State And Local Public Finance

This paper aims to compare the pattern of own-tax collection and tax buoyancy of high and low-income states of India from 2001-02 to 2016-17. The study observed that the tax-to-GSDP ratio decreased in the high-income states. While it observed an increase in low-income states except for Rajasthan. The lower-income states observed the buoyant tax revenue collections. Whereas, the high-income states were not able to maintain the buoyant taxes. Thus, the states with lower tax buoyancies need to strengthen their administrative structure to increase their tax coverage.

This Statistical Brief is an ongoing effort of NALAS’ Fiscal Decentralisation Task Force to provide policy–makers and analysts with timely, accurate, relevant, reliable and comparable data on local government finance in South–East Europe (SEE).

The report is structured in three main sections. The first part provides an overview of the size and structure of local governments in SEE. The second part provides regional comparisons on the status and development of national and local government finance in SEE in 2019. The data are provided in different formats, allowing much more comparisons and further utilization by users. The 2019 local government finance data bear a significant importance as serve as the baseline against which the impact of the COVID-19 pandemics will be measured in the coming years.
The third section shows the patters and evolution of national and local government revenues and expenditures for the period 2006-2019 in each of the SEE economies through selected indicators of macro–economic performance and fiscal decentralisation.
For additional information contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

ÖZ Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'de 2015 yılında gündeme gelen ancak henüz yasalaşmamış olan Rant Vergisi'ni değerlendirmektir. Bu amaçla konunun teorik temelleri araştırılmış ve İsviçre ile Avusturya örnekleri incelenmiştir. Ülke örneklerinde gayrimenkul değer artışlarının vergilendirilmesi eğilimleri öne çıkmaktadır. Türkiye açısından yapılan değerlendirmede, yapılması gündemde olan düzenleme ile hedeflenen amacın gerçekleştirilmesinin zor olduğu görülmektedir. Bununla beraber gayrimenkul rantlarının vergilendirilmesinde dar kapsamlı bir Rant Vergisi uygulaması yetersiz gözükmektedir. Gayrimenkul değer artışlarının vergilendirilmesinde kapsamın genişletilmesi ve yerel bir vergi olarak şerefiye uygulamalarının yürürlüğe konulması gerekmektedir. Emsal artışlarında kayırmacılığın azaltılması amacıyla uygulanacak bir Rant Vergisi yeterli olmayabilecektir. Bu nedenle yapılacak düzenlemenin şerefiye olarak kapsamlı bir biçimde uygulanması gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. ABSTRACT The objective of this study is evaluating the Increment Tax, which came to agenda in Turkey in the year 2015 but did not become law as of yet. Towards that objective, the theoretical grounds of the subject were studied and the examples and Switzerland and Austria were examined. Inclinations towards taxing real estate value increases are seen to be prominent in country examples. In the evaluation conducted in terms of Turkey, it is observed that the aimed objective would be difficult to achieve with the regulations considered to be made. In addition, a narrow-context Increment Tax implementation is observed to be insufficient for the taxing of real estate increment incomes. Regarding taxing of real estate value increases, the context has to be expanded and betterment applications as a local tax have to be effectuated. An Increment Tax to be implemented for the purpose of reducing favouritism pertaining to floor area ratio increases may not be adequate. For this reason, it has been achieved that the regulation be applied in a comprehensive manner as betterment tax.

This book presents an in-depth analysis of key recommendations of the consecutive state finance commissions (SFCs) across states of India in the local and national perspective. It reviews the working of SFCs and their critical role in strengthening local governments, both Panchayats and municipalities in the various states. The volume attempts to identify some of the emerging issues related to the efficacy of SFC in fiscal decentralization. It appraises nearly eighty SFC reports and actions taken thereon by the respective State Governments with contextual analysis. Please see the link https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811622021#

Using objective measures of investor protections in 170 countries, I establish that the level of investor protection matters for cross-country differences in GDP growth: countries with stronger protections tend to grow faster than those with poor investor protections.

En tant qu'outil, le C-PEM permet l'analyse du budget de l'Etat (BE), global ou partiel, en phase de programmation ou post-exécution, dans le but de mesurer les dépenses destinées/sensibles aux enfants et les désagréger par des dimensions telles que les droits de l'enfant, les groupes d'âge et le sexe.

