Governments have always endured economic woes, but the increasing severity of such challenges, from the Great Recession starting in 2008 to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the need for better-developed fiscal analysis capacity in governments of all sizes using the most practical-yet robust-techniques available. This volume presents an array of real-world analytical approaches in a variety of service areas at the core of state and local government. The concrete insights provided by this book serve as important tools for policy analysts, government officials charged with policy implementation, and public finance scholars across developing and developed countries looking for the essential, high-level analytical skills needed to expand internal capacity to weather uncertain economic environments. The book bridges the research-practice gap and provides practical tools for state and local fiscal analysis, including a detailed how-to guide for producing local tax expenditure reports, an age-based homestead exemption estimate calculator with guide, and simple methods for fuzzy matching administrative data. It is backed up with a depth and breadth of case studies on governments of a variety of sizes. Public officials and analysts in local state/regional institutions and international institutions with a public policy focus as well as public finance scholars across developing and developed countries will find invaluable the analyses and tools provided by this book. It also serves as a key resource for students, researchers, and instructors across public policy.

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.

It is hard to think of anyone who has contributed so much and so widely to research in international public finance in the last 40 years as has Richard Bird. This volume of essays emerged from a conference dedicated to him. It also expands on our understanding of international public finance.Richard Bird's academic and applied work has always benefited from a far-reaching involvement with, and knowledge of, relevant policy issues in many countries around the world. The range of public finance issues to which he has contributed over the years covers practically the whole gamut of the public finance discipline: tax policy, tax administration, the interdependency between the two, intergovernmental fiscal relations, public expenditure policy, and fiscal management processes. The topics covered in this book reflect the wide contributions of Richard Bird to the subject of international public finance, including original reviews of intergovernmental fiscal relations, fiscal policy, and tax evasion and tax administration, all with a special focus on transition and developing countries. These essays, by top scholars in their own right, will deepen our own understanding of relevant problems and issues in international public finance, much like Richard Bird has been doing for many years, and will be of interest to economists, policymakers and students.

In this book, experts from across the globe highlight the state of knowledge in intergovernmental transfer design. The essays collected in the volume represent creative new thinking about challenging policy issues and offer useful options for policy makers. The book offers academics and practitioners a thorough, thematic assessment of unresolved issues in the design of equalization grants.

The conference on Ordered Algebraic Structures held in Curat;ao, from the 26th of June through the 30th of June, 1995, at the Avila Beach Hotel, marked the eighth year of ac tivities by the Caribbean Mathematics Foundation (abbr. CMF), which was the principal sponsor of this conference. CMF was inaugurated in 1988 with a conference on Ordered Algebraic Structures. During the years between these two conferences the field has changed sufficiently, both from my point of view and, I believe, that of my co-organizer, W. Charles Holland, to make one wonder about the label "Ordered Algebraic Structures" itself. We recognized this from the start, and right away this conference carried a subtitle, or, if one prefers, an agenda: we concentrated on the one hand, on traditional themes in the theory of ordered groups, including model-theoretic aspects, and, on the other hand, on matters in which topology (more precisely C(X)-style topology) and category theory would play a prominent role. Plainly, ordered algebra has many faces, and it is becoming increas ingly difficult to organize an intimate conference, such as the ones encouraged in the series sponsored by CMF, in this area on a broad set of themes. These proceedings reflect, accurately we think, the spirit of the conferees, but it is not a faithful record of the papers presented at the conference."

'Et moi, .... si j'avait su comment en revenir, One service mathematics has rendered the je n'y serais point alit.' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belongs. on the topmost shelf next to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded non The series is divergent; therefore we may be sense'. able to do something with it. Eric T. Bcll o. Heaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought. A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and nOD linearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other parts and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics .. .'; 'One service logic has rendered com puter science .. .'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics .. .'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'etre of this series."

