bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Administrators and Mergers: A Study of Administrators’ Perceptions
Authors: Feldheim Mary Ann
Published: May 2024

Health care mergers have become the organizational strategy of choice in the 20th century to contain costs and to survive economically. Several studies have been conducted on the economic impact of mergers on the organization and on the managerial staff of merged organizations. Areas where there has been limited research are in the realm of the impact of mergers on the employees, the industry, and the public. To address these areas, a study was conducted of the perceptions of health care administrators of both merged and non-merged organizations in the state of Florida

A primary finding of the study was that administrators of merged organizations held a higher opinion of the benefits of mergers in their organizations and in the industry than did administrators in non-merged organizations. An unanticipated finding of the impact of mergers was that the increased competition has created a wary, hostile environment for administrators, many of whom refused to participate in this study believing it was being conducted by their competition. The rationale for mergers in health care is based on the market value of competition and future research needs to focus more on the unintended consequences of competition in health care to which this study points.
Medicaid Managed Care and Provider Consolidation
Authors: Wolfson Gabrtela S. , Talbert Jeffrey C.
Published: May 2024

In the thrust toward constructing economic value, health care provider firms have been consolidating at a marked rate. Medicaid managed care programs have been rapidly emerging with the objectives of containing health care costs and improving services for beneficiaries. However, there are concerns that the trend toward achieving market efficiency through merger is largely incongruent with the economic and health value objectives of Medicaid managed care programs in the stales. Discordance among value objectives arises primarily because of inefficient and market concentrating horizontal merger strategies employed by firms and disruptions in quality of care that occur during the transition to integrated health care systems. By promoting vertical integration strategies and filling in the quality gaps created by an active merger environment, Medicaid offices advance stale objectives of cost containment and quality while recognizing that providers operate in a complex and competitive environment that necessitates consolidation for organizational survival.
Hospital Restructuring: Impact on Nurses Mediated by Social Support and a Perception of Challenge
Authors: Moore Kathleen A
Published: May 2024

Health care has not escaped the economic rationalization experienced throughout the western world during the 1990s. In Australian, the introduction of Casemix and its accompanying budget cuts, has required major restructuring in hospitals. Change can be stressful yet a consultative style, beliefs that change is a challenge, and good social support were proposed as mediators of the negative effects of change for nurses. This paper presents data from 201 nurses working in three Australian hospitals. The results indicate that, despite restructuring changes during the previous 12 months and their high impact upon hospital and nurse conditions nurses maintained a strong sense of professional efficacy. However, these changes and their impact also predicted nurse burnout. Nurses felt unable to challenge the actual restructuring changes (eg closed units/beds) however, they saw working against the impact of these changes (reduced time, resources) as a challenge. Management's communications about the changes was proposed as a mediator against burnout, but this hypothesis was not supported. Nurses considered management to have adopted a top-down approach and this non-consultative style of communication also predicted nurse burnout. The restructuring changes, their impact, and poor communication style, and burnout also predicted nurses’ intention to quit however, a sense of professional mediated this intent. The implications of the findings are discussed.
A Population Ecology Study of Hospital Closures in Florida Between 1965 and 1995
Authors: Nyhan Ronald , Ferrando Mary Beth , Clare Donald
Published: May 2024

The population ecology literature argues that at the macro level, organizations experience various liabilities to their continued survival. This study examined the effect of size, age, and niche density on the closure of acute care hospitals in Florida between 1965 and 1999.

The primary data for the study was created using information about Florida hospitals found in the annual reports of the American Hospital Association (n = 427). Using the technique of survival analysis, it was found that newer hospitals and hospitals originally established in organizationally dense areas (five or more hospitals within a five mile radius) experienced a significantly greater incidence of closure than did those which were older or founded in less dense areas. Small hospitals (<100 beds) were also shown to be significantly more likely to close than large ones (>300 beds), as were hospitals located in organizationally sparse areas (no other hospitals in 5 mile radius) compared to those in organizationally dense areas (>5 hospitals in 5 mile radius).