Since public sector reform initiatives, public accountability and transparency have advanced democracy and good governance on managing state finances. State financial management mechanism involves regional policies and fiscal decentralization trend in the devolution of responsibility for empowerment from central to local units of governments, but the governance face challenges to effectively manage and control the use of public funds that best meet citizen’s needs. This study determines the effect of public accountability and transparency on the management of state finances in Indonesia, as well as the extent to which public accountability and transparency affect the management of state finances. Based on a descriptive quantitative case-oriented research approach, 60 survey interviews are collected and analyzed with multiple linear regression analysis techniques. This study concludes that Public Accountability partially has a significant effect on the Financial Management Mechanism. On the other hand, partially public transparency has no significant effect on the State Financial Management Mechanism. Cumulatively, some aspects of Public Accountability and Transparency have a significant effect on the State Financial Management Mechanism. If unaccountability in decentralise administrative model prevails, the problem of ineffective policy output may persist to impair sustainable finance and public values for good governance in times of covid-19 crisis-related society

This is the abstract of the doctoral thesis titled "An Analysis of Budgets in India: Redefining the Fiscal Deficit of the Public Sector; 1980-2016" submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. The thesis is focussing on the question- are we dealing with the correct fiscal data in India? The central idea discussed in the thesis is a call for fiscal transparency, inclusiveness and broadness in measuring fiscal imbalances to better explain the fiscal stance of the government and its impact on the economy. The thesis was completed under the guidance of Prof.Arun Kumar (former Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair Professor, CESP, JNU; currently Malcolm S Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi) and Prof.Shakti Kumar (Chairperson, CESP, JNU). The thesis was successfully defended and awarded on 19th May, 2021.

Eady European settlers were the key actors in a place-making exetcise that constructed an English-style landscape aesthetic on the colonial stage in the Cowpastures district of New South Wales. The aesthetic became part of the settler colonial project and the settlers' aim of taking possession of territory involving the construction of a cultural ideal from famitar elements of home in the 'Old Country'. The new continent, and particulady the bush, had the elements of the Gothic with its grotesque and the demonic, and the landscape aesthetic was one attempt to counter these forces. Settlers used the aesthetic to assist the creation of a new narrative on afl apparendy blank slate and in the process dispossessed and displaced the Indigenous occupants. The new colonial landscape was charactedsed by English place-narnes, English farming methods and English setdement patterlls, with only cursory acknowledgemeflt of Indigenous occupation.

Artykuł prezentuje wyniki badań przeprowadzonych w połowie 2014 r., mających na celu identyfikację oczekiwań władz małych miast wobec polskiej państwowej polityki rozwoju lokalnego. Jako źródło informacji o tych oczekiwaniach wybrano grupę 46 burmistrzów małych miast, natomiast jako metodę badawczą zastosowano sondaż diagnostyczny oparty na długim wywiadzie osobistym. Zidentyfikowane oczekiwania dotyczyły reformy systemu stałego finansowania gmin, zmian systemów dystrybucji środków unijnych, wyposażenia samorządów lokalnych w nowe instrumenty oddziaływania na ponadlokalne relacje ich gmin, redukcji antywzorców prowadzenia polityki, usuwania sprzeczności i niejasności prawa, a także zmian zasad funkcjonowania organu stanowiącego i wykonawczego władz lokalnych. Oczekiwania te można i należy traktować jako współczesne wyzwania państwowej polityki rozwoju lokalnego, ponieważ dotyczą one jej gruntownych, wielowymiarowych zmian. Ponadto rozpatrywane łącznie tworzą dla tej polityki wyzwanie, które można określić jako jej współczesne wyzwanie generalne. Jest nim oczekiwanie władz lokalnych, że władze państwowe zwiększą ich podmiotowość w definiowaniu i kreowaniu rozwoju kraju, pogłębiając swoją aprobatę dla paradygmatu rozwoju lokalnego.

[The article presents the results of research carried out in mid-2014 to identify the expectations presented by the authorities of small cities in the light of Polish state local development policy. 46 mayors were selected as the source of information about these expectations and a diagnostic survey based on long personal interviews was chosen as the research method. The expectations concerned the reform of the municipalities’ permanent funding system, changes in the systems governing EU funds distribution, providing local authorities with new instruments for shaping their municipalities’ supra-local relationships, reducing anti-patterns in policy and politics, eliminating contradictions and ambiguities in law, and changes in the rules governing both decisive and executive bodies of local authorities. The expectations discussed should be approached as contemporary challenges for state policy on local development, since the mayors refer to thorough and multidimensional alterations to that policy. Furthermore, if analysed jointly, the expectations constitute a challenge for this policy, which can be referred to as its general contemporary challenge. Local authorities expect that the state government will increase its subjectivity in defining and creating local development by extending its approval for the local development paradigm.]