The symposium "Prehistoric Iberia: genetics, anthropology and linguistics" was held in the Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid on 16th -17th November 1998. The idea was bringing together specialists who could address not clearly resolved historic and prehistoric issues regarding ancient Iberian and Mediterranean populations, following a multidisciplinary approach. This was necessary in the light of the new bulk of genetic, archeological and linguistic data obtained with the new DNA technology and the recent discoverings in the other fields. Genes may now be easily studied in populations, particularly HLA genes and markers of the mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome. Basques, Iberians, North Africans, Berbers (Imazighen) and Mediterraneans have presently been widely studied. The genetic emerging picture is that Mediterraneans are closely related from West (Basque, Iberians, Berbers) to East (Jews, Lebanese, Cretans); however, Greeks are outliers in all the analyses done by using HLA genes. Anthropologists and archeologists showed how there was no people substitution during the revolutionary Mesolithic-Neolithic transition; in addition, cultural relationships were found between Iberia and predinastic Egypt (EI Badari culture). Basque language translation into Spanish has been the key for relating most Mediterranean extinct languages. The Usko-Mediterranean languages were once spoken in a wide African and European area, which also included parts of Asia. This was the "old language" that was slowly substituted by Eurasian languages starting approximately after the Bronze Age (or 2,000 years BC).

This book provides an insightful, and in-depth analysis of the fiscal reform process experienced in Spain over the last 30 years. The authors initially focus on the political economy of tax reform in Spain, and the fact that political and economic bodies were able to form alliances at key junctures during the process in order to push reforms forward. A comprehensive analysis of the main instruments of the Spanish tax system, including the introduction of VAT upon Spain's accession to the European Common Market, is presented. The rapid fiscal decentralization process that led Spain from being one of the most centralized countries in the world to being one of the least centralized is also discussed, as is the modernization of the Spanish tax administration system. Written by a select group of scholars with deep knowledge of the Spanish fiscal system, this book will be of great interest to students, tax policymakers and researchers all over the world and especially in Latin America.

From the 28th of February through the 3rd of March, 2001, the Department of Math ematics of the University of Florida hosted a conference on the many aspects of the field of Ordered Algebraic Structures. Officially, the title was "Conference on Lattice Ordered Groups and I-Rings," but its subject matter evolved beyond the limitations one might associate with such a label. This volume is officially the proceedings of that conference, although, likewise, it is more accurate to view it as a complement to that event. The conference was the fourth in wh at has turned into aseries of similar conferences, on Ordered Algebraic Structures, held in consecutive years. The first, held at the University of Florida in Spring, 1998, was a modest and informal affair. The fifth is in the final planning stages at this writing, for March 7-9, 2002, at Vanderbilt University. And although these events remain modest and reasonably informal, their scope has broadened, as they have succeeded in attracting mathematicians from other, related fields, as weIl as from more distant lands."

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 1991 Conrad Conference, held in Gainesville, Florida, USA, in December, 1991. Together, these give an overview of some recent advances in the area of ordered algebraic structures. The first part of the book is devoted to ordered permutation groups and universal, as well as model-theoretic, aspects. The second part deals with material variously connected to general topology and functional analysis. Collectively, the contents of the book demonstrate the wide applicability of order-theoretic methods, and how ordered algebraic structures have connections with many research disciplines. For researchers and graduate students whose work involves ordered algebraic structures.

This book draws on the expertise of both North American and European specialists of regional economics, evaluating the impact of economic policy in certain regions and considering alternative policies to foster regional economic development and improve the employment and income of the residents of these regions.

Martinez-Vazquez and Vaillancourt have gathered chapters from a renowned international pool of experts, arguing for the importance of human capital in the regional economics process. The first section of the book examines the policy tools and process relevant to regional development, presenting evidence on both the American and Irish experience. The second focuses on the empirical evidence on the impact of taxes and public spending in Canada and the USA. The third examines methodological issues, looking particularly at Spain and Poland.