The study concludes with an examination of the policy and management implications of the results.
A mixed trigger volumetric growth law for cylindrical deformation in stressed configurations
Authors: Zhuan Xin , Guan Debao , Gao Hao , Theobald Peter , Luo Xiaoyu
Published: May 2024

Soft tissue growth is crucial across various physiological applications, with mathematical modelling playing a pivotal role in understanding the underlying processes. The volumetric growth theory serves as a commonly used mathematical framework in this context. Our previous research on volumetric growth theory primarily concentrated on defining the incremental growth tensor in loaded and stressed configurations, revealing that this approach closely aligns with experimental observations of residual hoop stress distribution. However, given the assumptions employed, the approach has limitations in accurately predicting the growth timeline. In this work, we address these issues by incorporating the effect of initial residual strain and introducing a new mixed trigger growth evolution law. In this growth law, we do not use growth saturation as an upper limit, as this assumption cannot represent many physiological conditions. Instead, we propose that growth in soft tissues leads to a new equilibrium state. To illustrate this idea, we introduce a growth incompatibility function, denoted as [Formula: see text]. We establish the analytical relationship between [Formula: see text] and the opening angle in a simplified cylindrical geometry resembling the structure of the heart or arteries. We put forth a revised growth law that is both stress and incompatibility driven/Our results show that by using this mixed trigger growth law, tissues will not grow indefinitely. Instead, a stress-driven homeostasis incompatibility state will be reached. In addition, by accounting for the initial opening angle in the model, we can accurately trace the growth history of the heart, aligning with experimental data obtained from measuring the opening angle in young pigs from birth to maturity.
Party responsiveness over time: From left-right to issue specific dimensions
Authors: Dassonneville Ruth , Fréchet Nadjim , Jabbour Alexandra , Ferland Benjamin , Homola Jonathan
Published: May 2024

Parties’ ideological responsiveness to public opinion is a key finding in the party politics literature. Leveraging the longitudinal coverage of public opinion and party position data, this research note shows that findings of left-right ideological responsiveness are limited to a specific time period. We find that since the mid-1990s, left-right shifts in public opinion are no longer significantly associated with party position changes on the same dimension. By examining over-time changes in responsiveness on more specific issue dimensions, we also uncover that at about the same time, a pattern of responsiveness on issues related to nationalism/immigration has emerged. These findings highlight the need to move beyond a focus on a single left-right dimension for studying public opinion and party behavior.
Incipient bearing fault detection using adaptive fast iterative filtering decomposition and modified Laplace of Gaussian filter
Authors: Wei Yu , Li Yongbo , Wang Xianzhi
Published: May 2024

The impact components induced by faulty bearings can be readily concealed by environmental noise and other interferences due to their inherent weakness, especially during the incipient stages of fault development. A novel approach is presented in this study for the detection of incipient bearing faults, which combines an adaptive fast iterative filtering decomposition (FIFD) method with a modified Laplace of Gaussian filter. The first step involves proposing an adaptive FIFD (AFIFD) method employing improved sparrow search algorithm, enabling adaptive selection of the optimal parameter within the FIFD method. The AFIFD technique is able to adaptively decompose a complicated signal into a set of mono-components. Subsequently, a modified Laplace of Gaussian is used to highlight the fault-related cyclic impulse train from a sensitive mono-component decomposed by the AFIFD method. Finally, the envelope analysis performing on enhanced signals is applied to identify fault characteristic frequencies. Results from some case studies demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of extracting incipient fault signatures. The superiority of the proposed method is further validated through some comparative tests with recently developed fault detection methods.
Effect of hydrocarbon volume ratio in sweet top-of-the-line corrosion under water-hydrocarbon co-condensation
Authors: Ramlan Dinna Geraldine , Norizan Nor Aszreeyn , Zulfaisal Nur Alin Zainab , Othman Norinsan Kamil , Yaakob Najmiddin
Published: May 2024

Wet gas pipelines transport unprocessed natural gas that contains water and carbon dioxide (CO2), which combination can lead to severe wall loss caused by CO2 or sweet corrosion in carbon steel. Under specific conditions, CO2 corrosion occurs at the top section of the pipeline, which is known as top-of-the-line corrosion (TLC). TLC tests were conducted in the water-hydrocarbon co-condensation environment using 10 vol% n-heptane and 25 vol% n-heptane to simulate the internal condition of a wet gas pipeline to study the effect of hydrocarbon volume ratio towards TLC. The presence of n-heptane showed minimal effect on the gas temperature profile; however, n-heptane suppressed the water condensation, resulting in a tremendous decrease in the water condensation rate (WCR). The TLC rates were found to be lower in the presence of n-heptane, which can be attributed to the reduced WCR and water-wetted areas. The presence of n-heptane had no significant effect on the pitting rates but showed an increasing pit ratio as the n-heptane volume increased. TLC tests were conducted at three durations: one day, two days and three days showing that n-heptane has no significant effect on corrosion kinetics.
Editor's Introduction
Authors: von Hagen Jürgen
Published: May 2024

