An Empirical Assessment of the Municipal Financial Situation in Spain

ABSTRACT

Public finance theories state that both political and socioeconomic factors must be considered in order to explain governments' finances. On the one hand, “partisan politics matters” thesis argues that progressive parties contribute to increase public deficit. On the other hand, Roubini and Sachs' weak government hypothesis (1989a Roubini , N. and J. D. Sachs . 1989a . “Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the Industrial Democracies.” European Economic Review 33 : 903 – 938 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 1989b Roubini , N. and J. D. Sachs . 1989b . “Government Spending and Budget Deficits in the Industrial Countries.” Economic Policy: A European Forum 8 : 99 – 132 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) states that the higher the government fragmentation, the higher spending, deficit and debt. Accordingly, our work evaluates whether municipal ideology and political strength have an impact on public expenditures and taxes. With this aim, we analyze a representative sample of Spanish municipalities (2,729) for the year 2005. We find an influence of the size of the political majority on the municipal financial situation. However, we do not find evidence of the impact of the government's political ideology. Economic and population variables are found highly significant. Our data also show a “flypaper” effect in the Spanish municipal sector.     

Consensus Among Public Managers as Strategy for Standardization of Performance Indicators

ABSTRACT

The usefulness of performance indicators increases when organizations compare their data. However, most discussions have failed to emphasize two lines of action that could improve the relevance of such comparisons: a) agreement among service managers on the indicators to be used in the evaluation; b) homogenization of the indicators to be used by organizations, and of the process used to calculate them. In this context, this paper proposes a methodology based on the participation of and consensus among managers, which helps to standardize the construction and presentation of performance indicators. The aim of this proposal is to improve the comparative evaluation of organizations. Finally, in order to test the proposal, a practical application is carried out on the local culture departments of nine large municipalities in southern Spain.     

Determinants of Financial Transparency in Government

ABSTRACT

The search for enhanced transparency and accountability in government organizations has inspired studies to identify the key factors that facilitate greater disclosure of public financial information. With the advantages provided by the meta-analysis technique, applied to a sample of studies, we identify the most significant factors and incentives underlying the decisions adopted by public managers on policy strategies regarding information transparency and public responsibility. Our study shows the variables analyzed to be positively associated with the disclosure of public financial information, but also that this depends on the context in which the research is carried out. The most influential variables were the moderator variables of the administrative culture and of the measurement unit for the variables.     

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

This contribution examines the impact of profound changes to agricultural policy implemented since 1988 on the livelihoods of Mexico's rural population. Detailed studies in four villages show that rural incomes are very unevenly distributed within communities leaving half of households in poverty. During the last decade key factors affecting village economies have been international and national, rather than specific changes to farm policy. Most changes have been to the detriment of the communities studied, but peasant households have adapted and survived, at a price. If the worst fears about the consequences of economic liberalisation have not been realised, neither have the hopes. Depressed markets for basic goods and services have limited the growth of the rural economy. Private investment and provision of services have not been stimulated.     

Population and income: Is there a puzzle?

Abstract

This note presents wide evidence on the relationship between population and income for 125 countries for which data was available for the period 1950–2000. The main result is that there is a weak but negative relationship between population growth and per capita GDP, as income increases population expands at a slower rate. This relationship appears to be stronger for African countries and for Asian countries before 1970.     

Double Punishment for Regional and National Incumbents: The March 2012 Regional Election in Andalusia

Confounding predictions, the 2012 Andalusian regional election resulted in a renewal of left-wing government as the conservative Popular Party failed to obtain an absolute majority of seats. The socialists, who had ruled the region for 30 years, came second but continued in power in coalition with the United Left, which increased its seat share. The article argues that the Andalusian election results should be understood in a multi-level governance perspective. For those who voted for the socialists, the hard austerity policies implemented by the Popular Party central government became more salient than the current performance of the regional government. The behaviour of unemployed voters is also key to understanding the election outcome.     

Social Capital and Hygiene Practices among the Extreme Poor in Rural Bangladesh

We investigate the effect of social capital on hygiene practices pertaining to lives of the extreme poor in rural Bangladesh. Analysing a unique survey dataset for 5,600 extreme poor households, we document a significant positive effect of social capital on sanitary latrine use and wearing shoes/sandals at home for hygiene. We account for the endogeneity of social capital by instrumental variable estimation. Our findings emphasise the role of social capital in preventing common diseases through improving hygiene practices for the extreme poor, who usually lack access to medical services in the event of illness, which has important policy implications.