Reform Provisions Research Articles

Международное давление и санкции как инструмент принуждения противоборствующих сил в Судане к миру

This article examines the impact of international pressure and the application of sanctions in the context of ethno-political conflict resolution in the Republic of Sudan. The author analyzes the effectiveness of international intervention in the settlement of the civil confrontation in the country and its influence on ensuring compliance with international norms and standards. Particular attention is paid to the role of the United States of America and international organizations in assisting in conflict resolution and preventing the country’s disintegration. Cases of unsuccessful sanctions in the context of the Sudanese conflict are analyzed, evaluating their impact on the opposing parties. Highlighting the inefficacy of external economic pressure on Sudan in perpetuating internal conflicts, the article suggests a comprehensive examination of factors influencing the effectiveness of international measures. It calls for collective efforts from the international community to facilitate transparent internal negotiations aimed at constructively developing reform provisions within the country.

From the Great Recession to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Financial History of the United States 2010-2020 —A Comparison of the Government’s Response to the Two Financial Crises that Bookended the 2010 to 2020 Decade

This article compares the government's legislative and regulatory response to each of the two financial crises that bookended the 2010-2020 decade and how the response to the COVID-19 crisis was affected by various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act enacted in 2010 in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The article concludes with six lessons we learned from these two financial crises experienced in relatively short order: act fast, act with force, act on multiple fronts, regain or retain citizens' confidence in the financial system, ensure access to liquidity, and aid those who are struggling.

Государственная поддержка сельского хозяйства в эпоху П. А. Столыпина и современные реалии

Introduction. The study of historical and legal development of agrarian relations in Russia is of great importance for the theory and practice of the development of modern social relations in the field of agriculture. The agrarian reforms implemented by the prominent political figure, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, generalized into a single historical experience, can be the basis for determining the potential and directions for the development of modern agrarian relations, the degree of their liberalism and understanding the role of the state in this process. The identified shortcomings and advantages of such reforms will make it possible to determine the historical role of the reformer P. A. Stolypin in these transformations and trace the evolution of the Russian state in the socio-economic sphere. Theoretical analysis. The article examines the main ideas, directions and results of the agrarian reform of P. A. Stolypin and analyzes its origins and causes. The provisions of the agrarian reform are considered in the context of state support for agriculture and those measures in this direction that were conceived and implemented on Stolypin's initiative. Empirical analysis. The study demonstrated that at the end of the 19th century in Russia a whole complex of political, legal, social and economic problems was formed, the solution of which depended not only on the development of the Russian state, but also on its legal personality. Most of these problems were related to the agricultural sector of the economy and the legal status of the peasantry, the largest social group of Russian citizens at that time. The main directions of Stolypin’s agrarian reform were: endowing peasants with the right to own land in order to form a large class of new effective land owners, as well as introducing market mechanisms into this process, including lending with state support to potential land buyers. Results. It was revealed that certain areas of Stolypin’s reforms, their course and results did not have unconditional recognition among his contemporaries. Their harsh criticism sounded in modern times. The author identifies the reasons for the failures of Stolypin agrarian reforms and concludes that they were more objective in nature, were due to historical and organizational reasons and did not always depend on the will of the reformer. The author highlights that Stolypin's progressive and innovative approach to the development of social relations in Russia provided him with a long historical memory as a great reformer who was not indifferent to the future of Russia and its people. The conceptual ideas of the reformer are still relevant, and his ideas are promising for the modern transformation of agrarian relations.

The initial effect of U.S. tax reform on foreign acquisitions

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 marked a significant change in U.S. domestic and international tax policy, altering incentives for U.S. firms to own foreign assets. We examine the initial response of U.S. firms’ foreign acquisition patterns to the TCJA’s key reform provisions. We find a significant overall decrease in the probability that a foreign target is acquired by a U.S. firm after the reform, suggesting that the net effect of the TCJA was to reduce acquisitions abroad. Cross-sectional variation across target and acquirer characteristics points to the elimination of the repatriation tax and the TCJA’s global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) regime as critically influencing cross-border acquisitions by U.S. firms. Specifically, U.S. acquirers with little foreign presence prior to the TCJA are more likely to acquire a foreign target, while U.S. acquirers are less likely to acquire profitable targets in low-tax countries. Results from our empirical analyses are consistent with the TCJA prompting fewer but more value-enhancing, less tax-motivated foreign acquisitions by U.S. firms.