The Stability and Growth Pact of the European Monetary Union (EMU) has received much attention from macro economists in recent years. Originally proposed by Germany's then finance Minister Theo Waigel in an attempt order to dilute the German public's fears of a weak euro, the Pact was received with sympathy by European policy makers. It was incorporated into the legislation governing EMU at the Amsterdam Summit of 1997. the Stability and Growth Pact adds more strength and precision to the provisions of the Excessive Deficit Procedure of the Maastricht Treaty and accelerates the relevant decision making procedures.
Optimal Debt Management with a Stability and Growth Pact
Authors: Missale Alessandro
Published: May 2024

The “Stability and Growth Pact” introduces deficit stabilization as a new objective of debt management. the interest payments on public debt may serve as a hedge against the budget consequences of cyclical downturns and unexpected deflation. the optimal debt composition depends on the correlations between interest rates, output and inflation. Estimated correlations for the period 1960–1997 and the implied debt compositions provide benchmarks for implications regarding the EMU. the paper explores how relevant correlations between output, inflation and interest rates may have changed with the shift in the monetary regime and thus how the debt composition, which stabilizes the deficit, has changed. A longer maturity structure of conventional debt is optimal if the ECB places a lower weight on output stabilization than the national monetary authorities and if EMU member states are hit by asymmetric shocks. Short-term conventional debt should instead be issued by countries which experience a relatively higher output and inflation uncertainty and a lower sensitivity of aggregate demand to interest-rate changes. the optimal share of inflation-indexed debt is largest in a strict inflation targeting regime; the lower the weight that the ECB assigns to output stabilization, the more attractive is inflation indexation for deficit stabilization.
Entry and Exit Dynamics of ‘Excessive Deficits’ in the European Union
Authors: Bayar Ali H.
Published: May 2024

The extent of government deficits and debt has been one of the most debated issues in recent years. However, very little has been contributed about their dynamics. Yet, the issue of entering into and exiting from excessive deficits will be critical in the European monetary union since the Stability and Growth Pact rules out deficits larger than three percent of GDP, except strictly defined unusual conditions. This paper provides a transition data analysis of the dynamics of public deficits. It shows the asymmetric role played by the economic determinants in this dynamics and estimates the evolution of the probability of entering into and exiting from excessive deficits for each one of the member states of the European Union since 1970. It also reveals how the concurrence of some minor changes may produce a major switchover in public finance outcomes. Finally, it points to the fragility of some countries even if they are now out of excessive deficits.
The Effects of Public Capital on the Economy
Authors: Batina Raymond G.
Published: May 2024

This paper introduces the study of the effects of public capital on the economy and briefly discusses the papers included in this symposium. Each paper presents new results on the effects of public capital on the economy. Different data sets are used, a variety of estimation strategies are employed, and several countries are studied including the US, Japan, the Netherlands, and a collection of OECD countries. in general, the papers included in this volume provide support for the result that public capital does have a positive effect on output and on economic growth, and can lower cost in certain industries such as agriculture. However, the magnitude of the effects may not be as large as the early estimates tended to indicate in every case.
Public Infrastructure Impacts on U.S. Agricultural Production: A State-Level Panel Analysis of Costs and Netput Composition
Authors: Paul Catherine J. Morrison , Ball V. Eldon , Felthoven Ronald G. , Nehring Richard
Published: May 2024

In this study we consider the potential for public infrastructure investment in the transportation (highway) network to enhance the productivity of the U.S. agriculture sector. Using state level panel data for 1960–1996 we measure cost-saving shadow values for public infrastructure (G). the analysis is based on a cost function model of land, labor, capital, fertilizer, pesticide and “other” material input demands, which is augmented by pricing equations for crop and animal outputs to reflect profit maximization. We also distinguish the input- and output-specific components of the shadow value measures, and their implications for netput compositional changes. the results indicate that infrastructure investment generates cost-savings benefits from substitution for all inputs, with land-using and materials-saving biases. in addition, G expenditures are found to generate larger marginal benefits for animal outputs than for crops.
Convergence of Public Capital Investment among the United States, 1977–1996
Authors: Annala Chris , Perez Stephen J.
Published: May 2024

In recent years there has been a significant amount of research on the issue of income convergence between nations. There have also been several studies examining income convergence among the United States. This paper examines convergence in public capital investment among the fifty United States from 1977–1996. We find significant evidence that public capital investment has converged over this time period in terms of both absolute and conditional convergence.
Does A Flat Rate Individual Income Tax Reduce Tax Progressivity? A Simulation for the Netherlands
Authors: Caminada Koen , Goudswaard Kees
Published: May 2024

Throughout the last couple of decades the individual income tax systems of most industrialized countries have been (repeatedly) the subject of considerable reform efforts. Although the reform packages vary to a wide extent across countries, the direction of change is roughly similar. Most tax reforms are characterized by base broadening, reduction of tax rates, flattening of the rate structure, and lower tax to GDP-ratios. Implementing a flat rate individual income tax seems to be in line with these reforms, although several steps further along.

