bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Examining the performance of Laguerre-based and nonlinear predictive control models for wheeled mobile robots when facing obstacles
Authors: Lin Ming Hung , Jalalnezhad Mostafa , Cuba Carbajal Nestor , Abdulkhakovna Shakirova Indira , Almufti Saman M. , Oudah Al- Muttar Mohammed Yousif , Hadrawi Salema K , Hlail Saif Hameed
Published: May 2024

This focuses on the problem of controlling the formation of a team of rotating robots that are not homonomic and are not able to interact in a barrier environment. The virtual structure formation control strategy is obtained here to calculate each path of the robot separately while the reference path of the virtual center of the formation is generated by artificial potential fields. In this presentation, we will introduce a new control algorithm that utilizes Model predictive control and nonlinear system dynamics. Three traditional model prediction control controllers (MPC): logger-based MPC, nonlinear MPC, and traditional MPC are used to apply the control algorithm for the nonlinear system. Model predictive control is used to calculate the torques required to track the path by using the dynamic model of the Rotary moving robot. A proposed control rule is the most effective approach to solving the formation and tracking problems. Model Predictive Control will be introduced through the introduction of basic ideas and terms. Traditional MPC, logger-based MPC, and non-linear MPC are among the three MPC methods to be offered. The discrete time display of the power plant under control is taken into account by developing MPC methods for linear or nonlinear systems for practical implementation. The model predictor controller optimizes a cost function to calculate an optimal control sequence at any sampling point. While ignoring the rest, the system only achieves the first control action of this sequence. During subsequent sampling, the optimization problem is resolvable with the use of updated process measurements and a different horizon. The cost function formula is determined by the controller’s purpose. An error function often plays a role in determining the objective by revealing the difference between the desired and actual response. The shape of the formation can be preserved by the law of control by utilizing information from other robots, which can be assured through a new cost function. In the current conditions of disruption, the proposed controllers can also achieve the goal of tracking the path and maintaining formation, according to the results.
“I Put Her in the Baby Stroller and Left”: The Escape Route From Violence to a Domestic Violence Shelter for Mothers and Children
Authors: Thunberg Sara , Arnell Linda
Published: May 2024

Little is known about mothers’ and children's escape from violence and its aftermath when living in secure accommodation, especially with regard to children. The aim is to investigate mothers’ experiences of their escape, and their considerations regarding the well-being of their young children before or during their escape, based on 14 interviews. Using a narrative thematic analysis, the results show that the escape was often planned, but that the planning horizon varies. In many cases, the mothers’ social network served as a stepping-stone during the escape, before they continued by moving to a domestic violence shelter (DVS). Implications for policy and practice are offered.
Issues Confronting Lesbian and Gay Eldersc: The Challenge for Health and Human Services Providers
Authors: Claes Jacalyn A. , Moore Wayne
Published: May 2024

During the past two decades, the number of people over the age of 65 in the United States has been increasing twice as fast as the rest of the population. Within this diverse group, gerontologists are increasingly aware that there also exists a large population of older lesbian, gay men, and bisexuals. Health professionals must learn to acknowledge and meet the needs of this population. This article assists in addressing the knowledge gap by acquainting the reader with the aging concerns of lesbian and gay men; the impact of homophobia on their health; common heterosexual practices and their impact on care; retirement and leisure issues; the hidden incidence of abuse and neglect; and some suggested strategies that will assist health and human services workers in providing quality care for lesbians and gays as they age.
Aging in America: Challenges and Strategies for Health Care Delivery
Authors: Forti Esther M. , Johnson James A. , Graber David R.
Published: May 2024

This article delineates the current and future trends related to aging in the United States. The demographic and economic forces outlined are ones that will clearly challenge health services leaders and policy-makers in the coming decades. Various policy interventions and strategies currently underway to address the needs of the aging population are described. Shifts in caregiving patterns, the delivery of long-term care services, economics, choices in living arrangements, and managed care programs for the elderly are a few of the issues presented in this article. Health and human services for the elderly will undergo a profound change as the health system continues to adapt itself to the demands of an aging society.
Strategic Management and Health Workforce Policy
Authors: Valentine John A.
Published: May 2024

Among the many consequences of health care restructuring is the impact such changes have on the training requirements for the health professions. Since workforce planning has been difficult and sometimes controversial in relatively stable times, it is likely to be even more problematic amid the turbulent changes ahead as the U.S. health care system restructures for the 21 century. Strategic management models emphasizing stakeholder involvement offer a middle ground between the extremes of government mandates and free markets by engaging a variety of participants with a stake in the planning outcome. The following report on the New Jersey effort to engage a variety of health care stakeholders in a participatory management process to shape the state physician workforce may provide useful insights for both managers and policy-makers.
Hospital Reengineering: An Evolving Management Innovation - History, Current Status and Future Direction
Authors: Walston Stephen Lee , Urden Linda D. , Sullivan Patricia
Published: May 2024