Lost in Translation

Since 2010, international tax policymakers have proposed a variety of minimum taxes on excess returns, but every proposal has defined excess returns differently. This Article asks what excess returns are supposed to represent—and concludes that the answer is very different from what policymakers have suggested.
 The trend of targeting so-called excess returns started in 2010 with a one-page idea in the Obama Treasury’s proposed budget. Overthe next decade, this idea became the basis for one of the major international tax reform provisions in the 2017 U.S. tax reform and is now being considered as part of Pillar Two of the OECD’s current digital tax project. The idea in question is a minimum tax on foreign excess returns. Yet even though the general idea of a minimum tax on foreign excess returns has stayed the same across administrations and jurisdictions, the specifics of this idea have changed with every iteration, and the proponents of this idea have justified each version differently and defined its various elements differently.
 This Article tells the story of the many recent proposals for minimum taxes on foreign excess returns, starting with the Obama Treasury’s brief proposal and ending with the OECD’s two-pillar solution to the challenges of the digital economy. This Article highlights the common threads that link all of these rules, and it also shows how differently the drafters of each rule have understood the purpose and design of a minimum tax on foreign excess returns. This Article argues that, despite claims by the policymakers advocating for these minimum taxes, none of these taxes on excess returns is supported by the economic theory of excess returns. Instead, policymakers are using the term “excess returns” to mean different things in the context of different proposals, and they are masking the policy choices they are making by using a term that appears to have support in the economic literature.

Congress Reforms Military Sentencing, Creating an Opportunity for a Productive Sentencing Reform Dialogue Between the Military and Civilian Criminal Justice Systems

In recently-enacted legislation, Congress drew upon the 35-year experience with sentencing reform in the federal civilian criminal courts to reform significant aspects of the sentencing process in the military justice system. The article reviews the sentencing reform provisions contained in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2022 and the Military Justice Act of 2016, which address many of the core elements of sentencing, including: (1) the principles governing sentencing in courts-martial; (2) the use of sentencing “parameters” and “criteria” in the adjudication of sentences by general and special courts-martial; (3) the role of the military judge in the adjudication of sentences; (4) consideration of plea agreements at the trial level; (5) appellate review of sentences; (6) clemency and related actions on the sentence, and more. After summarizing the history of military and civilian sentencing, the article reviews the newly-enacted military justice sentencing provisions, comparing them to the relevant provisions in the federal civilian sentencing system that were enacted as part of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and subsequent legislation, and implemented by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Although some of these newly-enacted reforms mirror similar elements of the federal civilian sentencing system, others follow a different approach, reflecting a decision by Congress to adapt rather than simply adopt current civilian practices. As Congress, the Administration, and a new Sentencing Commission focus on criminal justice reform, including possible changes to civilian sentencing law and policy, the recent reforms in military justice sentencing provide an important source of insights worthy of consideration.

The Path of Peace as a Conflict Resolution of Ordinary Crimes in Criminology Perspective in Indonesia

A peaceful path as a conflict resolution against general criminal acts can be realized in the provisions of criminal reform in the 2014 RKUHP in Indonesia. however, this RKUHP has come into conflict with the public over several crucial articles, so that the President of Indonesia said to cancel the application in 2019. As a result, several general criminal offences are still being processed in the Criminal Justice System. This paper is the result of a juridical the sociological study, with the main data being primary in the form of interviews with several informants with non-random sampling technique and using a case approach and deductive analysis. The results showed that the use of imprisonment on defendants of criminal offences to provide a deterrent effect was wrong. The application of imprisonment does not change the convict for the better, coupled with the fact that prisons in Indonesia are entering an extreme overcrowding situation which then the density has an impact on the coaching program in Lapas not going well. One strategy to overcome these problems is by efforts to form and develop the concept of restorative justice.