In this paper, we construct a flat rate/broad base individual income tax system and we compare the distribution of the current personal income tax in the Netherlands to the distribution of the simulated flat rate tax. Using extended data, the effects are simulated of eliminating deductions in exchange for a reduction in tax rates, sufficient to keep personal income tax revenue constant. Our simulations indicate that:

■ After drastic base broadening, a proportional rate of 27.7% balances the budget (ex ante). Such a flat rate causes only relatively small changes in average tax ratios.

■ Overall tax progressivity is mainly caused by the fixed personal exemption, which we maintained in the simulated flat rate tax. We calculated only a 6 percent lower income elasticity in the flat rate system; the concentration (Gini) index of taxes indicates a modest 4 percent decline in progressivity.
Challenges for Latin American States and Public Enterprises at the Turn of the New Millennium
Authors: Hernandez Jose Gpe. Vargas
Published: May 2024

This article acknowledges that the last decades of the 20th century have seen the institutions of governance in Latin American countries affected by small macroeconomic achievements and reduced economic growth, and the development of an extremely fragile democracy. the implanting of the new model of neoliberal state consolidation has come at high cost, and has not produced either the expected strengthening in the political, economic and social spheres, or the expected gains in efficiency, equity and freedom. This so-called economic liberalization has generated instability in the structure and functions of the state and public enterprises, limiting the reaches of democracy and legality, and ensuring that the effects of the associated managerial orientation which has transformed public administration are largely negative. Looking forward into the 21st century, a pessimistic prediction is that these tendencies will continue, producing similar unstable mixes of democratic populism and oligarchic pragmatism. More optimistically, the Latin American states may come to see that genuine social development is necessary for sustained economic growth, and introduce policies to achieve that outcome.
Assessing Options for Changing the Federal Government Budget Process
Authors: Jones L. R. , McCaffery Jerry
Published: May 2024

The authors examine the enduring difficulties of reforming the budgetary process, explain some of the causes of these difficulties and recommend budget reforms as starting points to improve U. S. federal government budgeting. They also report on initiatives of the Bush Administration and Congress to implement performance measurement in federal management and budgeting.
School Performance Evaluation Using Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Coates Dennis C. , Lamdin Douglas J.
Published: May 2024

We advocate the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) along with regression and other tools of policy analysis for evaluation of resource utilization and policies within education. in light of the increasing focus on outcome assessment, accountability, and efficient allocation of education resources, in a multiple output-multiple input environment, we believe that DEA currently is underused. We emphasize interpretation of DEA results with focus on an evaluation of the resource allocations, particularly time in instruction, in the Illinois (U.S.) public elementary schools. We find that the typical elementary school in Illinois could get 10 to 15 percent better scores on state administered proficiency examinations if it used the resources it has more effectively.
Enacting E-Budgeting in Mexico (1)
Authors: Cid Gabriel Purón , Gil-García J. Ramón
Published: May 2024

There is a common understanding that e-government applications have the potential to transform governmental operations and services. Public managers in different countries are working to provide the benefits of information technologies to their agencies and clients. Budgeting is one of the most relevant and comprehensive government processes and electronic budgeting is a very necessary part of this new wave of reform. However, e-budgeting is not only a matter of how information technology can change the budgeting process, but also a question of how the government setting affects the kind of technology that can be implemented and used. This paper discusses how organizational dynamics and institutional arrangements affect the technology features of e-budgeting projects in Mexico.
No Infant Left Behind: Public Finance Arguments for Mandated Leave and Income Supports for Parents
Authors: Trzcinski Eileen
Published: May 2024

This article constructs a theoretical and evidence-based argument concerning why maternity and parental leave policy must be viewed as human capital investment policy. It is argued that income support schemes which allow for (1) parental choice in terms of care and (2) inclusion of different income groups offer relative advantages over other alternatives in terms of both equity and political feasibility.