This paper summarizes six years of research on reengineering in hospitals. It is the result of two national surveys and eighteen site visits to hospitals that engaged in reengineering in the 1990's. The research shows that actual hospital reengineering differs substantially from that which was initially proposed by early promoters of reengineering. However, this evolved reengineering continues to be implemented by the majority of hospitals in the U.S. We illustrate how extensive reductions of managers and changes of nursing care models have been in the past six years. Data comparing financial and cost competitiveness changes is also shared. We then explore the continued experience of two early proponents of reengineering and find that their competitive outcomes to be in contrast with their early statements. Last, we suggest a number of reasons that may impact on the success or failure of reengineering.
Downsizing-initiated Job Transfer of Hospital Nurses: How do the Job Transferees Fare?
Authors: Armstrong-Stassen Marjorie , Cameron Sheila J. , Horsburgh Martha E.
Published: May 2024

In this longitudinal panel study, we compared the reactions to hospital amalgamation of 66 nurses who had been transferred to a different unit for a downsizing-related reason (bumped/displaced, unit closed, redundancy) with the reactions of 181 nurses who remained on their same unit. Prior to any job transfers, the two groups perceived comparable levels of support and held similar attitudes towards their job and the hospital. Two years later, after job transfers had taken place, transferred nurses perceived significantly lower coworker support and were less satisfied with their coworkers than nurses who were not transferred. They also reported a significantly greater decrease in organizational commitment than nurses who were not transferred. However, both groups of nurses reported a significant decrease between time 1 and time 2 in perceived organizational support, satisfaction with amount of work and career future, hospital identification, and organizational trust. Overall, the results indicate that the downsizing associated with the amalgamation of the hospitals had a highly negative effect not only on those nurses who were transferred because of the downsizing but also on those nurses who remained on their original unit.
Hospital Restructuring and Nursing Staff Well Being: The Role of Personal Resources1
Authors: Burke Ronald J. , Greenglass Esther R.
Published: May 2024

This study examined the role played by two personal resources (job mobility options, financial resources) among nursing staff during a period of major hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 1362 staff nurses using questionnaires. Personal resources were hypothesized to have both direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction and psychological well-being in a model of hospital restructuring and its effects. The model included four variables: extent of hospital restructuring, future threats to the workplace, job satisfaction and psychosomatic symptoms. LISREL analyses indicated that financial resources reduced perceptions of future workplace threats and psychosomatic symptoms, while job mobility options were associated with higher levels of job satisfaction.
Effects of Institutional Services and Characteristics on Use of Postacute Care Settings
Authors: Buczko William
Published: May 2024

Postacute care under Medicare may be provided in several institutional settings, some of which function as substitutes for each other, including rehabilitation care in either specialty hospitals and hospital units excluded from Medicare PPS or skilled nursing facility care. This study uses Medicare billing data to examine institution-based postacute care utilization for beneficiaries' hospital episodes occurring from February 1, 1992 through June 30, 1992. Data on inpatient and postacute Part A services used by Medicare inpatients receiving care in rehabilitation facilities or skilled nursing facilities are presented. The results indicate that, even after casemix is controlled for, inpatient stay treatment variables affect postacute care utilization patterns. Nonclinical factors such as age and sex also affect choice of postacute care site.
Anterior segment features in neovascular glaucoma: An ultrasound biomicroscopy study
Authors: Guo Liang , Liu Yuefeng , Huang Xiaoxia , Liu Qingyi , Shen Zhimin , Wu Yan , Yang Lu
Published: May 2024

Purposes

To investigate the features of the anterior segment structures in neovascular glaucoma (NVG) and analyze its differences from primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG).

Methods

This study included patients who were first diagnosed with monocular NVG and PACG at the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Nanchang University during August 2019 to June 2022. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) was used to measure the anterior segment parameters of those eyes, including anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber width (ACW), anterior chamber area (ACA), iris area (IA), maximum iris thickness (ITMAX), middle iris thickness (ITMID), iris curvature (IC), lens vault (LV), angle opening distance (AOD500), trabecular iris angle (TIA500), trabecular-iris space area (TISA500) and peripheral anterior synechia (PAS) length.