EN: In the context of large investment debts in local government infrastructure and unfinished fiscal decentralization, a local development impact fee was adopted into Slovak law 5 years ago. With its arrival, there was an increase in financial resources of municipalities and cities for their development, especially in connection with new development projects in the city. However, in addition to the allocation function, the fee also fulfills the function of internalizing costs associated with the necessary infrastructure at the developer, whose project is to benefit from this new infrastructure, thus enabling a more targeted fulfillment of the allocation function. The aim of the paper is (i) to provide a comprehensive view of the local development fee with a link to the theoretical basis of financing infrastructure investments, (ii) to evaluate the legal mechanisms of its operation and practical aspects of its use, and last but not least (iii) to outline solutions to identified shortcomings. In this paper, we offer a conceptual shift towards more intensive cooperation between local governments and fee payers in the use of the development fee, which, however, encounters the current legal limits.

SK: V kontexte veľkých investičných dlhov do infraštruktúry miestnych samospráv a nedokončenej fiškálnej decentralizácie bol pred 5 rokmi do slovenského právneho poriadku prijatý miestny poplatok za rozvoj. S jeho príchodom došlo k zvýšeniu finančných zdrojov obcí a miest na ich rozvoj, najmä v nadväznosti s novými developerskými projektami v meste. Poplatok však plní okrem alokačnej funkcie aj funkciu internalizácie nákladov spojených s potrebnou infraštruktúrou u developera, ktorého projekt má z tejto novej infraštruktúry ťažiť, čím umožňuje adresnejšie plnenie alokačnej funkcie. Cieľom príspevku je (i) poskytnúť ucelený pohľad na problematiku miestneho poplatku za rozvoj s prepojením na teoretický základ financovania infraštruktúrnych investícií, (ii) rámcovo zhodnotiť zákonné mechanizmy jeho fungovania a praktickú stránku jeho využitia, a v neposlednom rade (iii) načrtnúť riešenia identifikovaných nedostatkov. V príspevku ponúkame konceptuálny posun smerom k intenzívnejšej spolupráci samospráv s poplatníkmi pri využívaní poplatku za rozvoj, čo však naráža na aktuálne právne limity.

The most drastic crisis since the Great Depression put a significant amount of stress on states' revenues. Within the existing framework of taxation systems', an increasing amount of attention from academics and politicians alike concentrates on public revenues from sales and use taxation. Such increased attention is not surprising as revenues from general sales taxes and excise taxation are the dominant group of revenues from own tax sources for states. The article's first contribution is that it shows the evolution of the structure of actual state revenues by sources of these revenues. The manuscript then describes the taxonomy of excise taxes by object of taxation (i.e. fuel taxes, alcohol taxes, and tobacco taxes). The second contribution of this paper stems from its detailed data on excises. We find that no-PIT states generate around 20% of their tax revenues from excises while PIT-states generate only 16.5%. The main difference is not in rates. The manuscript starts with the description of the evolution of states' own revenues. The next section covers the period between 2005 and 2015. We concentrate exclusively on excises' revenues. This section is followed by the presentation of excise rates. We conclude our manuscript with recommendations for policy changes.

This entry explains the rising popularity of the concept of financialization, despite it being considered a vague and chaotic concept. It also summarizes the wide-ranging multidisciplinary literature on financialization and makes a distinction between seven dimensions, or elements, of financialization, upon which a new definition of financialization is put forward that suggests that the power of the financialization literature lies in how it tries to understand the increasing dominance of financial actors, markets, practices, measurements, and narratives at various scales, resulting in a structural transformation of economies, firms (including financial institutions), states, and households. In discussing the different elements of financialization, the entry focuses on the financialization of the economy, nonfinancial firms, the state and households, but also on the processes of banking disintermediation and assetization. Finally, some avenues for future research are suggested.   
   
