics and transnational cooperation in the EC 3. Effects on further 'European integration' 4. Deriving lessons from the EC for more general relationships between domestic politics and international cooperation.

Critics of referendums often lament that big money may buy success at the ballot box. But spending by interest groups may also be informative for citizens. This can only happen, however, if the financing of referendum campaigns is regulated. This book offers an overview of these regulations and presents research on their effects.

Budgeting has long been considered a rational process using neutral tools of financial management, but this outlook fails to consider the outside influences on leaders' behavior. Steven G. Koven shows that political culture (moralistic, traditionalistic, individualistic) and ideological orientations (liberal vs. conservative) are at least as important as financial tools in shaping budgets.

Koven examines budget formation at the national, state, and local levels to demonstrate the strong influence of attitudes about how public money should be generated and spent. In addition to statistical data, the book includes recent case studies: the 1997 budget agreement; Governor George W. Bush's use of the budget process to advance a conservative policy agenda in the state of Texas; and Mayor Marion Barry's abuses of power in Washington, D.C.

Koven demonstrates that administrative principles are at best an incomplete guide for public officials and that budgeters must learn to interpret signals from the political environment.

This book argues that in many jurisdictions free market advocates have resorted to public sector downsizing and privatization as a means of alleviating problems of unemployment and slow economic growth and that, as a consequence, the strategy of reducing public deficits, balancing budgets and achieving surpluses has become widely accepted as the only road to prosperity. The Economics of Public Spending shows in clear and simple terms that the strategy of public sector downsizing is based on a misleading conception of public finance. The book dispels several myths about public deficits and debts, offering alternative approaches to fiscal and monetary policies. The contributors argue convincingly and authoritatively that the public sector is crucial for economic growth, that budget deficits are required for improving the performance of the private sector and that there is a real need for an economic agenda based on public deficits and low stable real interest rates in order to achieve full employment with high wages, more generous social programmes and sustainable inflation. This fascinating and challenging book will be of great interest to policymakers in government, academic researchers as well as public finance experts and economists.

This is the first book to address the special rules that apply to the taxation of all property and casualty insurance companies, including life insurance companies with property/casualty insurance operations. It covers the special rules that apply to the taxation of captive insurance companies in addition to the general rules that are usually applicable to a captive insurance company. At the same time, it examines the fact that many healthcare organizations are now considered to be insurance companies and will be taxed as such under all the various healthcare reform proposals. Includes a sample tax return for property and casualty insurance companies, Form 1120PC, and guidance on how to read and review a property and/or casualty company annual report.

The 20th century will probably be regarded as a watershed in the history of taxation. The first half of the century was characterized by numerous changes to tax theory and practice that alone probably outstripped those of the previous millennium. But these developments are modest when viewed against the barrage of competing theoretical views and technical analyses of tax policy in the century's last five decades, let alone the avalanche of legislation, regulations, rulings and tax commissions that marked, first, the post-war growth of the welfare state and, second, the growing internationalization of world commerce and the ensuing competition for economic advantages. The expert papers in "Tax Conversations" review the principal themes dominating tax debate and tax reform at the end of the century. Together, they seek to explain how these issues have evolved, their current implications, and their possible or probable directions into the next century. The conversations analyze these elements of the tax debate in order to give meaning to their past and to assess the prospects for their futures. The papers in this volume are presented in honour of John G. Head, a scholar whose work has done much to educate tax theorists and those implementing policy, and considered by many to be this generation's leading figure in Australian public finance.

The events of the last decade have challenged the contemporary neo-classical synthesis in all branches of economics, but particularly public finance. The most notable feature of the 2nd edition of Public Finance in Theory and Practice is the infusion of behavioral economics throughout the text, with an end of chapter question inviting the student to apply a behavioral lens to some question or issue. There continues to be an emphasis on the importance of the institutional context, drawing on examples from many countries and emphasizing the role of lower level governments in a federal system. The first five chapters establish this context by reviewing the role of government in a market system, the description of government structure from an economic perspective, the basic data about revenue and expenditures, the elements of public choice, and the distributional role of government. The book has been substantially reorganized to put more emphasis on public expenditure. Expanded treatment of public goods includes common property resources and congestible or club goods. Expanded discussion of budgeting and cost-benefit analysis provides some practical application of the theory. Updated discussions of social security, public education and health care address these three major contemporary public finance issues. The traditional emphasis on revenue (taxes, fees and grants) has been retained but follows rather than precedes the discussion of expenditures.

This book was prepared mainly for specialists on the assumption that it would provide the background to an important neglected field of discussion in public finance. Since it was first published in 1958, the theory of public goods and its implications for public policy have become incorporated in the main body of the economic analysis of public finance in the literature. A glance at the footnotes of some of the standard textbooks on public finance indicates that this assembly of articles has not been in vain. Probably the most influential part of this collection has been the papers concerned with the theory of public expenditure, which contains two closely related elements. The first is as a part of welfare economics: under what conditions can Pareto optimality be achieved in an economic system in which some goods supplied are indivisible? The other strand of thought is concerned with the positive theory of the public sector: how can economic analysis be used in order to explain how the size and composition of the budget is actually determined?

Throughout his long career as a professional scholar, Paul Dale Bush has been a cogent theorist, a model practitioner and an ardent defender of academic freedom and of democratic practices. Institutionalist Theory and Applications is the second of two volumes celebrating his career and his contribution to neo-institutional economics.This volume presents contributions by a distinguished group of institutionalist scholars: Edythe S. Miller, Philip A. Klein, James A. Cypher, F. Gregory Hayden, John Groenewegen, Peter Soderbaum, Charles M.A. Clark, Catherine Kavanagh and Janice Peterson. The book explores the interdependence of theory and policy and applies institutional theory to several problem areas of governance and performance. This book will be of great interest to postgraduate students and academics in the field of institutional economics, evolutionary economics, political economy, history of economic theory, methodology, social economics, social policy and social value theory.

This book analyses the reform of Greece's public revenue administration promoted by its international lenders under the successive bailout agreements put in place since 2010. In particular, it shows how an integral part of the finance ministry was converted into an independent agency operating largely outside the direct control of the finance minister. The authors focus on the implementation of this major reform and demonstrate the impact of domestic decisions on the increasing specificity of the international lenders' demands and the concomitant lack of confidence in the Greek political elite's commitment to the reform package. This book helps readers understand the response to the eurozone crisis (especially, the conditionality of funding), Greece's reform capacity with a focus on its tax administration, and the expansion of the scope of non-majoritarian institutions in Western democracies.

Assessing both the macro- and micro-economic levels of the contemporary African Debt Crisis, this book, first published in 1989, begins by looking at the origins of the world debt crisis, and then looks closely at the problem as it affects Sub-Saharan Africa. The effects of debt on Africa's position in international relations are considered, and the roles played by organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are assessed. The authors also examine the local effects in a series of case studies of various states including Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, the Francophone States and Zaire.