Hardback
Financing Decentralized Expenditures
An International Comparison of Grants
9781858984483 Edward Elgar Publishing
Financing Decentralized Expenditures presents new original research papers on the structure of intergovernmental fiscal relations in virtually all types of countries and the design and implementation of transfer mechanisms between different levels of government.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
Financing Decentralized Expenditures presents new original research papers on the structure of intergovernmental fiscal relations in virtually all types of countries and the design and implementation of transfer mechanisms between different levels of government.
In developing, transition, and industrial countries alike, the process of decentralization of government expenditures has proceeded apace to provide better accountability and quality of services to consumers. At the same time, tax administration constraints dictate the central collection and assignment of the major sources of revenues – particularly income taxes and VAT. This generates an imbalance in favour of the central government. The manner in which this imbalance in redistributed affects the degree and nature of decentralization generating considerable debate in countries as diverse as Italy and Denmark, those in North America, as well as countries in transition, such as China and Russia.
The book includes a balance of overview pieces that explore the general issues supplemented by a large number of studies of intergovernmental transfer systems in specific countries. It offers a unique source of reference by providing a wealth of information of grant systems around the world.
In developing, transition, and industrial countries alike, the process of decentralization of government expenditures has proceeded apace to provide better accountability and quality of services to consumers. At the same time, tax administration constraints dictate the central collection and assignment of the major sources of revenues – particularly income taxes and VAT. This generates an imbalance in favour of the central government. The manner in which this imbalance in redistributed affects the degree and nature of decentralization generating considerable debate in countries as diverse as Italy and Denmark, those in North America, as well as countries in transition, such as China and Russia.
The book includes a balance of overview pieces that explore the general issues supplemented by a large number of studies of intergovernmental transfer systems in specific countries. It offers a unique source of reference by providing a wealth of information of grant systems around the world.
Critical Acclaim
‘. . . the book is a useful addition to the literature on fiscal federalism and state–local finance as for the first time in one volume one can find analysis of grant systems of several countries.’
– Anand N. Asthana, Kyklos
‘. . . the book can be recommended for its very useful country chapters.’
– David King, The Economic Journal
‘In this volume, Ehtisham Ahmad has assembled a rich collection of studies of intergovernmental grant systems from around the world. For the first time, we have access in a single volume to descriptions and critical assessments of grant systems from a wide range of industrialised and developing countries including Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Scandinavian countries, India, Korea, Indonesia and China . . . It provides a rich source of material to guide both scholars and practitioners in thinking about the design of systems of intergovernmental grants.’
– Wallace E. Oates, University of Maryland, and Resources for the Future, US
– Anand N. Asthana, Kyklos
‘. . . the book can be recommended for its very useful country chapters.’
– David King, The Economic Journal
‘In this volume, Ehtisham Ahmad has assembled a rich collection of studies of intergovernmental grant systems from around the world. For the first time, we have access in a single volume to descriptions and critical assessments of grant systems from a wide range of industrialised and developing countries including Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Scandinavian countries, India, Korea, Indonesia and China . . . It provides a rich source of material to guide both scholars and practitioners in thinking about the design of systems of intergovernmental grants.’
– Wallace E. Oates, University of Maryland, and Resources for the Future, US
Contents
Contents: Foreword (W.Oates) Acknowledgements 1. Intergovernmental Transfers – An International Perspective (E. Ahmad) 2. Assessing Provincial Revenue-Raising Capacity for Transfers (D.H. Clark) 3. Expenditure Needs: Institutions and Data (C.R. Rye, B. Searle) 4. The Fiscal Transfer System in Canada (D.H. Clark) 5. Intergovernmental Transfers in Switzerland and Germany (P.B. Spahn) 6. The Fiscal Transfer System in Australia (C.R. Rye, B. Searle) 7. Denmark and Other Scandinavian Countries: Equalization and Grants (J.R. Lotz) 8. Financing Regional and Local Governments – Italy and Spain (G. Brosio) 9. Intergovernmental Transfers in India (M.G. Rao) 10. Local Autonomy and Fiscal Resources in Korea (S.K. Kim) 11. Fiscal Transfers in Indonesia (Z. Qureshi) 12. The New Revenue-Sharing Arrangement in China: An Illustrative Example ( D. Mihaljek) 13. Constraints in Reforming the Transfer System in China (L. Jiwei) 14. Types of Transfers - A General Formulation (E. Ahmad, R. Thomas)
