Whither the federal budget?

Federal budget expenditures in regions are not reduced to intergovernmental fiscal transfers to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. A significant part of the federal budget is spent directly in regions to support the expenditure commitments of the Russian Federation. The study aims to describe inter-territorial redistribution of financial resources and assess the contribution of the federal budget to regional per capita consumption by analysing data on 76 Russian constituent entities for 2016-2019. The article ranks regions according to the indicators of the federal budget per capita, estimates the ratio of federal and regional budgetary resources and tests the hypothesis about the impact of federal expenditures on regional per capita consumption. The following negative effects and trends were identified. Regions receive significantly less federal funds than the federal budget; the number of constituent entities with federal budget surplus increased. The regional inequality in terms of the federal budget execution indicators is growing: the gap between the maximum and minimum values of federal budget revenues per capita by region increased from 62 to 74 times; the gap between per capita expenditures is about 6 times. The disincentive effect of redistribution is strengthening due to increased withdrawals of income generated in donor regions and reduced spending of federal resources in recipient regions. Federal budget expenditures amplify the inequality in regional per capita consumption. Maximum and minimum specific values of the total federal and regional budget expenditures in regions differ by more than 10 times. The identified effects lead to an increase in regional inequality in the Russian Federation. According to the research results, intergovernmental redistribution mechanisms should be improved taking into account direct federal budget expenditures in regions.

The federal budgeting process affects a wide range of people who work in public health, including those who work for government at local, state, and federal levels; those who work with government; those who operate government-funded programs; and those who receive program services. However, many people who are affected by the federal budget are not aware of or do not understand how it is appropriated or executed. This commentary is intended to give non-financial experts an overview of the federal budget process to address public health emergencies. Using CDC as an example, we provide: (1) a brief overview of the annual budget formulation and appropriation process; (2) a description of execution and implementation of the federal budget; and (3) an overview of emergency supplemental appropriations, using as examples the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak, and the 2016 Zika epidemic. Public health emergencies require rapid coordinated responses among Congress, government agencies, partners, and sometimes foreign, state, and local governments. It is important to have an understanding of the appropriation process, including supplemental appropriations that might come into play during public health emergencies, as well as the constraints under which Congress and federal agencies operate throughout the federal budget formulation process and execution.

This paper uses a public choice framework to consider the impact of Congressional adoption of a biennial federal budget. The introductory chapters detail the evolution of the current Congressional annual budget and explain how budgetary institutions affect the power structures inside Congress. The relevant public choice literature on budgetary institutions is also explored. Proponents of biennial budgeting argue that changing to a biennial process will provide several benefits to Congress: reduced discretionary spending through more Congressional control over the process, more time for oversight of programs, and greater transparency. Chapter 3 constructs a model of state spending to examine the relationship between budget periodicity and spending by constructing a model of state spending. In contrast to most of the literature on budget periodicity, this chapter finds a positive relationship between spending and biennial budgets. Chapter 4 conducts two case studies of states that have recently moved from annual budgeting to biennial budgeting to determine how the changes affected the influence and power of Appropriators relative to Authorizers. Anecdotal evidence from Connecticut suggests Appropriators' influence is negatively affected by a move to a two-year budget. Campaign contribution evidence from Arizona confirms that interest groups perceive this reduction in the power of Appropriators and, accordingly, donate less to Appropriators relative to Authorizers following a shift to biennial budgeting. Chapter 5 considers whether timing and transparency problems under an annual budget are technical issues that could be cured by extending the budget period and finds that instead these problems the political realities facing legislators. Thus, changing the budget period will not fix these issues and may exacerbate them. This dissertation finds that moving to a federal biennial budget process would increase the pressure on Congressional budgeters to spend, shift power away from Appropriators, and not solve timing and transparency problems in the federal budget.