The “Regulatory Guillotine” Mechanism in Education: Problems and Prospects of Practical Implementation in the Work of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Education and Science

The paper analyzes the control-supervisory and administrative practices of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor of Russia) in relation to the activities of educational institutions of higher education. In the context of the review of verification measures, the paper provides an assessment of the current level, as well as the prospects for the effectiveness of the implementation of the regulatory concept of deregulation and reducing the administrative burden on controlled entities within the framework of the conceptual (main) provisions of the administrative reform. It is concluded that control and supervision activities in the field of education should be consistent with the principle of encouraging conscientious compliance by educational organizations with mandatory requirements. When forming the practice of sustainable conscientious behavior by educational organizations within the framework of their statutory activities, Rosobrnadzor has the opportunity to use incentive measures for such entities aimed at solving the tasks of ensuring the socioeconomic development of individual territories without reducing the quality of educational services provided by them.

The socio-economic situation of the landowner peasants after the peasant reform in Georgia (the last quarter of the 19th - the early 20th century)

The article analyses the main provisions of the peasant reform in Georgia, which had a further impact on the socio-economic development of the landowner peasants of Tiflis and Kutaisi provinces in the last quarter of the 19th – the early 20th centuries. On the basis of archival sources and literature, the author considers the reasons for the difficult economic situation of the Georgian landowners in the period under study. An analysis makes it possible to conclude that the socio-economic relations that had been formed in Georgia determined the contradictions inherent in the capitalist mode of management. On the one hand, the peasant reform contributed to the more rapid development of the capitalist mode of production in the countryside, laying the foundation for economic development in agriculture, the introduction of commercial agriculture, the growth of agricultural productivity, and the maturation of commodity-capitalist relations. On the other hand, the main means of production were in the hands of the landlords, which led to an even greater extensive impoverishment of the landlord peasants. Thus, in Georgia, the remnants of serfdom survived even longer than in the European provinces of the Russian Empire. It is concluded that the reason for these remnants included the backwardness and relatively weak development of capitalist relations in the South Caucasus, in particular, in Georgia.

An Assessment of the Impacts of the Pension System Reforms on Employees’ Performance and Retention in Nigeria Distilleries Limited, Lagos Nigeria

Consequently, upon many decades of inefficient and corrupt pension management system in Nigeria, public servants in Nigeria dreaded retirement because of the reported plight of retirees who were seen dying on queues or living under the bridges at the Federal Capital City of Abuja. While an average worker in other parts of the world looks forward to a decent and enjoyable post-work life, Nigerians lived in fear of ageing and retirement resulting in several malpractices such as multiple declarations of age with intent to keep them at work far past the official retirement age. Factors arising from pension inadequacies, poor funding, embezzlements and long arrears especially in the public sector led to the initiatives for restructuring of the country’s pension system and the enactment of the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and its review Act of 2014. The reforms aimed at making pension administration more effective, efficient, to make and improve on the question of adequacy and fund security. However, key problems in the management of the new pension system involve the perception of the degree and significance of its impact and whether key objectives are satisfied according to the intent of the reforms. This study was designed to examine whether the reforms have contributed significantly to addressing employees' post-work-life concerns and how such assessments impact their performance. Specifically, the paper examines if a relationship exists between the new pension reform act and employee retention, as well as organizational performance using a sample of employees of Nigerian Distilleries Ltd. Three hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance, using the inferential statistics of Regression Analysis with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The findings show that there is a significant relationship between the New Pension Reform Act and employee’s performance. Also, the New Pension Reform Act has a positive effect on employee retention, compensation design must reflect this option in order to attract, motivate and retain employees. With further evidence that the pension system has the propensity to align the individual and corporate goals by increasing their job commitment, performance and motivation, the paper concludes that proper implementation of the provisions of the pension reform act is a prerequisite for achieving its objectives.