Results

In this study, paired samples t-test showed that IA [1.170(0.324) mm2], ITMAX [0.368(0.079) mm], ITMID [0.280(0.062) mm] and IC [0.147(0.037) mm] of NVG were smaller than F-NVG [2.058(0.195) mm2, 0.611(0.045) mm, 0.415(0.049) mm and 0.272(0.077) mm], the AOD500, TIA500, and TISA500 of NVG were also smaller than F-NVG. Independent samples t-test showed that ACD [2.349(0.350) mm] and ACA [16.326(3.547) mm2] of NVG were larger than PACG [1.971(0.240) mm, 12.030(1.860) mm2], but the IA [1.170(0.324) mm2], ITMAX [0.368(0.079) mm], ITMID [0.280(0.062) mm], IC [0.147(0.037) mm] and LV [0.436(0.172 mm)] were smaller than PACG [1.740(0.294) mm2, 0.548(0.084) mm, 0.404(0.065) mm, 0.283(0.060) mm and 0.737(0.196) mm]. Among the 16 patients with 360° angle-closure NVG, the PAS length was 0.834 (0.326) mm, which exceeded the Schwalbe line.

Conclusion

In NVG, the iris is atrophied, thinned, and straight, while the ACD is normal or slightly shallow. In 360° angle-closure NVG, the PAS length exceeds the Schwalbe line, presenting a pseudo angle phenomenon and a hockey stick sign. Notably, the anterior segment structure morphology of NVG exhibit differences from those of PACG.
Spinopelvic interactions in total hip arthroplasty: 295 patients followed for a minimum follow-up of 10 years
Authors: García-Rey Eduardo , Saldaña Laura
Published: May 2024

Background:

Concurrent spinal pathology is frequent in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). In this study we examined whether spinopelvic interactions affect THA outcomes at a minimum follow-up of 10 years.

Patients and methods:

295 patients with a mean age of 63.3 (range 56‒80) years receiving a THA between 2006 and 2009 were assessed. Of these, 195 had mild lumbar disc degeneration and 100 had advanced lumbar spondylosis. We analysed the changes in the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the survival rate for postoperative low back pain (LBP) and dislocation. Changes in acetabular component position, sacro-femoral-pubic (SFP) and pelvic obliquity (PO) angles were assessed with radiological images.

Results:

The mean HHS was lower in female patients ( p = 0.009), patients >65 years of age ( p < 0.001) and those with advanced lumbar spondylosis ( p = 0.002). 52 (71.2%) of the patients reporting preoperative LBP experienced improvement after THA while 47 (21.1%) of those without preoperative LBP postoperatively reported new onset LBP. Female patients ( p = 0.025; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.831; 95% CI, 1.081–3.101) and those with preoperative LBP ( p = 0.007; HR 2.068; 95% CI, 1.221–3.504) were at a higher risk of developing postoperative LBP at 10 years. 4 out of 9 THA dislocations were late and had shown decreasing SFP angle values over time. Acetabular component inclination and anteversion angles increased over time, whereas the SFP angle was associated with sex and age and the PO angle with age and the severity of any preoperative lumbar degeneration.

Conclusions:

Concurrent spinal pathology influences THA outcomes at a minimum follow-up of 10 years. Sex, age, and associated lumbar degeneration can affect clinical and radiological changes over time. A decrease in SFP angle values over time was found in patients sustaining late dislocation.
CXCL13 as a biomarker in the diagnostics of European lyme Neuroborreliosis - A prospective multicentre study in Austria
Authors: Waiß Christoph , Ströbele Barbara , Graichen Uwe , Klee Sascha , Gartlehner Joshua , Sonntagbauer Estelle , Hirschbichler Stephanie , Tinchon Alexander , Kacar Emrah , Wuchty Bianca , Novotna Bianka , Kühn Zofia , Sellner Johann , Struhal Walter , Bancher Christian , Schnider Peter , Asenbaum-Nan Susanne , Oberndorfer Stefan
Published: May 2024

Background

‘Definite Neuroborreliosis (NB)’ is diagnosed with the presence of NB-specific symptoms, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis and an elevated Borrelia Burgdorferi antibody index. However, some diagnostic uncertainties exist. The B-cell chemokine CXCL13 represents an emerging biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of NB because its intrathecal concentration rises prior to the Borrelia antibody index and drops rapidly after antibiotic therapy. Nevertheless, due to lacking prospective data, a definite CXCL13 cut-off for the diagnosis of NB is still pending.

Objective

Definition of a CSF CXCL13 cut-off for the diagnosis of acute and untreated NB in a prospective study setting.

Design and methods

This multicentre prospective study involved 6 neurological departments treating patients in the Lower Austria district (1.7 million inhabitants). The controls were patients scheduled for a spinal tap but not clinically diagnosed with NB. Demographic data, clinical characteristics and blood counts, as well as inflammatory CSF values and CSF CXCL13-concentration were analysed.