According to the data released by the Federal Treasury, at month-end January 2016 the federal budget revenue came to 20.6% of GDP down 5.3 p.p. of GDP against the first month of the previous year. In January 2016 against January 2015, contraction of the federal budget expenditure constituted 16.9 p.p. of GDP to 13.2% of GDP, which allowed to execute the federal budget with a surplus of 7.4% of GDP in January 2016 and with non-oil and gas surplus in the volume of 0.4% of GDP. During January-December 2015, the revenues of the consolidated budget of the RF subjects went up by 0.1 p.p. of GDP against twelve months of the previous year to 12.6% of GDP. Expenditure went down by 0.3 p.p. of GDP and came to 12.9% of GDP. The government meeting dedicated to the development of anti-crisis plan noted that during the period from the adoption of the federal budget drastic changes took place on the commodity and global financial markets, which posed considerable risks for the Russian economy and as a result additional challenges to the budget system sustainability.

Investing in the future

Studies on policy agenda have adopted several indicators to measure the attention and priorities of governments to analyze the processes of policy change and policy dynamics. Based on the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) applied on the patterns of policy change, the distribution of the public budget has stood out as one of the instruments that best express the levels of attention and priority for governments in different sectors. This study seeks to investigate the pattern of government attention on the federal budget distribution in Brazil. Thus, this work maps the dynamics of government attention on the distribution of the federal approved budget over the last two decades (2000-2021), identifying (i) what are the percentage levels of attention to the different sectors of public policies over time and (ii) the conjunctural and institutional factors that guide the levels of government attention in the budget distribution of the federal government in Brazil. A database of the federal approved budget from 2000 to 2021 was created, in which the 814 combinations of expenditure functions and subfunctions were coded into 21 sectors according to the methodology of the Comparative Agenda Project (CAP). The results indicate that government attention on the distribution of the Brazilian federal budget operates in a mostly incremental pattern over time, permeated by punctuations in specific sectoral policies, thus proving the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory at the national level. As for future research agenda, the study shows the need for further sectoral studies that explain the causes and effects of changes on government attention, their relationships with the legislative agenda, and the impacts of moments of institutional crisis in defining priorities in budget distribution.

[This book] does the near-impossible and provides a clearly written and objective primer that actually explains the budget process in lay terms.... This one should be on the desk of anyone who wants to follow the raging debates about appropriations, budgets, line-item vetoes, and constitutional amendments. The New York Times Book Review up-to-date, clear explanation of the federal budget. From the formulation of a federal agency's funding request to the final legislative appropriation, Schick has captured on paper the complex process. More importantly, he has captured the politics of federal budgeting from the original lofty goals to the stark realities of today. Senator Pete V. Domenici Anyone who wants to understand federal budgeting should read this book.... Federal budgeting has complex rules and arcane terms, but Schick has a gift for explanations that are clear, entertaining, and insightful. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo An essential guide to the federal budget process, this book brings together three critical elements of budget strategy: the political tactics and relationships that determine budgetary success or failure; the policy objectives pursued through the budget's revenue and spending proposals; and the rules and procedures that govern congressional and presidential action on these proposals. Documents used in federal budgeting are highlighted to show how the process affects policy outcomes. Allen Schick is a visiting fellow in the Governmental Studies program at Brookings and professor of political science at George Mason University. His books on federal budgeting include The Capacity to Budget (Urban Institute, 1990) and Congress and Money (Urban Institute, 1980).

The purpose of the study is to generalize the problems of inter–budgetary relations in Russia and substantiate proposals for improving inter-budgetary regulation of the federal center and regions. On the basis of linear regression approximation, the dynamics of the actual parameters of inter-budgetary relations for all subjects of the Russian Federation for 2010–2020 is studied. The analysis of the dynamics of own income and gratuitous assistance showed that the correlation coefficient of these parameters is 0.718, which generally indicates a weak connection of the studied indicators. The subjects of the Russian Federation that are weakly dependent on gratuitous assistance from the federal center are mainly included in the group with a low correlation between the indices of assistance and the dynamics of their own income. Territories that are heavily dependent on the financial assistance of the federal center are mainly included in the group with a high correlation between the indices of assistance and the dynamics of their own revenues of the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Theoretically, a graphical change in the distribution of subsidies of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the case of a reduction in the vertical movement of budget resources between federal and regional budgets is proved. All highly subsidized subjects of the Russian Federation for 2010–2019 had an annual drop in the percentage of aid from the federal budget, both on average and for individual territories. The dependence of the average annual index of own income on the average annual index of gratuitous assistance of the subjects of the Russian Federation for 2011-2020 is practically absent. The most uniform ranking of the subjects of the Russian Federation according to the ratio of the indices of own income and gratuitous aid was observed in 2016.

