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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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- Keyword
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- Endowment; investment returns; public charity; private foundation (2)
- : Computable General Equilibrium; Micro-simulation; Fiscal Policy; Pakistan (1)
- Debt; debt guarantees; political risk; default risk; bilateral investment treaties (1)
- Inter-regional redistribution; regional fiscal imbalance; European Union (1)
- Local government; metropolitan area; amalgamation; municipal reorganization (1)
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Articles 1 - 30 of 33
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Reforming Subsidies For Fossil Fuel Consumption: Killing Several Birds With One Stone, Charles E. Mclure Jr.
Reforming Subsidies For Fossil Fuel Consumption: Killing Several Birds With One Stone, Charles E. Mclure Jr.
ICEPP Working Papers
This paper examines subsidies for the consumption of fossil fuels provided by developing countries and oil-exporting countries. (In what follows all unqualified references to fuel subsidies are to subsidies for the consumption of fossil fuels, including electricity that is generated by combusting fossil fuel. Thus neither production subsidies nor subsidies for other types of energy, such as hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear, are considered.6 In this context, “consumption” does not mean only household consumption; it includes consumption by business and governments.) The next section describes the negative effects of fuel subsidies mentioned above in greater detail. Although emphasis in this …
Air Pollution And Procyclical Mortality, Garth Heutel, Christopher J. Ruhm
Air Pollution And Procyclical Mortality, Garth Heutel, Christopher J. Ruhm
ECON Publications
Prior research demonstrates that mortality rates increase during economic booms and decrease during economic busts, but little analysis has been conducted investigating the role of environmental risks as potential mechanisms for this relationship. We investigate the contribution of air pollution to the procyclicality of deaths by combining state-level data on overall, cause-specific, and age-specific mortality rates with state-level measures of ambient concentrations of three types of pollutants and the unemployment rate. After controlling for demographic variables and state and year fixed-effects, we find a significant positive correlation between carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations and mortality rates. Controlling for CO, particulate matter …
Citizen Participation And Local Government Effectiveness: Evidence From Uganda, Maria C. Morales
Citizen Participation And Local Government Effectiveness: Evidence From Uganda, Maria C. Morales
Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference
No abstract provided.
Incidence And Environmental Effects Of Distortionary Subsidies, Garth Heutel, David L. Kelly
Incidence And Environmental Effects Of Distortionary Subsidies, Garth Heutel, David L. Kelly
ECON Publications
Government policies that are not intended to address environmental concerns can nonetheless distort prices and affect firms' emissions. We present an analytical general equilibrium model to study the effect of distortionary subsidies on factor prices and on environmental outcomes. We model an output subsidy, a capital subsidy, relief from environmental regulation, and a direct cash subsidy. In exchange for receiving subsidies, firms must agree to a minimum level of labor employment. Each type of subsidy and the employment constraint create both output effects and substitution effects on input prices and emissions. We calibrate the model to the Chinese economy, where …
The Investment Returns Of Nonprofit Organizations, Part Ii, Garth Heutel, Richard Zeckhauser
The Investment Returns Of Nonprofit Organizations, Part Ii, Garth Heutel, Richard Zeckhauser
ECON Publications
We continue our examination of the investment performance of nonprofit charities and foundations. This analysis tests hypotheses about what types of organizations do better. Our motivating intuition is that nonprofits with greater focus on investment performance will secure higher returns. Our hypotheses are tested by regressing the rate of return for each organization on various characteristics. As expected, nonprofits whose primary business is predominantly financial, such as insurance providers and pension or retirement funds, consistently earn higher returns. The data also support our hypotheses that larger nonprofits, older nonprofits, and private foundations will tend to outperform. The evidence is mixed …
Environmental Macroeconomics: Environmental Policy, Business Cycles, And Directed Technical Change, Garth Heutel, Carolyn Fischer
Environmental Macroeconomics: Environmental Policy, Business Cycles, And Directed Technical Change, Garth Heutel, Carolyn Fischer
ECON Publications