Results

We recruited 440 adult patients, of whom 42 have been diagnosed as having an acute and untreated ‘definite NB’. Three hundred ninety-eight patients were assigned to the control group. The median intrathecal CXCL13 concentration was 2384 pg/ml for patients with NB and 0 pg/ml for controls. The difference was highly statistically significant ( P ≤ .001). A CSF CXCL13 cut-off of 271 pg/ml resulted in a sensitivity of 95.2% and a specificity of 97.2% for the confirmation or exclusion of NB.

Conclusion

Based on our results, we propose a CSF CXCL13 cut-off of 271 pg/ml with Euroimmun-Elisa for the diagnosis of acute and untreated NB. Due to its high sensitivity and specificity, CXCL13 is a strong candidate biomarker for routine NB assessment, especially in clinically unclear cases.
Staycation: A review of definitions, trends, and intersections
Authors: Kou IokTeng Esther , Wu Jinrong , Lin Zhiwei (CJ) , Gong Tingting Ethel
Published: May 2024

Staycations have emerged as a popular alternative in the tourism industry, driven by travel risks and restrictions. However, the concept of staycations remains ambiguous, lacking a clear definition and distinct features. This review aims to shed light on key aspects of staycations, including time, distance, types, locations, cost, and benefits. As tourism becomes an integral part of modern lifestyle, there is a need for further research on proximity experiences, both in physical and online spaces. Future studies should focus on staycation development, product design, well-being considerations, and sustainability aspects. This review offers valuable insights to support in-depth investigations, enabling the enhancement of domestic tourism and resident well-being. It also emphasizes the importance of integrating advanced technologies and promoting sustainable practices for a thriving staycation industry.
A novel attached-spring model for damage quantification and degradation evaluation of short/mid-span bridges
Authors: Wang Ning-bo , Wang Can , Huang Tian-li , Guo Chuan-rui
Published: May 2024

Short/mid-span bridges are the most commonly used infrastructure in highways, railways, and other transportation projects. With service time increasing, local damage and performance degradation of short/mid-span bridges are inevitable. Therefore, the assessment of the bridge condition is essential to ensure its safe operation. However, the existing methods mostly assume the damage region of the bridge as a uniform reduction in stiffness, which is not consistent with the actual bridge. Consequently, those methods can hardly achieve the evaluation of the damage. To address this issue, this paper proposes a novel attached-spring model for damage quantification and degradation evaluation of short/mid-span bridges. By assuming the damage region as a spring, an attached-spring model is proposed to describe the nonuniform local damage of the bridge. Then, the deflection influence line is used to identify the stiffness and position of the attached-spring, which achieves the damage detection and evaluation. This approach provides a general model to describe various bridge damage and evaluate the effect of the damage. Numerical simulation and experimental tests are used to verify the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method. By comparing the results identified from the moving load test and those measured from the static test, the performance of the method is assessed.
Public Investment and Private Sector Performance – International Evidence
Authors: Pereira Alfredo M.
Published: May 2024

This paper analyzes the effects of public investment on aggregate private sector performance for a group of twelve OECD economies. the empirical results are based on impulse response function analysis associated with country-specific VAR/ECM models. Estimation results suggest that for most countries, public investment crowds in private investment while it does not substantially affect employment. More importantly, the effects of public investment on private output are positive for all the countries. Germany, Japan, Sweden, UK, and US are the countries with the highest long-term elasticities of output with respect to public investment. Therefore, there seems to be a strong correlation across countries between the elasticity of output with respect to public investment and the levels of economic achievement. Finally, empirical results suggest that public investment affects labor productivity growth positively for all countries. Accordingly, the decline in public investment is a legitimate candidate to explain the slowdown of labor productivity growth in these countries.
An Evaluation of Social Insurance Savings Accounts
Authors: Fölster Stefan
Published: May 2024

Many countries have reformed, or plan to reform, their pension system, often replacing defined benefits with some sort of savings account. in recent years proposals have been made to apply personal savings accounts also to other elements of social insurance, such as unemployment insurance, social assistance or parental leave compensation. This paper evaluates the consequences of replacing these systems with an insured social insurance savings account. Effects on marginal tax levels and income distribution are analyzed using both income panel data for Sweden and a simulated sample.
Analysis of the Decentralization of Public Spending in Spain
Authors: Molero Juan-Carlos
Published: May 2024

This paper studies the decentralization process of public spending in Spain, which has been one of the main landmarks in recent years, and not only in Spain but also in many different countries. the classical assumption to speak about this kind of processes is the theory of fiscal federalism. However, nowadays this theory is considered more as a set of general “guidelines” than a practical rule of application.