Skill formation is a dynamic process with strong synergistic components. Skill begets skill. Early investment promotes later investment. At current levels of investment, American society underinvests in the very young. When offered choices and the opportunity to experiment, most parents generally choose wisely, at least after they have gained some experience.
The Reform of the Nhs in Portugal
Authors: Diogo Catarina
Published: May 2024

The objective of this article is to describe the Portuguese National Healthcare Service, giving a special emphasis to the recent reforms that have been introduced since the beginning of 2002. Its main argument is that there are two different (but connected) rationales that underpin the orientation of the current reforms. One the one hand, the explicit rationale that refers mainly to the ‘visible’ and stated causes and motivations of the reforms. on the other hand, the implicit rationale, whose influence over the government's actions is not expressed as such, either because it is not perceived, or because it is not assumed. in the conclusion, it re-examines the importance of the approached followed in the article and the extent to which it can be useful to understand the Portuguese NHS and its future development.
Contextualizing Tiebout: Mobility, Municipalities and Methodology
Authors: Marsh Alex , Kay Adrian
Published: May 2024

There has recently been a resurgence of interest in fiscal mobility among policy makers in the UK and the structure of local taxation is under review. in this context Tiebout's model of fiscal mobility continues to attract interest. the key result of Tiebout's seminal paper on local public goods is well-known, but the extent to which differences in the tax-service bundle available in different localities influences residential mobility and location in practice continues to be debated. This paper revisits the issue of fiscal mobility to examine two issues. First, it considers the idea of fiscal mobility in the light of the residential mobility literature. Second, it discusses how well the idea travels and, in particular, examines the way in which the institutions and processes of local government shape the opportunities for fiscal mobility. the paper suggests that the relevance of the Tiebout model to the British, or the more generally a non-US, context has yet to be demonstrated. We also review a number of epistemological and methodological issues which, while acknowledged in the literature, have not been explored quite as extensively as they might have been. Finally, we suggest that the trajectory of the Tiebout debate raises some fundamental issues related to the philosophy of social science that warrant further investigation. We propose that approaching the debate from the perspective of a Lakatosian scientific research programme may be one potentially fruitful line of enquiry.
The Impact of New Stadiums on Professional Baseball Team Finances
Authors: Depken Craig A.
Published: May 2024

This paper investigates the impact of a new stadium on the finances of professional baseball teams and updates the empirical evidence through the 1990s. the data suggest that new stadiums continue to generate substantial short-term returns to team owners, partially explaining their insistence on public subsidies for new stadiums. Conclusions that the public returns to a new stadium are minimal likely reflect the ability of team owners to negotiate for the majority of the additional revenue generated by a new stadium. the additional profit to a team owner averaged in excess of seven million dollars during each of the first five years of a new baseball stadium.
Introduction to the Special Edition on the Nhs Part 2
Authors: Greener Ian
Published: May 2024

This brief paper contextualises the reform of health care in the UK National Health Service, before introducing the papers in this special edition.
Introduction to Symposium on Government Spending
Authors: Cohen Darrel
Published: May 2024

This symposium features three papers that investigate various aspects of government spending. the papers also share common ground in the considerable attention paid by each to international issues. Beyond that, the papers are quite different. They vary considerably in the mix of theory and empirical evidence as well as in the specific aspects of government spending that are investigated. the paper by Darrel Cohen utilizes techniques from the spectral analysis of time series to characterize seasonal, cyclical, and long-run properties of various measures of U.S. government spending; in addition, spectral techniques are combined with an intertemporal optimizing model of a representative consumer to shed light on the issues of the degree of direct substitution between government and private consumption spending in each of twelve major economies. the paper by Louise Sheiner uses cross-country data to address the question of whether conventional projections of a country's future health care expenditures are based on a faulty assumption that relative health spending by age remains constant. This paper is quite topical given impending demographic changes and related projected impacts on government outlays on health and retirement programs in many countries. the paper by Michele Cavallo develops a theoretical model and utilizes a calibration exercise to examine the effects on the current account balance of changes to different types of government spending, in particular expenditures on goods and expenditures on hours worked.
Structuring Homeland Security Grants: Florida's Local finance officials Evaluate the Funding Process
Authors: Caruson Kiki , MacManus Susan A.
Published: May 2024

Homeland security preparedness is largely a local government activity. A fall 2005 survey of Florida city and county finance/budget officials evaluates the fairness and adequacy of available federal and state homeland security funding from a local government perspective. Local officials were asked to evaluate federal and state funding allocations, competing approaches to the distribution of homeland security grant funding, the balance between response and prevention funding, and various approaches to intergovernmental organization for emergency management activities. We find that finance officials from small counties and cities are more likely than their larger counterparts to indicate a need for greater access to federal funding; but city officials from all sizes of jurisdictions are more likely than their county counterparts to report an interest in greater state funding. There is general consensus among small and large cities and counties that both population and risk-based factors should guide federal funding decisions, but city officials are more divided regarding this issue. Most of Florida's finance officials report satisfaction with the balance of prevention versus response grant offerings, but many would like to see more monies earmarked specifically for response activities. as to the best intergovernmental approach to emergency management, Florida's local officials are divided. Many see value in an approach that emphasizes either a predominantly local or state organizational structure, but they are in agreement that they do not want a centralized top-down federal structure. We find that the intergovernmental dynamics present in homeland security grant funding are the same as in previous grants-in-aid—even in the state ranked as the most prepared in the nation.
Public Sector Entrepreneurialism and the Production of Defense
Authors: Markowski Stefan , Hall Peter
Published: May 2024