Environmental economics has traditionally fallen in the domain of microeconomics, but recently approaches from macroeconomics have been applied to studying environmental policy. We focus on two macroeconomic tools and their application to environmental economics. First, real business cycle models can incorporate pollution and pollution policy and be used to answer several questions. How can environmental policy adjust to business cycles? How do different types of policies fare in a context with business cycles? Second, endogenous technological growth is an important component of environmental policy. Several studies ask how policy can be designed to both tackle emissions directly and influence the …
The Investment Returns Of Nonprofit Organizations, Part I, Garth Heutel, Richard Zeckhauser
The Investment Returns Of Nonprofit Organizations, Part I, Garth Heutel, Richard Zeckhauser
ECON Publications
Nonprofit charities and foundations hold endowments and other investments. How do their investments perform? Some high-profile nonprofit endowments, importantly those of colleges and universities, have been studied before. This study is the first, to our knowledge, that looks at a large number of the diverse types of nonprofits. We investigate the determinants of investment performance using a large panel data set culled from the 990 forms nonprofits must file annually with the IRS. In this first part, we discuss our approach and the challenges of using these data to infer investment returns. The IRS data, though less than perfect, yield …
Why Theory And Practice Are Different: The Gap Between Principles And Reality In Subnational Revenue Systems, Paul Smoke
Why Theory And Practice Are Different: The Gap Between Principles And Reality In Subnational Revenue Systems, Paul Smoke
ICEPP Working Papers
Ensuring adequate subnational revenue is a core concern of fiscal decentralization. Public finance principles for selecting and designing subnational revenue sources have been widely used during the prominent wave of decentralization efforts in developing countries over the past three decades. Available empirical literature, however, suggests that subnational revenue generation often fails to meet needs and expectations, even where normative advice has been or seems to have been followed. Are the principles inappropriate, or are they just poorly applied? This paper argues that both factors are often at play. Basic principles are valuable, but they can be challenging to use and …
Beyond Fdi: The Influence Of Bilateral Investment Treaties On Debt, Mina Wesseem
Beyond Fdi: The Influence Of Bilateral Investment Treaties On Debt, Mina Wesseem
ICEPP Working Papers
This paper examines theoretically and empirically the role of political risk guarantees, which bilateral investment treaties serve, in debt accumulation in low and middle income countries. The paper empirically finds that signed bilateral investment treaties with OECD countries have a positive influence on total and guaranteed debt accumulation, under system GMM and OLS estimation methodologies. Results suggest that the role of bilateral investment treaties extends beyond attracting FDI to international lending.
Poor Face A Public Policy Challenge: A Commentary, Roy W. Bahl
Poor Face A Public Policy Challenge: A Commentary, Roy W. Bahl
ECON Publications
No abstract provided.
An International Perspective On The Determinants Of Local Government Fragmentation, Juan Luis Gomez-Reino, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
An International Perspective On The Determinants Of Local Government Fragmentation, Juan Luis Gomez-Reino, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
ECON Publications
No abstract provided.
Coping With Rising Inequality In Asia: How Effective Are Fiscal Policies, Iris Claus, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Violeta Vulovic
Coping With Rising Inequality In Asia: How Effective Are Fiscal Policies, Iris Claus, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Violeta Vulovic
ECON Publications
This paper discusses the role and effectiveness of redistributive fiscal policies and provides estimates of the effects of taxation and government expenditure on income inequality in Asia. Tax systems around the world tend to be progressive, but government expenditure is generally found to be a more effective tool for redistributing income. In Asia, government spending on social protection has a distinctive differential distributive impact. Social protection spending appears to increase income inequality in Asia, whereas it reduces it in the rest of the world. Government expenditure on housing is also adversely affecting the distribution of income in Asia. Policy options …
Do Companies View Bribes As A Tax? Evidence On The Tradeoff Between Corporate Taxes And Corruption In The Location Of Fdi, Timothy Goodspeed, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Li Zhang
Do Companies View Bribes As A Tax? Evidence On The Tradeoff Between Corporate Taxes And Corruption In The Location Of Fdi, Timothy Goodspeed, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Li Zhang
ECON Publications
No abstract provided.
