City Officials and General Revenue Sharing: Attitudes, Perceptions and Implications for Future Intergovernmental Policy

This article describes the 1972 State and Local Fiscal AssistanceAct(General Revenue Sharing), its perceived impact on city expenditures,its impact on the attitudes of city officials, and GRS's implicationfor future intergovernmental policy. Using data from nine yearsof an annual survey to chief executives in cities with over50,000 population, we conclude the program's most importantcontribution was in the general attitudes it fostered amonglocal officials. Our analysis indicates that GRS remains extremelypopular with urban chief executives and that its impact variesamong expenditure categories and cities. We conclude that theReagan administration may be able to develop viable policy alternativesbecause of the lack of consensus among many city officials whoalso exhibit varying degrees of support for the president'sproposed policies. In addition, the consensus which characterizedthe public interest groups in prior years may be eroding, andthis could create greater possibilities for policy change. ^* We would like to thank Tracey Gladstone and Eila Pakkanenfor their coding assist-ance. Ilese Hoyniak provided data processingassistance. We would like to thank Purdue University for providingcomputer time and other assistance.     

Forecasting General Fund Revenue: An Analysis of Idaho FY 1998 to FY 2011

Forecasting state general fund revenue (GFR) though business cycles means possibly confusing a cycle with an underlying long‐run trend. Relative to the actual revenue, the mean squared error of the academic, legislative, governor's, the growth path (GP), and Holt‐Winters (HW) forecasts for Idaho GFR was not significantly different than the naïve forecast's; the Combined GP‐HW forecast has significantly smaller mean square error. The GP model (ARIMA 1, 2, 1) produced a short‐run elasticity of revenue with respect to income of 1.05 (±0.05). The best GFR forecasts combined a HW two‐step‐ahead level with a GP one‐step‐ahead trend that provided a forecast of GFR with the smallest root mean square error between FY 1998 and FY 2009. A budget stabilization fund needs to be 34–40 percent of GFR for GFR to sustain growth at the state's long‐run expansion rate during a contraction.     

Politics Can Limit Policy Opportunism in Fiscal Institutions: Evidence from Official General Fund Revenue Forecasts in the American States

Governments make policy decisions in the same areas in quite different institutions. Some assign policymaking responsibility to institutions designed to be insulated from myopic partisan and electoral pressures and others do not. In this study, we claim that differences in political context and institutional design constrain the policy choices governments make. Testable propositions based on an analysis of varying electoral incentives and time horizons created by these different contexts are empirically tested using panel data on official general fund revenue forecasts in the American states, 1987 to 2008. The empirical evidence reveals that executive branch agencies and independent commissions produce more conservative forecasts than legislatures with one important exception. Executive branch revenue forecasts in states with gubernatorial term limits are indistinguishable from legislative branch forecasts. Further, we find that legislative branch forecasts are more conservative in the presence of divided partisan legislatures than unified party government. In turn, this implies that entrusting policymaking authority to either the executive branch or an independent commission may only be consequential when the political system itself fails to check legislative excesses or executive myopia.     

Capital Financing of Schools: A Comparison of Lease Purchase Revenue Bonds and General Obligation Bonds

School building construction is on the rise nationwide and Texas has led the nation in outlays on school construction. We consider key factors that distinguish lease purchase revenue (LPR) bonds and general obligation (GO) bonds as debt instruments for financing school facilities in Texas. Our research shows that LPR bonds typically have a higher interest cost than GO bonds and they do not have any advantages over GO bonds in circumventing state restrictions on school district tax and debt authority. Voter approval requirements implicit in the state aid formulae supporting school bond repayments and the bond election requirements are however both less stringent in the case of LPR bonds than GO bonds.     

The Growth and Stability of the Local Tax Revenue in Japan

This paper estimates the elasticity of the local tax revenue in Japan and analyzes the growth and stability of the Japanese local tax system. The main estimated results are as follows. The growth taxes in the long run are the Individual Enterprise Tax and the Fixed Asset Tax. There are no stable taxes in the short run. The total amount of prefectural tax revenue is low growth in the long run and unstable in the short run. The total amount of municipal tax revenue is low growth in the long run and neutral in the short run. The total amount of the local tax revenue in the prefecture and the municipality does not have stability and growth.     

关于加强政府非税收管理的思考

随着国民经济和社会各项事业的发展,政府非税收入规模不断扩大、结构不断变化,政府非税收入已成为国家财政收入的重要组成部分和我国经济建设的重要财力支柱,迫切需要我们在理论上重新认识政府非税收入的性质、特点和范围,在实践中规范其管理,使其在经济建设和各项社会事业发展中发挥应有的作用。本文拟就此问题谈点个人初浅的看法和意见。     

Sharing the costs of fighting justly

ABSTRACT

Combatants who attempt to obey the laws of war often have to take considerable risks in order to effectively discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate targets. Sometimes this task is made even more complicated by systemic factors which influence their ability to discriminate effectively without unduly risking their lives or the mission. If they fail to do so, civilians often pay the price. In this paper, I argue that to the extent that non-combatants benefit from the attempt to fight justly, and to the extent that wars in which combatants attempt to fight justly can be understood as a system of social cooperation which produces both burdens and benefits, non-combatants have a responsibility to shoulder their fair share of these burdens. Thus, if combatants (and by extension enemy non-combatants) are disproportionately burdened in a conflict, non-combatants ought to take on some costs, for instance in order to reduce the strain imposed on combatants by systemic factors such as the availability and distribution of resources.     