This paper considers the proposition, popular in much political rhetoric over the last two decades, that public sector organisations should develop entrepreneurial capabilities in their provision of public goods and their interactions with private sector providers. We take national security as a paradigm case of public goods and discuss issues around entrepreneurship in its provision by public and private sector organisations. We argue that while there appear to be clear opportunities for extending an entrepreneurial culture into the operations of national defense organisations, the special features of providing security as a public good presents fundamental challenges. We use a principal-agent framework to undertake analysis.
Effects of “Democratic Control” on the Efficiency of Local Public Enterprises: Empirical Evidence for Water Suppliers in Eastern Germany
Authors: Haug Peter
Published: May 2024

This paper deals with the effects of interference by local governments on the business affairs of publicly owned utilities. A partial model is presented to illustrate the consequences of “democratic control” on the public managers’ effort and the efficiency of local public production. to empirically check the theoretical results, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) was carried out on a sample of Eastern German water suppliers. the organizational form is used in the regression analysis to measure the degree of municipal control. the results of the OLS- and Tobit regression indicate an efficiency-enhancing effect on organizational forms with less distinctive control options for local politicians.
Explaining Budgetary Indiscipline: Evidence from Spanish Municipalities
Authors: Lago-Peñas Ignacio , Lago-Peñas Santiago
Published: May 2024

The search for political support leads ultimately to upward deviations from forecasted public deficits. This hypothesis is tested using a data set from Galician municipalities during the period 1985–1995. Econometric estimates demonstrate that single-party majority incumbents are less likely to change forecasted budgets. Moreover, upward deviations in the deficit tend to increase in election years. Incumbent's ideology is not relevant to explain deviations in deficit.
The Political Economy of Delaying Fiscal Consolidation
Authors: Cournède Boris
Published: May 2024

Over the next decades, many OECD countries are anticipating large increases in public spending as a result of population ageing and other long-term structural trends. the need to put public finances on a sustainable footing is widely recognised, but progress has been uneven and slow. Some policy makers may feel that action can be deferred for a few years at little cost because of the long-term nature of the problem. This paper questions this perception by proposing a model of the political costs of consolidating public finances. the main finding is that even a short delay increases political cost of consolidation quite markedly when ultimately policy makers are facing a deadline by which sustainability must be restored. the conclusion is robust to a wide range of changes in assumptions and specification. A variant of the model shows that with an infinite horizon the incentive to consolidate is weaker, which highlights the importance of setting a deadline.
Assessing Fiscal Sustainability in the G-7 Countries
Authors: Hauner David , Leigh Daniel , Skaarup Michael
Published: May 2024

Rising longevity, falling fertility rates, and the retirement of the baby boom generation will substantially raise age-related government spending in most advanced and many emerging market countries. This paper assesses the evolution of fiscal sustainability for each of the G-7 countries using two standard primary gap indicators. the estimated fiscal adjustment required to ensure long-run fiscal sustainability is substantial for all G-7 countries. in particular, ensuring fiscal sustainability would require an average improvement in the primary balance of about 4 percentage points of GDP. While the overall adjustment required to achieve long-run fiscal sustainability in G-7 countries is large, there are significant growth benefits to putting public finances on a sustainable footing in the near term versus delayed adjustment.
Tax Reform in China: Past Performance and Future Challenges
Authors: Peiyong Gao
Published: May 2024

China's current tax structure was introduced by its 1994 tax reform which holds the most important position in China's modern history on account of its scale and implications. Putting tax system building under the background of market economy, the reform has established a basic framework of China's tax system meeting the requirements of market economy. in its 13 years’ operation, China's current tax system has played a significant role in China's economic and social development. However, some contradictions between current tax system and economic and social environments have arisen. as a result, China's current tax system is facing with the requirement of further reform. Under such a background, launching a new round of tax reform in a timely manner, according to the transformed economic and social environments, has already been included into China's 11th Five-year Plan. This paper discusses the accomplishments of the current tax system and the outstanding issues requiring further reform.
Voting on Labor-Market Integration and Education Policy When Citizens Differ in Mobility and Ability
Authors: Haupt Alexander , Uebelmesser Silke
Published: May 2024