ПИТАННЯ НАПОВНЕННЯ СПЕЦІАЛЬНОГО ФОНДУ ЯК ВАЖЛИВОГО СКЛАДНИКА ДОХОДНОЇ ЧАСТИНИ МІСЦЕВИХ БЮДЖЕТІВ В УМОВАХ ФІНАНСОВОЇ ДЕЦЕНТРАЛІЗАЦІЇ

The introduction of local government reform in Ukraine, part of which is financial (fiscal) decentralization, the functioning of local budgets has forced to significantly change the approaches of local governments to the management of community funds. Despite the clear provisions of local government reform, local councils have a number of problems with filling the revenue side of local budgets, leading to inefficient and underutilized use of community funds. A number of Ukrainian scholars pay attention to local finances, but the issues of filling and using local budgets are mainly considered in terms of articles of the general fund, while the special fund is characterized by funds coming to specific purposes and almost unmanageable. The purpose of the study is a detailed consideration of the theoretical foundations of the existence and functioning of a special fund of local budgets, its role and importance in performing the financial functions of the community. The new budget governance mechanism has forced local authorities to step up their efforts to address their own issues and costs, allowing them to keep significant sums at their disposal, which, however, are not sufficient. The opportunity to earn more income has also been offered by the reform of financial decentralization, but it requires cohesion in the community between all its main components: government, business and the population. Finding ways to increase the local budget to finance their own issues requires a constant search for opportunities to generate additional income, sources of use and use of reserves, which is possible, appropriate and increase the efficiency of local budgets. Such possibilities have been identified and described in this study. The share of the special fund of local budgets, as you know, is not the largest, but the work on its replenishment has not only financial but also a certain synergistic effect in the community, promotes cohesion and motivation for further social and economic development. Unfortunately, among the management of these institutions and local self-government there is often no desire to consider the possibility of finding their own reserves for the implementation of such activities, which significantly reduces the financial capacity of the local budget.

Lost in Translation: Excess Returns and the Search for Substantial Activities

Since 2010, international tax policymakers have proposed a variety of minimum taxes on excess returns, but every proposal has defined excess returns differently. This Article asks what excess returns are supposed to represent – and concludes that the answer is very different from what policymakers have suggested. The trend of targeting so-called excess returns started in 2010 with a one-page idea in the Obama Treasury’s proposed budget. Over the next decade, this idea became the basis for one of the major international tax reform provisions in the 2017 U.S. tax reform and is now being considered as part of Pillar Two of the OECD’s current digital tax project. The idea in question is a minimum tax on foreign excess returns. Yet even though the general idea of a minimum tax on foreign excess returns has stayed the same across administrations and jurisdictions, the specifics of this idea have changed with every iteration, and the proponents of this idea have justified each version differently and defined its various elements differently. This Article tells the story of the many recent proposals for minimum taxes on foreign excess returns, starting with the Obama Treasury’s brief proposal and ending with the OECD’s current negotiations over digital taxation. This Article highlights the common threads that link all of these rules, and it also shows how differently the drafters of each rule have understood the purpose and design of a minimum tax on foreign excess returns. This Article argues that, despite claims by the policymakers advocating for these minimum taxes, none of these taxes on excess returns is supported by the economic theory of excess returns. Instead, policymakers are using the term “excess returns” to mean different things in the context of different proposals, and they are masking the policy choices they are making by using a term that appears to have support in the economic literature.

Reform of the Zemstvo Representation: Development and Adjustment of P. A. Stolypin Project in 1906—1907.