Keywords: assets, contemporary capitalism, corporate financialization, economic geography, financial geography, financial markets, global financial crisis, housing, globalization, lobbying, neoliberalism, political economy, real estate, state   
   
Definition of financialization: the increasing dominance of financial actors, markets, practices, measurements and narratives, at various scales, resulting in a structural transformation of economies, firms (including financial institutions), states and
households.

The presented book is devoted to local development and its governance by forming, on the strategic level, the relationships connecting municipalities with supralocal, i.e. regional, national and global milieu. It is divided into five chapters.
The first chapter constitutes the theoretical and conceptual foundation of the entire study. It discusses the crucial concepts used, such as Fordism and Post-Fordism, localism and new localism, localness and a local system, socio-economic development and sustainable development, as well as the relationships and the historical background of the evolution of these concepts. It also presents the definitions of local development included in the world literature, as well as two new approaches to local development created by the author – the local and supralocal one. These approaches were discussed in the model, process (dynamic) and structural (static) oriented variants. Next the author’s original typology of supralocal relationships of the local systems, which determine local development, was presented. Within its framework the relationships of valorisation and animation were identified as favourable for the local development, and also the relationships of suppression and depreciation as unfavourable for such development.
The second chapter discusses the implementation of local development concept. First the essence and the entities of local and supralocal policies of local development were presented. Next the reader’s attention was directed towards the issue of municipal governance of local development presenting it as the component of public governance. The mechanism of local development formation by the local authorities, using the instruments at their disposal, was also explained. It was followed by presenting the motives and the concept of strategic approach in the municipal governance of local development, showing them as an alternative for an administrative approach. Next the new, author’s category of supralocal perspective of municipal strategic governance of local development was defined. It consists of the characteristics of this governance related to supralocal relationships of a local system defined as exogenous utilitarianness, neo-endogenous absorptivity, protectiveness, retentionness and supralocal easementing, as well as the relevant activities of the local authorities.
The third chapter presents the analysis results of contemporary, world studies on supralocal relationships of local systems and their formation. On its basis the general research problem was identified and described, consisting in the insufficiency of knowledge in this matter despite the theoretical and practical rationale of having it. It was followed by presenting the reasons for which it is indispensable to carry out pilot, subject specific studies covering the selected group of local authorities and aimed at solving the fragment of this problem. The authorities of Polish small towns were selected as such a group. Next the supralocal reasons of contemporary socioeconomic situations of these towns were described in detail along with the interest in their supralocal relationships of science, local governments, supralocal authorities, business environments and the residents of these towns. Further part of this chapter presents the research goals, objects, strategy, methods and techniques, as well as the information sources. The adopted primary research goals were the identification of the characteristics of supralocal perspective of local development strategic governance of small towns, followed by enunciating the general characteristics of this perspective. The adopted secondary research goals were marking improvement methods of this governance perspective out along with the verification of usefulness of the selected information sources, research methods and techniques in diagnosing it.
The local authorities of 369 Polish towns with the residents’ number ranging from 5 to 20 thousand constituted the research population. The applied research method was a diagnostic survey using the technique of long personal interview, the method of content analysis using the encoding technique and the method of qualitative field research using the participant observation technique. The following information sources were adopted: town mayors, local development strategies and the groups of people playing key roles in the construction and implementation of these strategies. All the methods, techniques and sources were combined in accordance with triangulation research strategy. The chapter was completed with the description of the research questions and tools used and the report of the course of conducted research. The research results are presented in chapter four. It contains the detailed information how the studied authorities perceive the importance of particular supralocal relationships of their towns and their own roles in these relationships formation. It also includes information about the relationships which are mainly affected by exogenous utilitarianness, absorptivity, protectiveness and retentionness of strategic governance carried out by the analysed authorities, about the instruments used in this area and also about the positionality, neo-endogeneity and supralocal easementing of such governance. The provided information was illustrated by several comprehensive tables and several dozens graphs.
Based on the above information, the general characteristics of supralocal perspective of local development governance of Polish small towns is presented in the last, fifth chapter. Apart from its main components, i.e. the relationships perceived as strategically significant and formed on the strategic level, its unification was characterized along with its contextual specificity for the supralocal milieu. Fordist and Post-Fordist values dominating in this perspective of governance were also indicated. The impact of supralocal development policies, carried out by Polish state and regional authorities, on this governance, was also discussed. It was all concluded by the assessment of the level of transformation of administrative approach towards local development governance into a strategic one. Next, based on the analysis of legal acts, literature studies and cause and effect analysis the problem specific recommendations were made regarding the improvement of the discussed governance perspective. They were addressed to the analysed authorities, public governance related scientific environment and Polish state authorities. By analysing the course and the results of research the usefulness of methods, techniques and research tools, along with information sources in different, analogical studies, was also shown. The publication was finished with indicating the rationale, directions and methods for the conducted research continuation.

