Public Budget Research Articles

Macroprudential capital regulation and fiscal balances in the euro area

We examine the fiscal footprint of macroprudential policy in euro area countries arising through the bond market channel (Reis, 2021). Using local projections, we estimate impulse responses of the fiscal balance to an unexpected tightening in macroprudential capital regulation. Our findings suggest a dichotomy between country groups. In peripheral countries, the cyclically adjusted primary balance ratio deteriorates after a restrictive capital-based macroprudential policy shock. Since banks are important investors in domestic government debt, the shift in the public budget toward higher borrowing after the innovation might pose a threat to financial stability to the extent that sovereign risk increases. By contrast, in core countries, the cyclically adjusted primary balance ratio barely reacts to a sudden tightening in capital regulation.

One year after reform: expectations and outcomes of higher education transformation in the Republic of Moldova

The article aims to evaluate the effects of Moldova’s higher education reform one year post-implementation, focusing on public university consolidation, international rankings, budget allocations, and student numbers, as well as alignment with EU practices. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, collecting data from institutional reports, government publications, and international databases. Key performance indicators and comparative analysis with EU countries are used for assessment. The research finds that the reform succeeded in streamlining the higher education sector but failed to improve international rankings or budget allocations. Notably, it exacerbated declining student enrollments. The paper uniquely offers a one-year post-reform evaluation, considering both domestic impacts and broader European implications, thereby filling a gap in the existing literature.

Myanmar Budget Dynamics and Their Effect on Multiple Performances of Public Service Delivery: A Multilevel Approach

A public budget consists of financial input for implementing governmental operations. It is generally expected that financial resources will increase organizational performance because they can be used to obtain other types of resources. This study aims to make a theoretical contribution to the punctuated equilibrium theory literature by examining how the different patterns of budget changes affected the competing dimensions of public service performance (3Es: efficiency, effectiveness, and equity) before and after the Myanmar budget reform in 2011. We collected a two-level dataset including budget allocation data at the ministry level and public service providers’ perceptions of performance at the individual level and employed multilevel modeling. Our results show that the effectiveness of public services can be improved by increasing a significant amount of budget allocation (positive punctuations), but this has no effect on efficiency or equity. However, any level of budget reduction can decrease the efficiency and equity of public services.

Bridging the Divide

The creation of Public Finance Journal (PF) is the culmination of several years of discussion about how best to address the divide between practitioners’ research needs and academic scholarship. PF’s origin is predicated on the expectation that for a professional discipline such as public administration and the subfield of public budgeting and finance, in particular, there needs to be an easily accessible forum for the dissemination of ideas and solutions. This journal would not be possible without the support of the Government Finance Officers Association, the oversight committees, the editorial board, and those helping with the journal’s management. We are excited about the inaugural edition, where we have reviews of three important books, three thought-provoking research articles, and an article that surveys current research needs in the budget and finance field as expressed by faculty and practitioners.

Technology Finance and Urban Development: A Quantitative Approach to Shaping a New Future for Shrinking Cities

Using a dataset of 30 cities of different administrative levels in Liaoning Province, China, for the period 2007-2020, this study proposes a novel quantitative methodology for assessing the impact of socio-economic factors on the attractiveness of shrinking cities. By combining a shrinkage model with principal component analysis and extreme value normalisation of key indicators such as population size, GDP, retail sales of consumer goods, public budget expenditure, and secondary and tertiary employment, we provide a detailed analysis of the phenomenon of shrinking cities and its drivers. Using an interdisciplinary approach involving economics, psychology and sociology, we redefine traditional indicators for assessing the attractiveness of cities by analogising urban population dynamics to the process of molecular transfer in physical chemistry. This approach allows us to quantify the attractiveness of cities in four ways: socio-economic attractiveness, cost of living, public services and employment opportunities. The case study of Fushun illustrates the application of our model, revealing the potential for negative attractiveness across all dimensions and highlighting the multifaceted challenges facing shrinking cities. Our findings highlight the critical role of balanced socio-economic development, well-developed public services, affordable living conditions and adequate employment opportunities in enhancing the attractiveness of cities. This comprehensive framework provides valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers aiming to mitigate urban shrinkage and promote sustainable urban development.

Energy innovation funding and social equity: Mediating role of just energy transition

Public investments in research, development, demonstration, and deployment in energy systems are crucial for accelerating the adoption of new energy technologies that can support a low-carbon just energy transition and promote the fair and equitable distribution of benefits and costs, improving social equity. However, the impact of energy innovation funding on social equity through progressing the just energy transition has not been explored in prior research for advanced economies. Thus, this research quantitively examines how energy innovation funding affects social equity in 23 developed economies for the period of 1995–2020. Employing a fixed effect, augmented mean group, and a system-generalized method of moments technique along with a mediating model, this study finds that increasing energy innovation funding significantly improves social equity directly as well as indirectly via accelerating energy justice in advanced economies. Therefore, proper allocation and utilization of public energy innovation budgets are necessary to promote clean energy technologies, advance the just energy transition, and improve social equity, inclusion, and community engagement. This study emphasizes the importance of policy interventions that promote a just energy transition and energy innovation funding to build resilient and inclusive energy systems that improve social equity while achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7, affordable and clean energy.