В статье представлены результаты исследования региональных аспектов субсидирования отрасли растениеводства в Нижегородской области. Авторами рассматривалась динамика финансирования как из федерального, так и регионального бюджетов с применением линейных трендов, полиномов второй и третьей степени. В результате исследования было установлено, что существенно возросла роль регионального бюджета в структуре финансирования отрасли. Нестабильность финансирования отрасли из федерального бюджета, особо остро проявляется в аномальные периоды (например, засушливый 2010 г.). Выявленные тенденции свидетельствует о неэффективности существующего механизма субсидирования исследуемой отрасли и необходимости его совершенствования. The article presents the results of a study of regional aspects of subsidizing the crop industry in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The authors considered the dynamics of financing from both federal and regional budgets using linear trends, polynomials of the second and third degree. As a result of the study, it was found that the role of the regional budget in the structure of financing the industry has significantly increased. The instability of financing the industry from the federal budget is especially acute in abnormal periods (for example, arid 2010). The revealed trends indicate the inefficiency of the existing subsidy mechanism of the investigated industry and the need to improve it.

In this paper we present methods, data and algorithms for simulating budget system in the model of the Russian Federation spatial development. We show the place of this task in methodology of our research and give a brief overview of the background results. Key objects of the budget system in the model are the federal budget, regional budgets and extra budgetary funds: pension, medical and social insurance. We determine revenues and expenditures of the budgets and funds on the basis of federal laws, Budget and Tax codes of the Russian Federation. Since the exact reproduction of excise rates and customs duties is problematic due to model aggregation, we calculate model rates of excises and duties for selected sectors on the basis of retrospective data presented on the budget system portal and in the federal input-output table. Structure of the budget expenses in the model was simplified by aggregating expenditure items into major groups correlated with sectors of the economy. Presented algorithm of the budget system simulates interaction of the federal, regional budgets and extra-budgetary funds with agents and organizations in the model. For validation of the budget system algorithms in the model we conduct retrospective modeling for the federal budget and the budget of Belgorod region in 2014.

For the whole social development of Russia as a democratic federal state, federal relations are basic. In this regard, it is particularly important to strike a balance between centripetal and centrifugal forces. The analysis of budget indicators presented in the article revealed the growing process of centralization, which enabled to conclude the low efficiency of the modern mechanism of tax allocation and its non-compliance to the principles of fiscal federalism. The growing budget crisis of the regions and the long-felt need of the structural reforming of Russian tax system require speedy implementation of internal reserves. Among these provisions, Russian scientists including the Institute of Socio-Economic Development of Territories of the Russian Academy of Sciences see the urgent need of the structural reform of the tax system in the Russian Federation. The results of the scientific search for answers to the questions of how and what it is expedient to amend, supplement, and delete in the Russian tax system are presented. In order to create incentives for the territorial authorities to increase the income, the algorithm of the distribution of tax revenue between the federal and regional budgets is developed on the basis of the estimations of the ratio of the volume of tax revenues collected in the region and received by the federal budget. Experimental calculations on the example of 83 entities of the Russian Federation have identified the existing provisions of tax revenue growth in 36 entities that could increase revenues by 2–12 %. The authors have proposed a set of key measures for optimizing the tax incentive policies, involving the development of selective and differential principles of tax incentives, the introduction of compensatory forms of the loss of income as a result of bene fits. The main measures to enhance the collection of regional and local property taxes are systematized.