This research, conducted by the author when a Senior Researcher at Newcastle University, UK, was funded by a UK governance organisation to help them assess, integrate and improve their understanding of the governed population.

ABSTRACT: Governance organisations have been urged to develop more holistic evidence-based approaches with partners to better deal with issues affecting the governed population. This presupposes an understanding of the population, yet there has been little research work addressing how governance organisations come to understand their governed population, nor how this understanding can be improved upon within such organisations.

This case study examined in-depth how understanding of a governed population was developed within one UK local governance organisation and it explored how such understanding might be developed and improved through more holistic and evidence-based organisational learning within the organisation and its governance partnerships.

The research methodology involved placement within the governance organisation, participant observations on several projects and innovative initiatives, observations within, across, and outside the organisation, and also interviews with varied key stakeholders.

The study examined:

- stakeholder engagement and networks
- current and varied understandings of the population
- mechanisms actually used for developing understandings
- the influence of context on organisational learning

and analysed these to arrive at a recommendations to improve organisational understanding of the governed population.

In the case studied, significant strengths were found: including innovative past learning trials for development, extensive ongoing networking activities, and many varied and accumulating quantitative datasets available across partnerships.

However, entrenched organisational approaches and practices constrained the development of holistic evidence-based understanding, for instance: the absence of systematic maintained collective learning processes; weak recording and forgetting of understandings; methodological exclusion of stakeholders from the development of understanding; the relative neglect of qualitative data, explanations, investigations, interpretations, and reflexivity; and also implicit organisational acceptance of such limitations and low aspirations.

Nonetheless, untapped opportunities existed to enable change including: latent practitioner knowledge and innovative management champions, the desire for improvement and raised aspirations within learning networks, and the development potential of alterative learning approaches.

It was concluded that more holistic evidence-based understanding was possible, but required new learning approaches beyond those then in use in both local government or academia.   

Recommendations are made to utilise and develop improved organisational learning approaches trialed and reported in the case study.

It is argued that the case study findings, conclusions, and recommendations may be applicable to other similar local governance organisations and partnerships that seek to better understand local populations, services and interventions.

The work was also submitted for, and awarded, an MPhil (at Newcastle University, supervised by Prof. Patsy Healy)

Budgeting is not only a technical process but also a highly political one because technique and discretionary judgement are intertwined, and different actors have different interests. Budgetary procedures can and should help to reduce various types of information imbalance and help local authorities to deliver services more effectively.
This study highlights certain sensitive areas in the budgeting process, analyses the solutions tried by the different Council of Europe member states and identifies practices that seem particulary worthwhile. It suggest finally conclusions and guidelines for central governments and for local and regional authorities.

In "The long shadow of the state: financializing the Chinese city" Fulong Wu reflects on the role of the state in financialization processes. The language of symbiosis, with key concepts such as mutualism, parasitism and commensalism, but also cleaning symbiosis, metabiosis, co-evolution, mutation and mimicry could help us to conceptualize state/finance relationships. Finance and the state have co-evolved and continue to do so. The role of the state in financialization processes often appears to be contradictory. Parasitism by finance may have already limited the state's capacity to respond to urban financialization. In a seemingly commensal relationship, the state may also be facilitating finance. In fact, such patterns may be indicative of a more mutualistic imperative in which the state tries to further its own interests through finance rather than at the expense of finance-it is here that Wu provides most evidence for the Chinese case. In other words, the state creates the conditions for the financialization of the city and by doing so it brings the characteristics of finance inside the state. In the process, the state mimics finance in order to extend state power and mutatesas a result of the specific co-evolution with finance. 
KEYWORDS: Financialization; the state; symbiosis; co-evolution; mutation

Esiste un diritto al panino? Esiste un diritto degli studenti di poter scegliere  tra la mensa scolastica e il panino preparato a casa? Il TAR Piemonte dice di no.  Is there a right to a sandwich? Is there a right of students to choose between the school canteen and the sandwich prepared at home? The TAR Piedmont says no.