To undertake this study the article proposes a new method to describe the outcomes of the decentralization process through the functional classification of spending. the analysis of the data in each level of government -central, regional and local- is made in order to justify the process. So far, mainly political motives have justified the transference of competencies from the central to the regional and local governments in Spain. the fiscal federalism theory can enlighten our analysis from a theoretical point of view.
The Economics of Welfare Participation and Welfare Stigma: A Review
Authors: Andrade Carlos
Published: May 2024

The basic assumption of consumer demand theory stating that “more is better than less” appears to be violated by those individuals who, although eligible for welfare support, do not claim the benefits which they are entitled to receive. Take-up rates in different countries and in different programs range between 80% and only 25%. This paper reviews the main empirical studies of welfare participation, identifying the individual or household characteristics associated with different levels of participation in welfare programs. We conclude that low take-up rates cannot be satisfactorily explained by lack of information or by heavy transaction costs. in fact, there is some evidence that the psychological cost of claiming benefits, also known as welfare stigma, is probably the main determinant of low take-up rates. the decision not to take-up welfare benefits can be modeled as a rational, utility-maximising decision. the second part of this paper reviews the few contributions to an economic theory of welfare stigma and proposes some areas for future research on welfare take-up.
Postponement (1) of Maternity and the Duration of Time Spent at Home after First Birth Panel Data Analyses Comparing Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden (2)
Authors: Gustafsson Siv S. , Wetzels Cécile M.M.P. , Kenjoh Eiko
Published: May 2024

This paper analyses the postponement of first births of the 1990s compared to the 1980s, using panel data from four countries, namely, Germany (GSOEP), Great Britain (BHPS), the Netherlands (OSA) and Sweden (HUS). We find substantial postponement of maternity in all four countries for all educational groups with the most pronounced postponement among highly educated women. However the mean age of the mother at giving birth to the first child was the lowest in Great Britain both in the 1980s and 1990s.

Theoretically we can distinguish two motives for postponing maternity namely, the consumption-smoothing motive and the career-planning motive. in this paper we concentrate on an important determinant of the maternal time costs: the time spent out of market work.

We make use of longitudinal information about the number of months elapsed since first birth until the mother is observed working in the labour market. We estimate parametric duration models with Weibull distribution and obtain predicted months spent out of work since first birth.

We find that given mothers’ education level, for mothers who did not have a second birth within 36 months after first birth, on the one hand, mothers in Britain entered the labour market more quickly after their first birth in the 1990s compared to the 1980s. on the other hand, the German stayed at home longer in the 1990s than in the 1980s. We do not find a significant change in the time period Dutch and Swedish first-time mothers spent at home after birth between the 1980s and 1990s.
Giving Fish or Teaching to Fish? A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Belgian Employment-Training Projects for Minimum Income Recipients
Authors: Nicaise Ides
Published: May 2024

Activation of welfare benefits rests on the hypothesis that employment and training are more effective and efficient remedies to poverty than income transfers. the Belgian TOK-programme provides an example where investments in human capital through combined labour market services can prevent longer-term dependence on benefits. A cost-benefit analysis indicates the potential gains as well as their distribution. the conclusions provide strong arguments for increased subsidies to project promoters.
On the use of Budgetary Norms as A Tool for Fiscal Management
Authors: Alm James
Published: May 2024

The use of expenditure needs, sometimes referred to as “expenditure norms”, “budgetary norms”, or “minimum standards”, is important in the formulation of budgets and, especially, in the establishment of transfer and grant formulae. Minimum standards are also used by central governments to control expenditure policies of subnational governments, often with the goal of protecting and enhancing national priorities. However, despite the continued wide use of expenditure norms, there are many aspects there are not fully understood. Perhaps the most basic issue is the actual construction of the norms. in this paper we examine what some countries have been doing to bring a more accurate assessment of their expenditure needs. We argue that the broad trend across most all countries is for budget controls and procedures to become less complex, and this tendency is observed throughout the assessment of expenditure needs process, including the design of grant formulae. Indeed, perhaps the major trend is to use simpler methods of expenditure needs where rules are clear for every component of the process and for all participants in the process. the consensus also appears to be that traditional budget processes should place a greater emphasis on the outcomes achieved by government spending units and the evaluation of managers and personnel according to these outcomes rather than controlling ex ante expenditure control, and that expenditure needs assessment can help in this process.
Editor's Introduction
Authors: McNab Robert M.
Published: May 2024

This symposium examines the issues related to budget system reform in developed and developing countries. Based on the experience of recent attempts to reform in transitional countries, the first paper in the symposium outlines a three-pronged strategy for budget system reform. the second paper in the symposium examines the use of budgetary controls and procedures and argues that the trend is for these controls and procedures to become less complex over time. the third paper in the symposium examines the reoccurring problems of reforming the budgetary process in the United States and suggests improvements to the current federal budget process. the last paper in the symposium examines whether forecasts of federal revenues are systematically biased.
A History of Revenue Forecasts
Authors: Rider Mark
Published: May 2024

