DYNAMIC SCORING OF TAX REFORMS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

In this paper, we present the first dynamic scoring exercise linking a microsimulation and a dynamic general equilibrium model for Europe. We illustrate our novel methodology analyzing hypothetical reforms of the social insurance contributions system in Belgium. Our approach takes into account the feedback effects resulting from adjustments and behavioral responses in the labor market and the economy‐wide reaction to the tax policy changes essential for a comprehensive evaluation of the reforms. We find that the self‐financing effect of a reduction in employers’ social insurance contribution is substantially larger than that of a comparable reduction in employees’ social insurance contributions.     

AN EVALUATION OF FURTHER REFORMS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PROCESS

By 1992, the party of the majority, the Democratic Party, will have been out of power for twenty years of a twenty-four year span. Since 1968, numerous reforms in the presidential nominating process have been considered and adopted by the Democrats. These reforms have had the effect of opening the nominating process to rank-and-file Democrats through state primaries and participatory caucuses. While the reforms achieve this purpose, the end result is a mixed system that has been described as a disjointed hodgepodge of rules.
This article presents ten criteria of a sound nomination system. Then a panel of researchers and practitioners weighs seven options for further reform against the ten criteria. Several policy options are considered by the panel as improvements over the current presidential nomination system.     

PROGRAM BUDGETING REFORMS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Abstract: This study describes and assesses the recent progress (1975–83) in implementing program budgeting in South Australia. It outlines (1) the leadership of South Australia in this field in Australia, (2) the ways in which administrators adapted program budgeting for successful implementation, (3) the changing emphases which occurred in the reform process, involving parliamentarians, central control departments of government, and responses in ordinary departments, and (4) the relationships of the reforms to political change where that change was reflective of different government attitudes to social reform and to the economic management of stagflation. The study also evaluates what more needs to be done, especially in the more difficult analytical components of program budgeting. In appreciation that program budgeting is of recent origin in Australian public administration, the writing is deliberately structured to explain the essential nature of program budgeting, using the relevant general principles to assess the progress of implementation in South Australia.     

IMPACT OF DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS IN PAKISTAN ON SERVICE DELIVERY—AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

By bringing decision making closer to people, decentralization is expected to improve governance and service delivery outcomes. Yet, the empirical evidence on the impact of decentralization on macroeconomic performance and public sector size presents a mixed picture. However, the findings of cross‐country studies in the literature are sensitive to the way decentralization is defined, and how its extent and impact are measured. This article avoids the unwanted effects of incomparability and aggregation in cross‐country analysis. We use a unique panel data set from 183 villages in Pakistan to analyze the impact of decentralization reforms implemented in 2001 on the provision of services—street paving, construction of water canals, sanitation sewer lines, and school facilities. Our results show that the magnitude of provision of all services increased significantly following decentralization reforms. We further show that the four services are impacted differently and service delivery improvement is not uniform, but not in ways that conform to the hypotheses of patronage theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING IN A REVOLUTIONARY SETTING: NICARAGUA'S PESTICIDE POLICY REFORMS

Pesticide related health problems and environmental contamination have plagued the Third World for several decades. This study explores the efforts to resolve pesticide problems within the context of the Nicaraguan revolution. Through a case study of Nicaragua's pesticide policy reforms the opportunities afforded by Third World revolutions to address specific social problems are analyzed. The study then explores the array of obstacles to implementation of such reforms generated by political and military opposition to revolutionary change and concludes with an assessment of prospects for social problem-solving in a revolutionary setting.