The perspective of global climate change emerges as a significant political,
economic, financial and social issue. Scientific researches show that the accumulated
carbon dioxide (СО2), released by the industry and agriculture, together with the
contribution of man-made greenhouse gases leads to a rise in the temperature of the earth's
surface. Traditional sources of financing capital expenditure, such as own revenues and
bank financing have proved to be extremely insufficient. At the same time, not only
traditional municipal needs, such as costs for street, road, bridge, school construction etc.,
but also the need of investments related to climate change have been on the rise. The
purpose of this article is to examine and analyze alternatives for financing climate changerelated municipal investments. The subject of the research is green bonds and the so-called
Subnational Pooled Financing Mechanisms, which have already gained popularity in
Western Europe but are not yet well known in Eastern Europe. The positive aspects and
opportunities that the green bond market reveals as well as the barriers to this type of
financing are assessed and an analysis of the practice of bond financing in Europe is made.

How do we know whether a country suffers from vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI)? What should be done about it? Academic appreciation of these issues in general, and the nature of political behaviour in particular, both have major implications for the way federations are fiscally structured. While the latter clearly is a problem of political negotiations, our focus is on the former, that is, conceptual clarity, which precedes meaningful negotiations. Thus, the paper aims to clarify the multiple usages of the symbolically loaded terms VFI and VFG (vertical fiscal gap) by critically engaging the fundamental assumptions and premises underlying these ostensibly similar notions. It proposes an alternative conceptual framework and introduces the concepts of vertical fiscal asymmetry (VFA) and vertical fiscal difference (VFD) that have the potential to better structure public debate on issues of vertical fiscal relations and stimulate a sensible appreciation of the problem and possible remedies.

Article History Keywords Public sector decay Economic implication Public financial management JEL Classification: H54; H00; H54 The study looks at the causes and economic implication of public sector decay with the aim to establish the relationship that sub-exist between public sector decay, the causes and it economic implication in Nigeria. Primary sources were employed in gathering data. A well-structured questionnaire of four sections was given to three hundred (300) respondents, out of which two hundred and seventy-three (273) of the questionnaires were retrieved. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regressions, using SPSS 23 version were used in analysing data. The study indicate that a unit increase in corruption, poor public financial management, institutional problem, staff absenteeism/ late coming to work, leaking and/or abuse of government information and lack of political will creates public sector decay in Nigeria by about 41.5%, 47.0%, 22.6%, 36.1%, 49.8% and 22.3% respectively. Similarly, the study further discovered that a unit reduction in the accessibility of basic equipment/facilities will worsen Nigeria economy by about 82.5%. These findings imply that they will tend to discourage investors, reduce the standard of living, and slow down economic development through wasteful spending among others. It is therefore recommended that government should implement policies that will strengthen PFM in Nigeria, such as GIFMIS which allow central control of public finances, IPPIS and TSA that block the revenue leakages. Contribution/ Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature by discovering how corruption, poor public finance management, misplacement of priority and lack of accountability in the case of Nigeria tend to combine to create public sector decay and economic underdevelopment. The study in its contribution further documents how bad leadership, institutional problem, political instability, staff absenteeism and late coming to work, abuse of public property, leaking and/or abuse of government information and lack of political will retard the efficient and effective supply of energy and basic infrastructural facilities in the country.

Despite the growing demand for infrastructure and social services resulting from urbanization and decentralization, many urban local governments in developing countries are failing to generate sufficient own revenues to meet this demand. Property taxes are often identified as a major source of local revenues, as they are economically non-distortive and have large, immovable, progressive and growing tax bases. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the current property tax performance and potential in Brazil and to propose feasible reforms taking into account the great heterogeneity amongst the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities.

The study firstly focuses on the examination of property tax administration in 47 selected Brazilian municipalities that voluntarily provided information by replying to remitted questionnaires. These municipalities were divided into three strata of per capita income and location in metro areas, which was established as an indicator of their tax potential. Their results were used to assess and estimate the main elements of property tax performance and potential in respect of these municipalities, in order to extend the estimation to the rest of the country by using linear regression models. Consequently, the feasible property tax potential was established as being the percentiles 80 or 90 in each stratum. 