Feenberg et al. (1989) apply a simple regression-based method to test the rationality of state revenue forecasts. Using the same regression-based methodology, we test the rationality of federal revenue forecasts for fiscal year 1802 through 2001. We find that Treasury forecasts of federal revenues satisfy the conditions of weak rationality.
Can Internet Sales be Taxed?
Authors: Sparks C. Ryan , McCoskey Melanie G. , Alvis John M.
Published: May 2024

Many Internet sellers are not required to collect sales tax on their Internet sales if they have no physical nexus in the state. Instead, the end-user is required to pay use tax on such items, but the compliance rate is low. as such, states are losing large sums of revenue, and would like to have the seller collect the tax and remit it to the state. Currently, the Commerce Clause, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, prohibits states from requiring remote sellers to collect the tax. Congress is loath to interfere, as doing so may require business to file thousands of sales and use tax returns each month. in response, states have joined together in the Streamlined Sales Tax Project to reduce the administrative burden on businesses, in hopes that Congress will require the remote sellers to collect and remit the tax to them.
Benchmarking Performance
Authors: Courty Pascal , Marschke Gerald
Published: May 2024

An important challenge in the design of performance measurement, accountability, and incentive systems is the establishment of relevant benchmark levels of performance, also known as performance standards. We review information economics literature and draw simple lessons for the construction of performance standards. We demonstrate the relevance of these lessons in the context of a job training government organization.
Agglomeration, Population Size, and the Cost of Providing Public Services: An Empirical Analysis for German States
Authors: Buettner Thiess , Schwager Robert , Stegarescu Dan
Published: May 2024

This paper is concerned with the question of what extent population size and density affect the cost of providing public services at the subnational level. Empirical estimates of cost functions are obtained from an analysis of the expenditures of German states disaggregated into about 40 government functions. the empirical results indicate that, generally, there is no significant relationship between population density and the cost of providing public goods. At the same time, cost is almost proportionately related to population size, indicating that goods and services provided by the German states display only a limited degree of publicness.
Federal-Cantonal Equalization in Switzerland: An Overview of the Reform in Progress
Authors: Dafflon Bernard
Published: May 2024

Fiscal equalization in its present form in Switzerland is placed under strong criticism: for the last three decades, it has piled up ad hoc changes and new programs without a global vision; it mixes macroeconomics with taxation and approximate public expenditure estimation; it lacks transparency and visibility. in one sentence: it is time for change. Is this diagnosis too severe? What should and can be changed? Which reform is possible in the short or medium term? This paper tries to answer these questions in two parts. the first one describes the equalization programs currently in place and evaluates their policy performance. the second exposes the difficult pace of reform and explores the workings of the new system. Changes have been fiercely debated in the last three years and the final result will be submitted to national vote in the Fall of 2004. There are four issues of interest in this case study: (i) the combination of fiscal equalization with a re-assignment of functions between the federal and cantonal tiers; (ii) revenue and cost equalization as twins in the project; (iii) a shift in the measure of fiscal capacity of the constituent States from a predominantly macro to a Representative Tax System; (iv) the transition from the present to the new system as a purely political outcome. of course, the answers to the above questions are specific to Switzerland, but sharing this particular experience may help in understanding other equalization systems.
Taxing the “Family” in the Individual Income Tax
Authors: Alm James , Melnik Mikhail I.
Published: May 2024

In this paper we examine international practices in the ways in which the individual income tax is applied to families, focusing upon country practices in OECD countries. We find that countries differ significantly in their taxation of the family, but that the dominant practice is the choice of the individual rather than the family as the unit of taxation. We also calculate the income tax consequences for “representative” taxpayers across these countries, and find that the differences in taxes between singles and married couples can often be quite large. We conclude that choosing the individual as the tax unit is likely to represent the most equitable approach to income taxation, especially given the increasing complexity of family units in modern societies.
Introduction
Authors: Amuedo-Dorantes Catalina , Kimmel Jean
Published: May 2024

This introduction summarizes the five manuscripts included in this special volume titled “The Family in Public Finance.” Included in the special issue are international comparisons of work family policies, the tax treatment of families versus individuals, and the role that flexible work schedules may play in fertility decisions. Additionally, there are two country-specific studies, one examining the role of the public budget in family planning in Spain, and one examining parents’ willingness to pay for their children's postsecondary education in relation to the generosity of government subsidies.
Introduction to the Special Edition on Health Care Financing
Authors: Greener Ian
Published: May 2024

This paper introduces those in this special edition, contextualising the need for the study of health care finance, and examining the similarities and differences between them.
Changing Social Housing: Economic System Issues
Authors: Gibb Kenneth , Maclennan Duncan
Published: May 2024