The article is devoted to the little-studied issue of the development and adjustment of the reform provisions of the zemstvo representation of P.A. Stolypin in 1906—1907. The main programmatic requirements of liberal circles to change the procedure for elections to zemstvo assemblies, developed by zemstvo assemblies, zemstvo congresses, as well as local committees of the Special Meeting on the needs of the agricultural industry. For the first time, on the materials of the Russian State Historical Archive, the evolution of the provisions of the draft and their criticism in the Council of Ministers, as well as at the Congress of the United Nobility in 1907, is shown. It is emphasized that the development of the reform was a consequence of the Manifesto adopted in 1903 and 1904 and the decree on the need to transform local government and self-government. The author states that initially P. A. Stolypin sought to increase the share of representatives from cities and commercial and industrialists in zemstvo assemblies, however, at the insistence of the Council of Ministers, he was forced to retain the majority for landowners. The criticism of the united nobility in relation to the reform in connection with the expansion of the circle of voters and the organization of elections at the beginning of the non-class is highlighted in the article. It is concluded that the transformation of elections into zemstvo assemblies, planned by P. A. Stolypin was aimed at involving broad strata of the population in the representative institutions of local self-government at the expense of an unclassified beginning and the organization of elections based on a tax qualification.

Lucha de poder en la reestructuración del posgrado en pedagogía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 1996-1998 / Power struggle in the restructuring of the graduate program in pedagogy, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 1996-1998

Este trabajo fue elaborado como producto de una investigación más amplia, donde uno de los objetivos de la indagación fue reconstruir y comprender el proceso de integración que vivieron los académicos que dieron origen al Programa Único de Posgrado en Pedagogía, como consecuencia de la reforma al Reglamento General de Estudios de Posgrado de 1996 en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). La reconstrucción histórica de la reestructuración del posgrado requirió identificar y describir el entramado de relaciones que se entretejieron durante este periodo de cambio, a partir de la experiencia y relato de los académicos, por lo que, se utilizó la entrevista semiestructurada como dispositivo metodológico para acercarme a informantes clave y reconstruir la historia de la creación del Programa Único de Posgrado en Pedagogía de la UNAM, sus objetivos, directrices, orientaciones, actores, estrategias, ideas centrales, conflictos, posicionamientos, acuerdos, desacuerdos, etc. Esta etapa de transformación es analizada desde la perspectiva de la teoría de los campos de Pierre Bourdieu, por la lucha de poder que enfrentan los protagonistas, se analizan los elementos que les permitieron su incorporación al campo, los haberes que pusieron en juego para posicionarse dentro del Comité de Reestructuración y la disputa de poder por pertenecer al nuevo programa de posgrado; fue un proceso de reforma, rivalidad, conocimiento y desconocimiento entre las distintas entidades, donde finalmente se puede develar cómo cambió la correlación de fuerzas durante la integración académica. This work was elaborated as a product of a broader investigation, where one of the objectives of the investigation was to reconstruct and comprehend the process of academic integration experienced by academics, postgraduate professors from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (FFyL), the Center of Studies on the University (today IISUE) and the National School of Professional Studies Aragón (today FES Aragón), all academic entities of the National Autonomous College of Mexico (UNAM), in the creation of the Postgraduate One Program in Pedagogy as a consequence of the reform’s provisions to the General Regulations for Postgraduate Studies of 1996. A semi-structured interview was conducted as a methodological device to approach key informants, members of the 1997-98 Postgraduate Restructuring Committee, and members of the Academic Committee, who would help me to reconstruct the history of the creation of UNAM’s Postgraduate One Program in Pedagogy, its objectives, guidelines, orientations, participants, strategies, central ideas, conflicts, positions, agreements, disagreements, etc. The reconstruction of the reform process required identifying and describing the framework of the relations that interweaved during this period, and that allows us to build and rebuild the process of change, based on the academic’s experience and story. This process is analyzed from the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory for the power struggle that the protagonists face. Analyzes the elements which permit their incorporation to the field, the abilities brought into play to position inside the Restructuring Committee and the power dispute for belonging and conforming the new Postgraduate Program; a process of rivalry reform, knowledge, and ignorance between their participants, where it can finally be revealed how the correlation of forces in the academic integration process changed. The study started from the assumption that the institutional intentions of the 1996 postgraduate reform were one thing, regarding the integration of entities with related fields of knowledge with the purpose of potentiating resources, specifically enriching the academic establishment, through its permanent interaction between schools, faculties, centers, and research institutes; and how they assumed it, how they understood it and what implications the articulation of these academic entities had.