In presenting a general model of ratios that has been traditionally employed by literature, this study had to quantify: a) the size of property market values or the potential tax base; b) the property registration or the cadastral coverage; c) the property valuations or the assessment ratio; d) the extension of the exemptions or the taxable values; e) the taxation level or the tax rates values and structures; and f) the collection rates or the policies of billing, compliance and enforcement.

The current property tax performance in Brazil has been approximately 0.5 percent of GDP and can be considered far below the 0.9-1.2 percent ratios as is found in Colombia, South Africa and Uruguay, which can be a feasible benchmark for developing countries. It was estimated that the current ratio in Brazil is a result of property market values of 2.6 percent of the country’s GDP, cadastral values coverage of 82 percent, level of taxation on market values of 0.15 percent and a collection rate of 44 percent. However, taking into account the percentile 90 of the three strata of municipal income, it was assumed that the national ratios could feasibly achieve 95 percent of coverage, 0.41 percent of taxation on market values, and 69 percent of the collection rate. This would provide a revenue level of 1.13 percent of GDP.

The local property tax performance in Brazil has been diverse due to the local particulars, the economic disparities and significant local autonomy related to property tax policies and administration. This study found that large municipalities need to update their cadasters, promote revaluations and, in some cases, also minimize exemptions and increase tax rates. Smaller municipalities, however, have to focus on managing their cadasters by updating property use and taxpayers’ details, and performing collection-led strategies by reducing compliance costs and promoting better enforcement. Furthermore, any non-revenue purposes (e.g., more efficient land use) would also benefit if property tax administration were to be improved.

This paper argues that neither the developmental state nor market-preserving federalism models are applicable to contemporary China. Despite superficial similarities with elements of each model, the political economy of reform in China violates key assumptions and expectations in both. In contrast to the expectations of the developmental state model, the center has not systematically allocated credit to the most productive sectors of the economy; instead the latter has had to rely on informal finance. And in contrast to the expectations of market-preserving federalism, fiscal decentralization has lead to a host of unintended consequences at the local level--namely, the hoarding of off-budget revenues for public goods provision, reliance on informal finance for private sector development, and local protectionism. These unintended and informal coping strategies depart substantially from the core components of both the developmental state and market-preserving federalism models.

El presente estudio realiza una caracterización de la GFP Subnacional en Argentina: Ingresos, la administración de los ingresos, los gastos, la coparticipación fiscal y la gestión de las inversiones públicas; todo ello ligado al proceso de planificación del desarrollo.

Il saggio intende ripercorrere gli snodi fondamentali attorno ai quali si articolava la revisione contabile in Sicilia nei secoli dell'età moderna sia come controllo interno ordinario svolto a livello centrale dal Tribunale del Real Patrimonio; sia come controllo esterno da parte del revisore straordinario dei conti inviato da Madrid. Particolare rilievo assume inoltre il controllo delle finanze locali, pesantemente indebitate, tanto che per far fronte al diffuso disordine contabile, che finiva con l'avere inevitabili ripecussioni anche sulla capacità di spesa dello Stato, l'amministrazione centrale già alla fine del Cinquecento aveva avviato delle inchieste sulle finanze delle comunità demaniali dell’isola. La revisione dei conti nelle università baronali di pertinenza del feudatario pone invece  problemi di giurisdizione, che esploderanno con forza al tempo del viceré Caracciolo impegnato nella difficile battaglia di ridimensionamento del privilegio feudale e di affermazione della giurisdizione regia in nome del rispetto della legalità.

"The Industrial Development of Bengal, 1900-1939. By A. Z. M. IFTIKHAR-UL-AWWAL. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1982. pp. 256 (Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Advent Books, New York.) "

PREFACE:

The present work examines the industrial experience of Bengal during the period 1900 to 1939 with particular emphasis on the role of the government as the main instrument for growth. For this work, available statistical material has been utilized for the sake of precision as well as to strengthen the qualitative evidence. The book contains eight chapters. While Chapter I builds up the case for industrial development, Chapter II examines in detail the industrial policy of the Bengal government in the light of its own limitations as a subordinate authority to the Government of India and that of Whitehall. Chapter III is an investigation of the labour market in Bengal with emphasis on the supply of labour to jute, tea and coal industries in relation to wages and conditions of work. In Chapter IV, I have examined the rates of profitability and security of industrial investments. In this chapter, I have also examined the financial institutions of the time and their role in the industrial development of the province. Chapter V points to some of the difficulties experienced by Indian entrepreneurs, and in the above light looks at their contribution to the larger industrial establishments of Bengal. The next two Chapters VI and VII examine the growth and development of the two biggest manufacturing industries of our period--jute and handloom cotton weaving industries. The concluding chapter is an estimate of the industrial progress made in the province during the period under review.