Measuring The Extent Of Fiscal Decentralisation: An Application To The United States, Yongzheng Liu, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Andrey Timofeev
Measuring The Extent Of Fiscal Decentralisation: An Application To The United States, Yongzheng Liu, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Andrey Timofeev
ECON Publications
The goal of this chapter is to develop a taxonomy of decentralisation measures and how they are related to each other. In addition to introducing a common language for the different strands of literature, this taxonomy is instrumental for studying the outcomes of decentralisation. Using cross-state data from the United States, we show that aggregating distinct dimensions of fiscal decentralisation into a single indicator inevitably leads to a loss of information in the form of lower explanatory power. We conclude that the distinct aspects of decentralisation should enter regression analyses separately, in the most flexible functional form possible. In particular, …
A Behavioral Local Public Finance Perspective On The Renter’S Illusion Hypothesis, Roberto Dell'anno, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
A Behavioral Local Public Finance Perspective On The Renter’S Illusion Hypothesis, Roberto Dell'anno, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
ICEPP Working Papers
In this paper we argue that renter’s illusion may not be a form of asymmetric information neither irrationality but rather a way to include in our economic analysis evidence that while homo oeconomicus aims to do a good job of making choices, he frequently is not able to do that. Taxpayers do not know the “objective” world but take decisions according to mental and often biased representations of “their” world. We develop a simple model where misperception plays a fundamental role in the behavior of renters and allows overcoming the dichotomy between rational and irrational renter's behavior. In the paper …
On The Size And Determinants Of Inter-Regional Redistribution In European Countries Over The Period 1995-2009, Santiago Lago-Penas, Albino Prada, Alberto Vaquero
On The Size And Determinants Of Inter-Regional Redistribution In European Countries Over The Period 1995-2009, Santiago Lago-Penas, Albino Prada, Alberto Vaquero
ICEPP Working Papers
The aim of this paper is to analyse cross-country differences in the degree of inter-regional redistribution achieved by means of taxes and expenditures in 21 European countries over the period 1995-2009. We rely on a standard approach based on the observation and comparison of both primary and disposable household income at regional scale. Once the redistributive effect in each country is quantified, we try to explain the drivers of cross-country time-series differences. According to our estimates, cross-national standard deviation is significant and much higher than time variation. Secondly, inter-regional redistribution is strongly and positively related to personal redistribution by means …
An International Perspective On The Determinants Of Local Government Fragmentation, Juan Luiz Gomez-Reino, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
An International Perspective On The Determinants Of Local Government Fragmentation, Juan Luiz Gomez-Reino, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
ICEPP Working Papers
The main questions addressed in this paper are the identification of the main determinants of jurisdictional fragmentation as presently observed across countries and how well those findings line up with the predictions of the expanded standard model of optimal jurisdiction size. To our knowledge, to date, there does not exit a rigorous study analyzing the cross-country determinants of fragmentation in the way this issue has been previously analyzed for some particular countries. At the outset, country fixed effects can be expected to loom large and powerful. Each country with its own history conditioned by a myriad of details, including colonial …
Below The Salt: Decentralizing Value-Added Taxes, Richard M. Bird
Below The Salt: Decentralizing Value-Added Taxes, Richard M. Bird
ICEPP Working Papers
Although VATs applied simultaneously within the same country by different levels of government were long considered to be either undesirable or infeasible, two quite different types of sub-central VATs – regional consumption taxes and local business taxes -- now exist in a number of countries. Brazil, Canada, and India have introduced regional (state and provincial) VATs which, like national VATs, are general taxes on consumption administered through a transaction-based credit-invoice approach. Although these three countries are very different, and each has established such a tax for its own reasons in different ways and with varying degrees of success, as this …