Taxation and Development highlights the importance of better understanding the ways in which taxes and expenditure are linked. Focusing on developing countries, the book argues for a broader approach to the topic, with a secondary focus on developing and applying new modeling techniques to country-specific data.The contributors demonstrate the critical importance of considering tax issues within the specific context of each country, taking into account not only the level and structure of its economic development but also its history, regional location, and political institutions. Individual chapters cover a range of issues both past and present, and offer insightful recommendations for future research and policy implementation. While a great deal of work has been done on the subject in recent decades, this comprehensive book reveals just how much more we have to learn. Taxation and Development will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of economics in general and in particular, taxation, development and public sector economics. Contributors: R. Bahl, R.M. Bird, M.R. Cyan, A. Feltenstein, W.F. Fox, R. Kelly, L. Lopes, Y.N. Madhoo, J. Martinez-Vazquez, T. Matheson, C.E. McLure, Jr., M.N. Murray, S. Nath, V. Perry, J. Porras-Mendoza, P. Smoke, C. Veung, V. Vulovic, S. Wallace, E.M. Zolt

Science is a huge topic, but this friendly book breaks it down into bite-sized chunks, making it an accessible introduction for anyone who wants to find out about this fascinating subject. Highly illustrated, in a pictorial, 'infographics' style, with snippets of information about all aspects of science from particle physics to genes and DNA.

This book presents 15 original papers and commentaries by a distinguished group of tax policy and tax administration experts. Using international examples, they highlight the state of knowledge of tax reform, present new thinking about the issue, and analyze useful policy options. The book 's general goal is to examine the current and emerging challenges facing tax reformers and to assess possible directions future reforms are likely to take. More specific themes include distributional issues, how to tax capital income, how to design specific taxes (e.g., the income tax, the value-added tax, the property tax), how to consider the politics and administrative aspects of tax reform, and how to combine the separate insights into comprehensive tax reform.

Although coercion is a fundamental and unavoidable part of our social lives, economists have not offered an integrated analysis of its role in the public economy. The essays in this book focus on coercion arising from the operation of the fiscal system, a major part of the public sector. Collective choices on fiscal matters emerge from and have all the essential characteristics of social interaction, including the necessity to force unwanted actions on some citizens. This was recognized in an older tradition in public finance which can still serve as a starting point for modern work. The contributors to the volume recognize this tradition, but add to it by using contemporary frameworks to study a set of related issues concerning fiscal coercion and economic welfare. These issues range from the compatibility of an open access society with the original Wicksellian vision to the productivity of coercion in experimental games.

Scholars and practitioners have long hailed fiscal federalism as a critical tool for improving government services, but it has not always lived up to its promise when applied in specific countries. This book offers both an explanation for such mixed effects and a roadmap for better outcomes in the future. It argues that the benefits of fiscal federalism are contingent on a particular confluence of political institutions, namely democratic decentralization and political party integration. With this in mind, the authors emphasize the importance of striking a ''fine balance'' between the accountability benefits delivered by empowered local governments and the national coordination necessary for good policy outcomes. Such a balance can be achieved, they contend, when integrated party structures compensate for the potential downsides of a decentralized state. The book formalizes this argument for a variety of electoral democracies and, using new data on subnational political institutions, tests it with models of education, health, and infrastructure service delivery in 135 countries across 30 years. It also presents comparative case studies of Senegal and Nigeria. Academic economists and political scientists will value the book for its contribution to the literature on fiscal federalism and political decentralization, and development practitioners will benefit from its practical solutions to the problems of local governance.

The subnational dimension of infrastructure has emerged as one of the greatest challenges in contemporary public finance policy and management. Ensuring the efficient provision of infrastructure represents a challenge for all countries irrespective of their level of centralization or decentralization. This book proposes an innovative approach for the strengthening of decentralized public investment and infrastructure management. Decentralization and Infrastructure in the Global Economy: From Gaps to Solutions covers the most important aspects of infrastructure investment in a decentralized setting. It discusses infrastructure gaps and the quality of subnational spending; how functional responsibilities, financing and equalization can be designed; sector-specific arrangements in high expenditure areas, such as health, education and roads; key steps of the public investment cycle and management; and analyses the political economy and corruption challenges that typically accompany decentralized infrastructure projects. This book challenges some of the well-accepted principles of intergovernmental fiscal relations and will be useful to researchers and practitioners of public finance policy and management.