We analyze how institutional and political decisions are intertwined. Citizens who differ in their mobility and ability vote first on labor market integration and afterwards on education policy. the institutional decision on integration influences the succeeding education policy. More surprisingly, the prospect of voting on education policy also affects the preceding integration decision. There are incentives for citizens to vote strategically for the institutional setting in which their preferred education policy is more successful at the polls. We show how a ‘joint’ analysis of the institutional and political decision alters the results compared to an ‘isolated’ analysis of either of the two decisions. Also, we explore how the two-dimensional heterogeneity of the citizens shapes the voting equilibrium in our setting with sequential voting.
Symposium on the Future and past of European Union Finances
Authors: Feld Lars P. , Heinemann Friedrich
Published: May 2024

Following the agreement on the current multi-annual financial framework, the European Union discusses possibilities of revising the EU budget. This process is supposed to be finished in 2009. This symposium aims at contributing to the debate and to a better understanding of what drives spending and revenue of the EU. It first contains papers that are formulating proposals for a revision of EU finances and second studies that empirically analyze which economic and political factors determine the EU budget.
Effects of Fiscal Decentralization on Public Sector Growth in Austria
Authors: Bröthaler Johann , author) Michael Getzner (corresponding
Published: May 2024

The determinants of the growth of the public sector have drawn significant attention by researchers with an increasing focus on the effects of fiscal federalism. The objective of the paper is to test whether fiscal decentralization contributes to the growth of government expenditure in Austria for the period of 1955 to 2007. The empirical results of this paper suggest that the commonly hypothesized determinants of total government expenditure may bear some explanatory power in Austrian fiscal policies. Government expenditures seem to be determined by GDP with increases of the size of the public sector until about mid-1990s. Expenditures react to active fiscal policies influencing the unemployment rate. There is also some indication of fiscal illusion of policy makers. We find that fiscal decentralization measured by the share of sub-national expenditure to total government expenditure has a dampening effect on total government expenditure, thus corroborating the hypothesis of the efficiency of a federal system. However, decentralization in the Austrian system is mainly attributable to the significant growth of grants from the national to the sub-national levels of government. Our conclusions therefore cannot be generalized in terms of an efficiency advantage of a federal over a centralized system.
Will Green Taxes Undermine Moral Motivation?
Authors: Nyborg Karine
Published: May 2024

Both psychologists and economists have shown that under certain circumstances, economic incentives seem to undermine intrinsic or moral motivation. If such crowding-out effects are sufficiently strong, the effect of green taxes might even be counterproductive and increase, rather than decrease, environmental problems. However, moral motivation can also be reinforced by economic incentives, a fact which has received surprisingly little attention in the literature. In particular, reciprocal preferences and conditional cooperation may cause green taxes to support, rather than undermine, individuals’ moral motivation to contribute to a better environment.
The Global Financial Crisis and Public Finances in the New Eu Countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Developments and Challenges
Authors: Staehr Karsten
Published: May 2024

This paper discusses the public finances of the 10 new EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on the effects of the global financial crisis that started in 2008. The budget outcomes have differed markedly across the new EU countries, both before and during the crisis. The direct impact of the crisis on public finances was limited, but the severe downturns have strained public finances and increased debt ratios. Estimations of budget reaction functions reveal that the overall budget balance has, in general, been moderately counter-cyclical, but also that the counter-cyclicality derives entirely from the revenue side. The medium-term fiscal outlook rests, to a large extent, on the prospects for growth. The uncertainties regarding future economic growth and stability in financial markets suggest that several of the new EU countries need to tighten fiscal policies as a medium-term prudential measure.
Introduction to the Symposium on Flexible Budgeting
Authors: Sacco John F. , Stalebrink Odd , Posner Paul
Published: May 2024

This symposium includes several articles on flexible budgeting. Flexible budgeting pertains to financial decisions made in the face of constraints and opportunities. It is the opportunity side that opens the door to flexibility. Opportunities for finding revenue and pursuing service delivery can be sought in good and bad times. It is the opportunism in good times that aids budgeting in times of fiscal stress. Each of the articles explores the constraints and opportunities, some at a theoretical level, some for specific budgeting problems and some for specialized policy areas. Approaches to dealing with constraints include revenue diversification, slack resources, openings in laws and attention to social economic conditions.
The Rationalization of Public Budgeting in China: A Reflection on Participatory Budgeting in Wuxi
Authors: Wu Yan , Wang Wen
Published: May 2024