Are User Charges Underutilsed In Indian Cities? An Analysis For Delhi, Simanti Bandyopadhyay, Debraj Bagchi
Are User Charges Underutilsed In Indian Cities? An Analysis For Delhi, Simanti Bandyopadhyay, Debraj Bagchi
ICEPP Working Papers
The Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had recommended certain measures in December 2011 to improve the revenues of the corporation and thereby narrow the existing budget gap. These included introduction of congestion and conservancy charges and revision of rates for parking fees, one time parking charges, fees from mobile towers and property taxes, thus mainly focusing on the augmentation of the non-tax revenues. However, due to social resistance and lack of political will, none of these recommendations were implemented. In this paper we have attempted to quantify the potential revenue gains that may have resulted had the recommendations …
Taxation And Inequality In The Americas: Changing The Fiscal Contract?, Richard M. Bird, Eric M. Zolt
Taxation And Inequality In The Americas: Changing The Fiscal Contract?, Richard M. Bird, Eric M. Zolt
ICEPP Working Papers
Times change. In the words of an old English ballad, some things seem to have “turned upside down” in recent years. Since 2000, Latin America has become less unequal, with lower levels of poverty and likely greater economic mobility (Lustig, Lopez-Calvo and Ortiz-Juarez 2012), assisted in part by more progressive fiscal policy (Mahon 2012). In contrast, the United States has become more unequal (Piketty and Saez 2003, 2013), while poverty has remained relatively constant (U.S. Census Bureau 2012), economic mobility has likely declined (Hungerford 2008), and tax and spending policies have become less effective in reducing inequality (Harris and Sammartino …
A Generalization Of The Pfähler-Lambert Decomposition, Jorge Onrubia, Fidel Picos, Maria Del Carmen Rodado
A Generalization Of The Pfähler-Lambert Decomposition, Jorge Onrubia, Fidel Picos, Maria Del Carmen Rodado
ICEPP Working Papers
The aim of this paper is to provide a generalization of the Pfähler (1990) and Lambert (1989, 2001) decomposition, which allows us to overcome some limitations of the original methodology. In particular, our proposal avoids the problem of sequentiality when the tax has several types of deductions or allowances, schedules or tax credits. In addition, our alternative decomposition is adapted to the dual income class of tax structures. Moreover, in order to adapt this methodology to real-world taxes, our approach includes the re-ranking effects of real taxes, caused by the existence of differentiated treatments based on non-income attributes. This theoretical …
Does Municipal Amalgamation Strengthen The Financial Viability Of Local Government? A Canadian Example, Enid Slack, Richard M. Bird
Does Municipal Amalgamation Strengthen The Financial Viability Of Local Government? A Canadian Example, Enid Slack, Richard M. Bird
ICEPP Working Papers
Municipal amalgamation is often seen as one way to ensure that municipalities are large enough to be financially and technically capable of providing the extensive array of services with which they are charged. The idea is presumably that municipalities will be able not only to reap economies of scale, but also to coordinate service delivery over the enlarged territory as well as share costs equitably and reduce (even eliminate) spillovers of service delivery across local boundaries. This paper evaluates the extent to which municipal amalgamation in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, in 1998 achieved the provincially-stated objective of saving costs as …
The Impact Of Tax Incentives To Stimulate Investment In South Africa, Estian Calitz, Sally Wallace, Le Roux Burrows
The Impact Of Tax Incentives To Stimulate Investment In South Africa, Estian Calitz, Sally Wallace, Le Roux Burrows
ICEPP Working Papers
The purpose of this paper is, very generally, to provide a framework and potential methodology of analysis of tax incentives in one country — South Africa. As incentives are often specific and targeted, the precise methods needed to analyze the effectiveness of incentives may well differ among types of incentives. However, by positing a framework for evaluation based on basic economic principles, we believe that transparency, accountability and rigorous evaluation of individual incentives or regarding the choice of incentives may be enhanced.