Over the last several decades, there has been a growing interest in theoretical, empirical, and experimental work on all aspects of tax compliance and tax evasion. The essays in this volume summarize the existing state of knowledge of tax compliance and tax evasion, present new thinking about this issue, and analyze the empirical relevance of these new perspectives. The original essays in this volume represent an attempt to provide a framework on compliance that moves beyond the economics-of-crime perspective, one that provides a more complete understanding of individual (and group) decisions, and one that is more consistent with empirical evidence. It is the insights of behavioural economics that provide much of the bases for these essays and the main theme running through this book is that the basic model of individual choice must be expanded, by introducing some aspects of behaviour or motivation considered explicitly by other social sciences.

Over the last several decades, there has been a growing interest in theoretical, empirical, and experimental work on all aspects of tax compliance and tax evasion. The essays in this volume summarize the existing state of knowledge of tax compliance and tax evasion, present new thinking about this issue, and analyze the empirical relevance of these new perspectives. The original essays in this volume represent an attempt to provide a framework on compliance that moves beyond the economics-of-crime perspective, one that provides a more complete understanding of individual (and group) decisions, and one that is more consistent with empirical evidence.

It is the insights of behavioural economics that provide much of the bases for these essays and the main theme running through this book is that the basic model of individual choice must be expanded, by introducing some aspects of behaviour or motivation considered explicitly by other social sciences.

`Some think that decentralization has not gone "far enough" to be considered successful; others argue that it has already "failed". As the studies of decentralization in 15 developing countries in this volume clearly show, every case is different, and persuasive generalizations are hard to find. Fortunately, the introductory chapter usefully pulls this diverse reality together to highlight some key obstacles to successful decentralization and to suggest some approaches that might - provided that those in power are sufficiently supportive - lead to better outcomes in the future.' - Richard M. Bird, University of Toronto, Canada This insightful study examines the decentralization experiences from 15 countries in different regions of the world. All of these countries have actively attempted to decentralize, or continue to do so, and have faced obstacles serious enough to either derail or significantly delay their decentralization objectives. Decentralization in Developing Countries evaluates the main obstacles to the decentralization process. The contributors expertly discuss the flaws in the decentralization design, resistance from those holding traditional or central power and, uniquely, weak central governments. They then extract lessons for policymakers, regarding what may be done and what should ideally be avoided. This important book focuses on how to implement decentralization plans as whole complete processes, rather than examining individual aspects of decentralization. It will therefore prove invaluable for academics and researchers of development economics, public finance and in particular decentralization. Employees of various bodies, including DFID, UNDP, the World Bank, as well as other development banks and bilateral aid organizations, will also find it an informative resource.

This book draws on the expertise of both North American and European specialists of regional economics, evaluating the impact of economic policy in certain regions and considering alternative policies to foster regional economic development and improve the employment and income of the residents of these regions.

Martinez-Vazquez and Vaillancourt have gathered chapters from a renowned international pool of experts, arguing for the importance of human capital in the regional economics process. The first section of the book examines the policy tools and process relevant to regional development, presenting evidence on both the American and Irish experience. The second focuses on the empirical evidence on the impact of taxes and public spending in Canada and the USA. The third examines methodological issues, looking particularly at Spain and Poland.

PARP! What’s that smell? In this interactive board book, a group of animals enters a rocket to the moon – but it smells like someone keeps breaking wind! Was it one of them? Or was it egg sandwiches, false teeth or stinky socks? As the animals throw smelly items out through the rubbish chute it slowly becomes clearer who the ‘parper’ is… and it’s not who you expect! This sturdy board book includes pull-out sliders, which reveal extra story details – whether it’s the rocket launching or the mystery stinky culprit! Bright, playful illustrations, and lovable animal characters will make Parp! In Space a firm family favourite. This robust board book and its fun sliders will withstand hours of hilarious fun.