Participatory budgeting (PB) has been introduced to China at the grass-root level to strengthen the influence of the public in the budgetary decision-making process. Based on a theoretical framework from the perspective of budgetary decision-making, this paper investigates the driving forces for the implementation of PB in Wuxi City, the procedures of citizen participation, the outcomes of participation, and the future challenges in implementing the reform. Field research was conducted to collect data for this case study, which finds that Wuxi has made some progress in enhancing social, political, economic and technical rationalities but not in legal rationality. This paper also discusses the policy implications of this case study for further development of PB in China.
An Examination of Government Internal Audits’ Role in Improving Financial Performance
Authors: Aikins Stephen Kwamena
Published: May 2024

This research empirically examines how the work of government internal audits lead to improvements in government financial performance. Periodic economic downturn and dwindling state aid to local governments have left many public managers looking for ways to improve financial oversight and operational efficiency. Although internal audit is one area with the expertise to assess efficient utilization of financial resources and help improve oversight and financial performance, public administration research has paid little attention to the role of internal audit in the financial management process. A survey was sent to local government Chief Auditors to learn of audit's examination of government operations and financial management. Financial performance data were obtained from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) of survey respondents’ local governments and analyzed with the survey responses. Results show that in general, local government auditors perform more audits in operational areas that deal with fiscal receipts and outlays. Additionally, auditors’ work significantly influences local government financial performance both directly and indirectly through improvements in internal controls and efficiency of operations.
Cash Management Practices among Southeastern County Governments: Proper Utilization Or Excessive Caution
Authors: Modlin Steve , Stewart La Shonda M.
Published: May 2024

Proper management of idle cash reserves is becoming a major feature within county government revenue policy. Each facet of the process, from collections and disbursements to investments, is critical if local governments expect to maximize cash flow. This study examines cash management practices of county governments in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. External governmental factors, banking practices, and investment choices are all examined to assess contributions to return on investments. The findings indicate that decision-maker responsibility, the use of external banks, and the use of zero balance accounts or concentration accounts have a positive impact on investment return. In addition, as money becomes more available, investment prerogatives generally focus on the local government investment pool.
Oil Revenues, Government Spending Policy, and Growth
Authors: Anshasy Amany A. El
Published: May 2024

This study argues that government spending composition determines how oil abundance ultimately impacts growth. Using dynamic panel-data GMM and PMG techniques on a panel of oil exporters, we find that the negative growth effect of oil price volatility is channeled through fiscal policy. In particular, revenue windfalls may impede growth through at least three channels: (i) weakening the domestic tax base, (ii) lowering the social return on new public capital, and (iii) intensifying political spending pressures resulting from the accumulation of surpluses. The main policy implication for oil-exporting countries is that it is imperative to use strict fiscal rules, backed by the appropriate political incentives, to insulate public spending from oil cycles. Investing the surplus (in sovereign wealth funds) or retiring public debt amid oil windfalls would alleviate competitive rent-seeking pressures and enhance the social gains from revenue booms.
Ngos Holding Governments Accountable: Civil-Society Budget Work
Authors: Justice Jonathan B. , Tarimo Fratern J.
Published: May 2024

Efforts to make public administration more efficient and more democratic need not take place entirely within government. For example, “budget work” by nongovernmental organizations and other types of civil-society collectives is one way in which government fiscal policy and administration can potentially be made more transparent and thereby more democratically accountable. A logical framework and an exploratory analysis of 72 organizations doing budget work based in 26 countries illustrate some of the ways in which the practice of budget work can be pursued in response to specific political and economic contexts and goals. Consistent with the framework, certain transparency-related goals and activities are common to virtually all of the organizations across differing normative conceptions of democracy, and some correlations are apparent between organizational designs and goals and organizational environments and between organizational activities and goals.
Loss Aversion and Rationality in Cutback Management: A Deliberative Democratic Approach to Contingent Valuation
Authors: Moore William , Baber Walter F. , Bartlett Robert V.
Published: May 2024

Contingent valuation is a widely used and well-understood technique for the valuation of non-market resources. But under conditions of fiscal stress and budget reduction, the phenomenon of loss aversion (the tendency of otherwise rational people to place a higher value on a good they stand to lose than they did before it came into their possession) poses significant challenges to contingent valuation of public goods. This paper proposes inverting the process of contingent valuation and making it more deliberatively democratic in order to determine what citizens are “willing to sacrifice” under conditions of fiscal stress. This re-imagined form of contingent valuation offers advantages in terms of governmental transparency, analytical accuracy, and democratic legitimacy. It also allows practitioners of cutback management to incorporate important elements of political consensus building into early stages of the policy process, and it alerts them to the need and opportunity to ameliorate the impacts of spending reductions.