This book is a slightly revised version of my Ph.D. thesis submitted to the University of London in 1978. In the preparation of this thesis, I have accumulated an enormous debt of gratitude to my Supervisor, Dr. K. N. Chaudhuri whose careful vigilance and timely intervention saved me from many factual errors and infelicities of style. My thanks are also due to Mr. I. B. Harrison, who went through some of my preliminary chapters during the absence of Dr Chaudhuri in 1975-76 and made many useful observations. I am also indebted to Dr. Sirajul Islam of Dacca University for helping me with some necessary corrections.

Here I take this opportunity also to express my deep gratitude to the UK Commonwealth Commission which offered me a scholarship for three years which enabled me to undertake this research work. Needless to say, without their financial help it would have been virtually impossible to pursue this course of studies. I also wish to thank the University of Dacca for granting me the necessary study leave.

There remains also a special group of people - without whose co-operation, patience and tolerance, this work would not have seen the light of day. In this group belong the library staff of the British Library (including the Newspaper Section at Colindale), Senate House Library, the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and particularly, the India Office Library and Records (including their Newspaper Section at the Bush House). I take this opportunity to thank Mr. J. Sims of the India Office Library and Records for being so helpful in tracking down apparently untraceable official documents. I wish to thank the staff of the Bangladesh Secretariat Record Room and of the Secretariat Library, Dacca for extending me all possible facilities in carrying out my research work. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife, Lilly whose support and constant encouragement over these years was invaluable in completing this work.

Research Purpose:
School finance is not a new problem in the United States. It has been around and evolving since the beginning of public education. In the last three years in Texas there has been five legislative sessions to address school finance. The States major daily newspapers have reported on numerous occasions about issues related to school finance.

During the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries Sen. John Edwards struck a chord with voters and educators when he spoke of "two Americas: one for the wealthy and privileged, another for those not so lucky” (Bartolomeo 2004, 6). While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down separate schools based on race in Brown vs. Board of Education, the current public education system is clearly illustrative of Sen. Edwards’ statement on continued inequality based on wealth in the United States. The purpose of this study is to examine school finance attitudes of Texas superintendents on issues of

Република България и Република Северна Македония са държави с
унитарно управление, а общините са единственото административно
и териториално ниво на местно управление и в двете страни. Обособените местни териториални единици в България са 265, а в Северна
Македония общините са 82. Целта на настоящата статия е да се
направи сравнителен анализ на местните приходи и разходи и постъпленията от общинските трансфери в България и Северна Македония (за периода 2013 - 2017 г.), в т.ч. преглед на структурата на
собствените общински приходи, местните разходи и системата на
държавните трансфери. Оценени са тенденциите, свързани с динамиката на капиталовите разходи. Основни изследователски задачи са
извеждането на прилики и разлики в местните финанси на двете
държави, както и изследване и приложение на добри практики по
отношение на повишаване на фискалната автономност и засилване
процеса на фискална децентрализация в България и Северна Македония. Осъществен е и кратък преглед на процеса по фискална децентрализация в двете държави. Разработката се опира на традиционни изследователски методи: исторически и логически анализ,
анализ и синтез, индукция и дедукция, сравнителен анализ, дескриптивен анализ.

Целта на настоящата статия е да се изследват ролята и фискалното значение на данъка върху недвижимите имоти в България. Разгледани са характеристиките на данъка като един от найподходящите методи за акумулиране на ресурси на местно ниво с акцент върху неговият приходен потенциал. Откроени са основни тенденции в облагането на недвижимите имоти в България, като е анализирана динамиката на приходите от данъка за периода 2004 – 2016г. и обуславящите я ключови фактори. Извършен е клъстерен анализ по индикатори за значение на приходите от облагане на недвижимите имоти, в резултат на което са формирани три относително хомогенни групи от общини. Изведени са сходствата между общините във всяка една група, и съответно различията между формираните групи по отношение на ролята на данъка при финансиране на местните публични дейности.