The growth of interest in fiscal decentralization has meant that there has been something of a rush to enshrine this in policy - The World Bank has reported that about 70 countries see this as a major part of their development strategy. This book critically examines the case for decentralization.
This collection of contributions comes from a worldwide team of experts, including Albert Breton, Piero Giarda and Anwar Shah. After analyzing fiscal decentralization in general, the book goes on to look at intriguing case studies of various regions around the world including:
* The European Union
* Hungary and Slovakia
* Russia and China
* Asia and Africa

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219996

This book collects high-quality papers on issues related to the rebalancing strategy in China, new clean cities as "hubs'', liability management, and involving the private sector, including through PPPs, with specific examples from Guangdong. Guangdong has been at the forefront of economic reforms in China since the advent of the Responsibility System in the late 1970s, and its successes and challenges reflect those of China as a whole. The need for rebalancing towards a more inclusive and sustainable path is also critical in Guangdong, just as it is in China. Strengthening the fiscal underpinnings and the next stages of tax reforms are critical drivers to accomplishing the requisite structural changes.

The term "social security" has a very different meaning in underdeveloped countries -- whose populations live in great insecurity -- and is best understood as poverty alleviation. This book attempts to define social security in the Third World and to examine what sort of programs are most suitable for developing countries. The authors review current literature on the subject. Some chapters explore broad themes, others contain case studies describing social security provisions in various regions of Asia, Latin America, and Southern Africa. This illuminating study will be of interst to development economists as well as those working in international organizations concerned with policy-making in the Third World and management of resources.

This book presents a new approach to recurrent property taxation based on occupancy, size, and location, that will strengthen local governments. Reflecting on the concept of "beneficial property taxation" first proposed by Alfred Marshall, the political economy constraints faced by traditional property taxation are examined and compared with evidence for beneficial property tax seen in China, Mexico, and sub-Saharan Africa. The benefits of this form of taxation are highlighted in relation to the financing of local public services and infrastructure that are required for sustainable development. This book provides a policy-oriented look at property taxation that engages with the sustainable development goals and lay the foundations for a post-pandemic recovery. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in development economics and the governance of taxation.

This book collects high-quality papers on issues related to the rebalancing strategy in China, new clean cities as "hubs'', liability management, and involving the private sector, including through PPPs, with specific examples from Guangdong. Guangdong has been at the forefront of economic reforms in China since the advent of the Responsibility System in the late 1970s, and its successes and challenges reflect those of China as a whole. The need for rebalancing towards a more inclusive and sustainable path is also critical in Guangdong, just as it is in China. Strengthening the fiscal underpinnings and the next stages of tax reforms are critical drivers to accomplishing the requisite structural changes.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The term 'social security' has a very different meaning in underdeveloped countries and is best understood as poverty alleviation. This work seeks to define social security in its various forms and to examine what types of programmes are most suitable for developing countries. The authors review current literature on the subject. Some chapters explore broad themes, while others describe social security provisions in various regions in South Asia, China, Latin America, and Southern Africa. Western systems are compared and broad assessments made of the traditional social security systems in village societies. The editors aim to put the subject of social security firmly on the agenda of development economic research with a view to stimulate much further research in this area. The volume is written in a way that will be accessible to a much wider audience.