The Effect of the 2017 U.S. Tax Reform on U.S. Acquisitions of Foreign Firms

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 marked a significant change in U.S. international tax policy, altering the tax costsassociated with U.S. ownership of foreign assets. We examine the pattern of foreign acquisitions by U.S. firms, both before and after the TCJA, emphasizing the key tax reform provisions that alter incentives for outbound investment. We find considerable cross-sectional variation across target and acquirer characteristics in changesto the probability of foreign acquisition. Notably, we find adecrease in the likelihood that a highly profitable foreign target in a low-tax jurisdiction will be acquired by a U.S. firm, as the TCJA’s Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) regime imposes an immediate U.S. tax on these foreign earnings. Our findings are important in light of the current U.S. administration’s intention to make GILTI more burdensome. A stated intention of the TCJA was to improve the competitiveness of U.S. firms. Our study cautions that, through GILTI, the reform reduces U.S. firms’ ability to compete in global M&A markets and that this situation would worsen if current proposals were adopted.

Unfit offenders in NSW: paying the price for gaps in service provision

The Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) was amended in 2013 to include section 54 A, enabling an application to be made for the extension of a forensic patient’s status. Thirteen patients were subject to an extension order between 2014 and 30 June 2018. Shared characteristics of these forensic patients were considered with a view to identifying the types of patients involved in these applications and the gaps in service provision that this might reflect. Nine out of the 13 patients subject to an extension order had a background of sexual offences, and all patients had either an intellectual disability and/or complex comorbid disorders, such as severe personality disorder. The extension orders coincide with gaps in the service provision in relation to the management of certain complex mental disorders, intellectual disability and problematic behaviours that lead to justice system involvement. The authors discuss the potential implications that these findings have for future resource allocation, legislative reform and service provision.

Lessons from Two Public Sector Reforms in Italy

The reform of the Italian public administration has been a priority for at least two decades, with several major initiatives undertaken toward modernization and simplification. Notwithstanding laudable intentions, however, progress remains limited. This analysis is a case study of two reforms since 2016—on the rationalization of state-owned enterprises and of public procurement. It finds that original reform provisions were weakened or overturned, regulatory complexity and uncertainties in the application of the reforms blunted their impact, and enforcement mechanisms were inadequate. Addressing these gaps will be essential for successfully modernizing Italy’s public administration.

Реінжиніринг бізнес-процесів як сучасний метод управління стратегічними змінами на підприємстві

In the conditions of post-crisis functioning, the enterprises come up against the task of ensuring the sustainability of development, which is possible due to the formation of an effective mechanism for managing changes at the enterprise. Reengineering is a complex of means, measures, methods, including appropriate information technologies designed to dramatically improve the main indicators of the enterprise's activity. The introduction of the reengineering of business processes as an innovative method of strategic change management is undoubtedly relevant in the conditions of the activity of domestic enterprises in unsteady market conditions.The main method of solving the problem is the introduction of effective measures to manage strategic changes to obtain a positive economic and social effect from the redesign of business processes on the example of JSC "AutoKrAZ". The purpose of the work is to research the reengineering of business processes as a modern method of strategic change management, which will ensure a qualitatively new level of performance indicators of the enterprise in the post-crisis period of its functioning. The scientific article developed a mechanism for managing adaptive changes. The algorithm of reengineering of the enterprise is proposed. The advantages of the use of reengineering tools and means of their implementation are formulated. The organizational and economic mechanism of reengineering of business processes of production enterprises was implemented. The model of business processes of the highest level for the conditions of functioning of JSC "AutoKrAZ" is considered.The methodological basis of scientific research is a modern method of scientific research, among them: logical, dialectical, method of generalization, complex and systemic approaches – for improvement of conceptual apparatus of research; economic and statistical analysis – to determine the analysis of the current state of industrial enterprises; methods of comparison, analysis, synthesis – for the analysis of peculiarities of experience in the implementation of reengineering in advanced organizations; methods of a comprehensive approach – to justify the provisions of domestic reform of economic and legal mechanisms of work of production enterprises. The introduction of structural changes is proposed regarding to simplification of hierarchy, decentralization of management, use of adaptive structures, improvement of vertical and horizontal coordination of activity, the formation of a new team of experts in change management, implementation of measures to overcome the crisis and ensure development, support rationalization, inventiveness, energy saving. SWOT-analysis of the business processes of the production sector of automotive-building enterprise was introduced on the example of JSC "AutoKrAZ" and its competitors.