Over the last quarter century there has been a series of major shifts in policies for the organisation and ownership of social rented housing in Britain. the non-market housing sector is moving towards a more plural, decentralised and potentially contestable set of arrangements. Many of the reforms have echoes in recent changes to the housing systems of transition economies. This paper aims to set the reforms in context, explain their key economic and financial aspects and assess the likely implications of the alternative organisational models proposed. Much of the policy has been developed without recourse to systematic evidence about different systems costs and benefits. Economic analysis of non-market housing systems has focussed on questions of the legitimacy of sector existence, cost contrasts with other tenures and subsidy distribution rather than the optimal economic organisation issues that arise given the actual existence of a social housing system. the paper applies ideas drawn from the economics of industrial organisation and neo-institutional economics to the emerging models of social housing, not least to develop a series of evaluative criteria with which to analyse new policies.
Introduction to ‘Housing’ Themed Issue
Authors: Gibb Kenneth
Published: May 2024

Housing offers shelter, possible asset growth and a tax base for local services. A housing symposium would therefore seem consistent with the interests of this journal. Housing is central to all of our lives, playing an important role in growing living standards, quality of life and the distribution of resources. Careful comparative housing research offers considerable insights. From a policy perspective housing is an interesting sector because it is where many disputes about the relative merits of markets and non-market interventions are rehearsed. as a field of study housing permits a wide variety of approaches and methodologies, adding a depth and richness to our understanding. This paper considers the economics and governance aspects of housing and identifies key contemporary themes: individual household housing choice behaviour; housing's role in the distribution of income and wealth; the economic governance and performance of social housing; and effective subsidy design to overcome market failures. All of these themes are further addressed in the following papers.
Housing Benefit: Great Britain in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Kemp Peter A.
Published: May 2024

Britain has a relatively unusual housing allowance scheme compared with those in many other countries. It is also one that has experienced many problems and attracted much criticism. the Labour Government is currently introducing a radical reform of the scheme, which aims to tackle its many problems. the purpose of this article is to consider the British scheme and its planned replacement in comparative perspective. It is argued that, although the new scheme will tackle some of the design faults of the current scheme, other difficulties will be left untouched and important problems with the administration of housing benefit will therefore remain. the new scheme will also be unusual by comparison with housing allowances in other countries, but in a different way from the scheme it is due to replace.
Have Public Finance Principles Been Shut Out in Financing New Stadiums for the Nfl?
Authors: Baade Robert A. , Matheson Victor A.
Published: May 2024

Over the past 15 years, new stadiums in the National Football League have been built at an unprecedented rate, and most new facilities have utilized significant public funds. This paper looks at whether the methods used to finance these new facilities honored public finance principles regarding equity and efficiency. While some common sources of public funds for sports infrastructure such as ticket taxes and personal seat licenses are both equitable and efficient, an examination of the 20 NFL stadiums constructed or refurbished since 1992 reveals a trend towards an increased reliance on taxation of visitors through hotel and rental car taxes. Although taxation of persons living outside one's own metropolitan area is appealing, this paper suggests that these sources of funding are neither equitable nor efficient.
The Changing Political Economy of the Nhs
Authors: Paton Calum
Published: May 2024

The capacity of the state to delivery healthcare has been affected by a number of factors and is intimately interconnected with the process of globalisation. This has led to a changing political economy and new context for health care financing, not only for the NHS, but for Europe and beyond. This paper considers these changes and explains the process of policymaking that led to the NHS internal market reforms of the 1990s.
A Counterfactual Analysis of Fiscal Decentralization in Small Countries: The Case of Mauritius
Authors: Nath Shyam , Schroeder Larry
Published: May 2024

Local government autonomy may be less significant in very small island counties, due to lack of spatial variations in citizen-voters’ preferences. A counterfactual analysis is performed to test efficiency of local expenditure in a small country environment by incorporating the idea of a new institutional arrangement. Empirical analysis utilizing Mauritian data lends support to superiority of local government over central government in providing local services despite very small country size. This result is robust even when the central government is modeled to provide non-uniform local services to recognize spatial variation in preferences. Thus, voter support for local government even in very small countries is rational.
Democracy, Debt and Disorder. Towards the End of Political “Generosity”
Authors: Eusepi Giuseppe , Giuriato Luisa
Published: May 2024

Unquestionably, the existing welfare state, as has evolved in a four-decade span, is destined to collapse unless redistribution enters a new constitutional contract to smooth the intergenera-tional conflicts that grew out of the presuppositions of Harvey Road. A key insight is that under the spell of intergenerational solidarity, fiscal illusion has perpetrated a violation of the intergenerational equal treatment. the paper, in its initial part, highlights how concentration of expenditures and intertemporal dilution of costs by means of debt creation have provided the ambiance to turn democratic order into intergenerational disorder. It goes on to analyze the evolution of the Italian public debt and the background of the elements that have generated intergenerational disorder. While the data on the Italian public finances during a one-hundred-fifty-year span show that governments have widely resorted to public debt, there are marked differences between public debt policies before and after the 1970s. the paper suggests that intergenerational order has collapsed ever since the Italian governments embraced the presuppositions of Harvey Road.
Strategic Change and the Limits of Central Authority in China
Authors: Sheehan Peter , Grewal Bhajan
Published: May 2024