发挥税收的收入效应调节收入差距

伴随国民经济的持续快速发展和收入水平的普遍提高,居民收入差距在城乡、行业、地区之间的扩大,已经是市场经济体制基本建立时期社会经济领域的焦点问题。而现阶段的收入差距主要来自于初次分配领域,在市场经济下,税收效应无疑是解决这一问题的主要和首选途径。     

Revenue allocation and the stability of the Nigerian Federation 1960-1980

Since 1960 a succession of different formulae have been used to allocate revenue under Nigeria's constitutions. This article reviews the formulae used and suggests ways in which they have contributed to the stability of the federation. The author then argues that in the 1980's the revenue allocation system should take more account of the need to reduce economic and social disparities in the different geographical areas of the country and so safeguard in the longer term the political stability of this federation.     

A General Pricing Model for a Mortgage Insurance Contract Considering the Effects of Multivariate Random Variables on Termination Probabilities and Loss Rate

This article describes the derivation of a general closed-form formula for determining a fair premium for both Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and private mortgage insurance (MI). Our model incorporates the regulations appearing in MI contracts, the changes in economic situations, the termination hazard rates (i.e., prepayment and default), and the loss rate given default. We then give an example to show how one uses our model to calculate an MI premium with FHA regulations by using real mortgage data. Our pricing formula can also be used to calculate the implied default hazard rates given the FHA's current MI. The comparison of this implied rate with the actual rate should help mortgage insurers decide whether the current MI premium should be adjusted. Further analysis shows how sensitive MI premiums are to changes in the model parameters, such as the volatility of the interest rate and the house price appreciation rate. Our pricing formula should make it easier for mortgage insurers to determine fair MI premiums and employ sophisticated risk-management procedures.     

Revenue Diversification in Public Higher Education: Comparing the University and Polytechnic Sectors

Financial stringency has been an increasing concern in the higher education sector, especially in the aftermath of the financial crisis. As a result, public higher education institutions have been under increasing pressure to diversify their funding sources through tuition fees and other nonpublic revenues. This article reflects on the institutional impact of those changes by analyzing a panel of 30 higher education institutions from the Portuguese public university and polytechnic sectors for the period between 2003 and 2009. The authors explore the relevance of institutional characteristics such as enrollments in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, the qualifications of academic staff, and the regional environment where institutions are located. Results suggest that certain institutional characteristics related to mission differentiation and the path of development of binary systems are important determinants of higher education institutions’ ability to earn income from tuition fees and other nonpublic sources.     

高职生应付方式的调查研究

探讨高职院校大学生应付方式的特点,为有针对性地开展心理健康教育提供依据。采用应付方式问卷对高职院校大学生进行问卷调查,评估和调查高职院校大学生应付方式及特点。对不同专业、不同家庭经济状况的高职生应付方式进行多重比较后发现,不同专业的高职生在自责和求助因子上有统计学差异。家庭经济良好的高职生与家庭经济困难的高职生在自责、合理化因子上的差异有统计学意义。应加强对高职院校文科专业、艺术专业及家庭经济困难学生积极应付方式的训练。     

论我国政府信息共享机制的构建

政府信息共享在我国发展迅速,但仍然存在着共享不均、共享不畅等问题。而制约共享深层次发展的瓶颈主要有技术层、语义层、概念层和利益层等,其中利益层面的瓶颈是最主要、最复杂和最难解决的。而要有效地解决上述问题,绝不能回避利益机制的驱动,在侧重分析政府信息共享的一般成本、一般效益、多方博弈及匀衡利益等基础上,结合我国政府信息共享发展的实际情况,采取中短期战术性共享和中长期战略性共享分步走的现实路径,促进我国政府信息共享向高层次发展。     

发达国家税收征管制度对我国的借鉴作用

发达国家都十分重视税收征管工作,并已形成一整套科学、先进的税收征管体制,尤其是纳税申报、税务代理,以所得税为主的直接中心税、税务稽查、税务信息收集与分析等制度,对完善我国税收征管制度有一定借鉴作用.     

加速收入结构调整 强化医院公益作用的思考

目前公立医院的收入有公共财政投入、医保补偿及个人医疗支出、药费加成(即以药养医)三条渠道。在很多医院,药品收入往往占据医院总收入一半左右的份额。取消公立医院以药补医,医院收入大减,意味着医院收入结构的重大调整,要维持正常运作,必然寻找新的收入来源。试图从收入结构调整的方向,来考虑和设计取消医院的"以药养医"恶习,争取早日回归医院的公益属性。     

论税收的公平与效率原则及税制设计

税收是市场经济下政府组织财政收入的主要手段,一国税制设计应在满足财政收入前提下,尽量满足税收的公平与效率原则。税制设计如何在这二者之间取舍,经常引起经济学家和政策制定者的争议。发达国家关于最优所得税制的理论应该对我们有所借鉴。