Foreign Advice And Tax Policy In Developing Countries, Richard M. Bird
Foreign Advice And Tax Policy In Developing Countries, Richard M. Bird
ICEPP Working Papers
Fifty years of experience tells us that the right game for tax researchers and outside agencies interested in fostering better sustainable tax systems in developing countries researchers is not the short-term political game in which policy decisions are made. The right game for them is instead the long-term one of building up the institutional capacity both within and outside governments to articulate relevant ideas for change, to collect and analyze relevant data, and of course to assess and criticize the effects of such changes as are made. Tax researchers in developing countries can and should play an active role in …
“The Impact Of Micro-Simulation And Cge Modeling On Tax Reform And Tax Advice In Developing Countries”: A Survey Of Alternative Approaches And An Application To Pakistan, Andrew Feltenstein, Luciana Teagno Lopes, Janet Porras Mendoza, Sally Wallace
“The Impact Of Micro-Simulation And Cge Modeling On Tax Reform And Tax Advice In Developing Countries”: A Survey Of Alternative Approaches And An Application To Pakistan, Andrew Feltenstein, Luciana Teagno Lopes, Janet Porras Mendoza, Sally Wallace
ICEPP Working Papers
Computational general equilibrium models (CGE) and micro-simulation models (MSM) each have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Both have been widely used for the analysis of fiscal policies in developing countries, and many attempts have been made to link the two models, thereby combining their relative strengths. We survey a broad literature that uses a variety of approaches to apply linked CGE and MSM models to analyze fiscal policies, in particular taxes and tariffs, in developing countries. We conclude that the “top down” approach, in which the aggregate outputs of the CGE model feed into the MSM, is the …
Measuring Tax Effort: Does The Estimation Approach Matter And Should Effort Be Linked To Expenditure Goals?, Musharraf Cyan, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Violeta Vulovic
Measuring Tax Effort: Does The Estimation Approach Matter And Should Effort Be Linked To Expenditure Goals?, Musharraf Cyan, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Violeta Vulovic
ICEPP Working Papers
In this paper we attempt to take a fresh look at the classical question of the determinants of tax effort. Our goal is to better understand the fundamental economic logic of the different approaches that have been used in the previous literature, consider alternative measurements which may provide a more direct intuition of what the concept of tax effort attempts to measure, and to compare quantitatively the rankings of tax effort produced by all these different approaches. As we see it, the fundamental issue is how to move forward toward a definition of tax effort that has a higher relevance …
Taxing The Small: Fostering Tax Compliance Among Small Enterprises In Developing Countries, William F. Fox, Matthew N. Murray
Taxing The Small: Fostering Tax Compliance Among Small Enterprises In Developing Countries, William F. Fox, Matthew N. Murray
ICEPP Working Papers
We first discuss a more nuanced view of the tax compliance game from the evolving perspective of behavioral economics. This discussion is followed by a more traditional analysis of issues related to taxation of the small drawing on recent insights and policy interventions. Our discussion generally blends issues of tax structure with various facets of tax administration and enforcement. In most instances the tax instrument in question is the VAT since it is the dominant revenue source in most developing countries, though we recognize there are compliance problems with all revenue instruments.
Making The Property Tax Work, Roy Kelly
Making The Property Tax Work, Roy Kelly
ICEPP Working Papers
As with any reform, making the property tax work requires visionary leadership, an appropriate policy framework, strong administrative capacity, and appropriate incentives to mobilize the political, administrative and popular support needed to enhance property tax revenues, equity and efficiency. This paper focuses on these requirements for successful property tax reform, identifying the key policy and administrative components and possible strategies needed to make the property tax work. Part 1 outlines the broader public sector reform environment needed to facilitate and support sustainable property tax reform. Part 2 identifies the policy and administration determinants affecting the realization of property tax revenue, …
Fiscal Decentralization In Peru: A Perspective On Recent Developments And Future Challenges, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Fiscal Decentralization In Peru: A Perspective On Recent Developments And Future Challenges, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
ICEPP Working Papers
Decentralization is a fairly recent process in Peru that has been driven by a mixture of democratization, state modernization, increased accountability in service delivery, and regional economic development objectives. Politics has also played an important role. Overall, the general approach to decentralization reform in Peru has been cautious and conservative and by design its implementation has been gradual. With hindsight there were several important missteps that could have been avoided. There are other important aspects that will require substantial reform efforts in the coming years, including the formation of macroregions and how to undo the important negative consequences of the …
Local Taxes And Local Expenditures: Strengthening The Wicksellian Connection, Richard M. Bird
Local Taxes And Local Expenditures: Strengthening The Wicksellian Connection, Richard M. Bird
ICEPP Working Papers
One way to design a local tax system is to determine the desired size and nature of local expenditures and then put in place a tax (and transfer) system providing incentives that lead local decision-makers to choose to finance that expenditure package. In practice, however, there are seldom clear links between local taxes and local expenditures and accountability at the local level is often both confused and confusing. This paper discusses how the Wicksellian connection between local services and revenues might be strengthened by changing the ‘package’ of local services, by altering the ‘package’ of local revenues, and by altering …