According to the recent data released by the Federal Treasury, within January–April 2015 the federal budget revenues fell by 0.6 p.p. of GDP and the expenses went up by 4.7 p.p. of GDP on the same period of the previous year. Revenues and expenses of the consolidated budget of the subjects of the Russian Federation over January–March 2015 went up by 1.1 and 0.3 p.p. of GDP respectively. The amount of the federal budget deficit for the first four months of 2015 constituted 4.7% of GDP, while the consolidated budget of RF subjects over January–March of 2015 has been executed with a surplus of 1.5% of GDP. Dynamics of the main parameters of the federal and consolidated budgets of RF subjects post a variety of trends and confirm both most optimistic projections about the end of the acute phase of the Russian economic crisis and the most pessimistic projections about the GDP contraction by 2.5% by the year-end of 2015. A number of interrelated factors both internal and external and their unpredictability have aggravated the problem of feasibility of socio-economic development forecast for selecting main parameters of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation for the medium term.

While the short-run financial status of Social Security is secure, its long-run financial status is very uncertain. The retirement and disability part of the system (OASDI) is projected to be in long-run actuarial deficit under the Social Security Administration's intermediate economic and demographic f9recasts. Hospital Insurance (HI) is projected to run a large deficit, beginning in the 1990s. OASDI is projected to accrue a very large surplus over the next thirty years, peaking at almost 30% of GNP. Social Security has never accrued a surplus this large; it may well be dissipated for other purposes, such as to bail out HI, fund other programs, raise benefits, or cut taxes. These alternatives may affect net national saving, directly because Social Security surpluses or deficits are part of government sector saving and indirectly through effects on private saving or the non-Social Security part of the federal government budget. This paper documents how various systematic deviations from, or return to, pay-as-you-go finance of the Social Security system may affect net national saving. For example, under base case assumptions with respect to the non-Social Security deficit, a constant net private saving rate of 6%, and long-run budget balance in the state and local government sector, the Social Security deficit offsets 40% of other net national saving over the Social Security Administration's 75-year projection period. In the first 25-year sub-period, the Social Security surplus adds one-sixth to other net national saving; in the second, it offsets almost one-half; and in the third, it offsets five-sixths of other net national saving. Of course, private saving may respond to changes in Social Security's funding as may the non-Social Security balance in the federal budget. The paper presents several alternative scenarios such as benefits increasing or taxes falling during the OASDI surplus period, various stylized rules concerning the non-Social Security budget deficit, and separate balancing of HI via outlay reductions or tax increases. The results indicate that OASDI may effect net national saving substantially. For example, if benefits ratchet up during what would have been the period of the OASDI surplus, the OASDI system may subsequently offset virtually all of remaining net national saving. On the other hand, if HI is brought into balance and the OASDI surplus is allowed to accrue, Social Security will offset only about 4% of other net national saving. Changes in private saving may accentuate or ameliorate the swings in the net national saving rate generated by the future financing of OASDHI, but the alternative financing options will be important determinant of net national saving, and therefore of private domestic investment and international capital flows.

Na temelju novije literature koja se bavi proučavanjem kulture sjećanja i izvora iz različitih fondova pohranjenih u Arhivu Jugoslavije u Beogradu ovaj rad želi dati prilog raspravi o socijalističkim spomenicima za vrijeme Federativne Narodne Republike Jugoslavije / Socijalističke Federativne Republike Jugoslavije prikazom nekih političkih i administrativnih mehanizama njihova financiranja unutar socijalističkoga sustava, a razmatra se i pitanje odnosa prema spomenicima i kulturi sjećanja s aspekta vlasti, tj. iz perspektive države i državnih institucija u tom razdoblju. Posebna pozornost dana je, kako je često nazivan, „najpoznatijem partizanskom spomeniku na prostoru bivše SFRJ”, skulpturi „Bitka na Sutjesci” kipara Miodraga Živkovića na Tjentištu iz 1971. godine.

With each passing decade, health care has consumed a larger share of gross domestic product (GDP) and Federal budgets. By the 2000-2004 period, society was willing to devote over 20 percent of the cumulative increase in GDP and the cumulative increase in Federal outlays towards health care. The financing challenges are expected to become more acute for private payers as well as Federal, State, and local budgets. With the implementation of Part D in 2006, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget projects that Federal budget pressures will heighten, bringing increased attention to Medicare's long-term fiscal outlook.