THEORETICAL BASIS OF BUDGETARY REFORM (IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UKRAINIAN REALITIES)

Introduction. Budget reform is a form of solving the problems that have accumulated in the budgetary system of Ukraine in the course of its development. Problem. For successful budget reform, it is very important to clearly outline its theoretical basis within the framework of a more general theory - public finance, which is developing in the context of the main areas of economic theory. Purpose: to consider (according to the main areas of economic theory) the provisions of the theory of public finances, as well as special theoretical approaches to budgeting and reforming the budget system, which, based on the realities of today, can form the theoretical basis of budget reform in Ukraine. The presentation of the material of the article. The article shows that within the classical theory of public finance, the scientific provisions of the German cameramen regarding optimal tax rates, physiocrats regarding balancing of budget revenues and expenditures, representatives of classical political economy regarding budgeting favorable conditions for the market, representatives of the German historical school concerning an increase in the share of government spending in GDP, marginalists on the equivalence of taxes and public goods, representatives of neoclassical eq. onomic school to introduce a progressive tax system. It is noted that within the framework of the modern theory of public finances, the scientific provisions of Keynesianism and neo-Keynesianism on countercyclical budgetary regulation of the economy, monetarism regarding the influence on the aggregate demand for changes in the amount of money in circulation, the new neoclassicism to reduce the tax burden on business, and the non-classical synthesis are important policies based on social justice, and neoinstitutionalism with respect to state budgeting institutions. It also emphasized the need to use specific theoretical approaches to reforming the country's budgetary system. Results and its discussion. Selected scientific provisions of the budget reform may find practical application provided that the Ukrainian realities of military-political and socio-economic content are taken into account. Conclusions. The scientific provisions of the classical and contemporary theory of public finances, as well as specific theoretical approaches to reforming the budget system, formulated in line with the main lines of economic thought, can form the theoretical basis of budget reform in Ukraine. Their use in the development and implementation of the reform must be based on the Ukrainian realities of today.

Integration of Schools in Latvia and Estonia Using Curriculum Reforms

This article investigates into the reform of national school curriculum in Russian-language schools in Latvia and Estonia. We assess how well the reform-related regulations have been integrated into everyday schooling practices and reflected in educational outcomes in order to measure the success of the education reform in terms of adopting the new learning standard and improving the PISA results. The study exploits the situation of natural experiment that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, with countries that used to have a common education system taking different reform paths and achieving different outcomes. National school curriculum is analyzed at three levels: as intended (stipulated in documents), as implemented (taught by school teachers), and as attained (reflected in test results). Such three-level analysis required studying the documents that described the key reform provisions, conducting a series of in-depth interviews in Russian-language schools to investigate the process of integrating the proposed innovations in teaching practices, and analyzing how PISA results in Latvia and Estonia had changed between 2006 and 2015. It is shown that the gap between the curriculum as intended and as attained has reduced in both countries. Schools have been actively integrating the changes proposed, and PISA results have been improving consistently, yet the methods of achieving those results differ between the countries. The natural experiment study design allowed to explore educational reform processes in the two countries as well as to assess the effects of the reforms introduced.