In the transition from plan to market China achieved great benefits from adopting a gradualist approach, and avoided many of the issues that plagued those countries in Eastern Europe which pursued a ‘big-bang’ model of reform. Nevertheless, economic change in China has been very rapid, and has accelerated since China joined the WTO in 2001. It is now clear that major problems and imbalances have been building up within China's framework of ‘sustained gradualism’ – sustained and cumulative opening to market forces and to private agents, both Chinese and foreign, combined with only limited evolution of the institutions, structures and policies to govern and shape the market. as a result, the Chinese Government has decided that a major reorientation of development strategy is now required. This paper discusses aspects of this critical issue, with particular emphasis on the federalism and governance issues and on health reform as a case study.
Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers for China's Harmonious Society
Authors: Grewal Bhajan
Published: May 2024

China's current system of fiscal transfers suffers from severe weaknesses. the absence of a clear and coherent principle for distribution of fiscal transfers is a major weakness and results in the current distribution that favors the wealthier provinces. Furthermore, fiscal transfers have failed to secure a better alignment of budgetary expenditures with national priorities. Against this background, this paper examines how refocusing of China's fiscal transfers could help in better achieving national economic priorities. the paper analyses the issue of whether fiscal capacity equalisation should become the dominant principle for future distribution of fiscal transfers, or whether categorical fiscal equalisation - using fiscal transfers targeted at national priorities - would be more effective in progressing towards China's vision of a harmonious society. It is concluded that fiscal equalisation is not the right approach for China and an alternative approach is proposed according to which fiscal transfers are targeted at national priorities. Finally, after noting that the current status of management of specific purpose payments in China is quite deficient, a framework for more effective intergovernmental fiscal coordination and monitoring the implementation of outcome-focused fiscal transfers is outlined.
Exploring Sources of Local Government Technical Inefficiency: Evidence from Flemish Municipalities*
Authors: Geys Benny , Moesen Wim
Published: May 2024

The present paper explores sources of technical (in)efficiency of Flemish municipalities in their production of local public goods (in the year 2000). in assessing inefficiency derivation, we focus on socio-economic and political characteristics of the municipalities as potential source. Our main findings indicate that while the socio-economic make-up of the population (i.c. income, income inequality, education and unemployment) appears to bear little relation to local (in)efficiency, the reverse holds for the municipal financial situation (i.c. grants, historical debt and fiscal surplus) as well as population size and density. Also, different types of communities – i.e. agricultural, residential, industrial, touristic or urbanized – are generally found to achieve comparable performance levels in providing ‘core’ public services. While indicative, the limitations of our dataset imply that further work is vital before definitive conclusions (as well as causal inferences) can be made.
Symposium on China's Public Finances
Authors: Grewal Bhajan
Published: May 2024

China's public finances have played an important part in the country's economic performance. as the focus of development strategy changes from exports to domestic consumption and to the establishment of a harmonious society, China's public finances are now called upon to play a different, and even more important, role in economic and social development. the papers in this symposium address some of the issues arising from the new policy context. Complementing the papers published in the previous volume of this journal, the focus of papers in this volume is on the continuing need for further reforms in relation to poverty alleviation and pensions. China's pattern of fiscal decentralization is also compared with that of India.
Community Development Funds: A New Vehicle for Poverty Alleviation in China?
Authors: Cheng Enjiang , Li Rosa Y. , Fellow Fulbright
Published: May 2024

Disappointed with the performance of poverty loans and the rural financial system in targeting the poor communities and households, the Chinese Government is currently piloting community development funds (CDFs) as an alternative instrument for poverty alleviation and development in China. This paper examines the development of CDFs in the last decade and draws lessons for the government led CDF programs. the focus of this study is on the innovations employed by the CDFs for poverty targeting and risk management and the key challenges faced by the CDFs in China.
Symposium on Heterogeneity and Public Policy: Part 2
Authors: Winer Stanley L.
Published: May 2024

It is a cliché to observe that modern democratic states are composed of citizens with diverse interests. Yet it seems fair to say that the formal study of how heterogeneity in an electorate - of incomes, preferences, political influence and in other dimensions -plays a role in shaping the policies that emerge in competitive democratic equilibria is, if not in its infancy, still far from mature. the purpose of this symposium is to call attention to the importance of explicitly addressing the role of heterogeneity in theoretical and applied research on public policy. and to contribute to this task.