Indicators of rationalizing public spending and its role in controlling the public budget

يفسر ضبط الموازنة قدرة الحكومة على إدارة الانفاق العام والايراد العام بصورة دقيقة بحيث يستجيب للأهداف المالية الموضوعة ضمن الخطة الاقتصادية متوسطة وطويلة المدى، ولا يتجاوز العجز المالي نسبة معينة من الناتج المحلي الإجمالي، وان سياسة ترشيد الانفاق العام تساعد في اصلاح الأداء المالي وتحقيق ضبط في الموازنة، لذا ينبغي تطبيقها من خلال توسيع مؤشر الحيز المالي بطرق معينة والحد من ضيقه كإحدى الخطوات لتطبيق سياسة ترشيد الانفاق العام، تفعيل مؤشر الانضباط المالي والعمل به لدوره الفاعل في فرض قيود على الانفاق العام بحيث يتم الانفاق وفق الأولويات والضرورة للتخلص من الهدر غير المسؤول في المال العام، رفع إنتاجية الانفاق العام من خلال توجيه الانفاق العام لكل ما هو منتج ومثمر، وبالتالي رفد الموازنة العامة بعوائد بعيدة عن الايراد النفطي.

County Town Comprehensive Service Functions in China: Measurement, Spatio-Temporal Divergence Evolution, and Heterogeneity of Influencing Factors

Strengthening the service function of small towns, using its fundamental role in the urban system to drive rural development, is the main issue that needs to be addressed urgently in numerous developing countries. County towns are unique types of small towns in China. Analyzing the spatial-temporal patterns and differentiation mechanisms of comprehensive service functions of county towns in China from a geographic point of view can not only provide a basis for the macro-control of county towns but also provide typical regional research results for the study of urban systems and urban–rural coordination in developing countries. Based on Point of Interest (POI) data of 1788 county towns in China, this study analyzes the evolution of spatial and temporal differentiation of comprehensive service functions and influencing factors by using modeling methods such as Getis-Ord Gi* analysis, the random forest model, and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR). The obtained results show that (1) from 2012 to 2021, the average value of the comprehensive service function index (CSFI) of county towns in China shows a significant increase, and the proportion of county towns with medium–high service levels and above increases from 3.41% to 54.50%; (2) spatially, the comprehensive service function of county towns is characterized by the basic pattern of “high east, low west; high south, low north”, which keeps getting stronger. During the study period, eastern China has always been a high-level region, northwestern and southwestern China have always been low-level regions, and northeastern China has been a stagnant region, while central, northern, and southern China have been fast-growing regions; (3) county general public budget revenues, value added of secondary industry, GDP per capita, county town resident population, altitude, and GDP per capita of affiliated prefecture-level cities to which it belongs are the key factors influencing the comprehensive service function of county towns in China. The county general public budget revenue indicator, which represents the governmental capacity, has the strongest influence; and (4) the results of the MGWR analysis indicate that there is spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the intensity of the above-mentioned key influencing factors on the development of comprehensive service functions of county towns in China. Based on this finding, differentiated strategies should be proposed to policy makers and urban planners in different regions in order to effectively enhance the level of comprehensive service functions of county towns in China.

The Public Budget’ Coverage of the Electoral Campaigns and Elections (2017-2024) and the Prevention of the Abuse of State Resources for Free and Fair Elections in Albania

This paper aims to analyze the use of public budgets to finance the electoral process, including electoral campaigns and elections of the political parties, candidates and other electoral subjects. The focus in this paper is in organizing free and fair elections, by preventing the abuse of the state resources, considered as one of the main deficiencies of the new democracies, including Albania from the year 1991- onward. The abuse of state resources, as an important feature of political finance, focuses on the problems resulting from the undue influence of the incumbent political party that wants to stay in power as long as possible. It is related with the funds or other resources, gained by political parties and candidates that benefit the incumbent party, and it results in undue influence of the later, and prevents other political parties and candidates from having a fair electoral contest. The main research question of this paper is: what are the programs and activities that are funded by the public (national) budgets related with the parliamentary and local elections and what are the financing’ regulations and their effects? Also, does the government create a fair starting point for all of the political parties and candidates, as a mean to preventing the abuse of state resources? As a result, this paper will study the approved budgets and the differences that arise from year 2017- until now, and it will analyze the total spending or expenditures for the elections, given to CEC and to the electoral subjects. The methodology used here is the combination of qualitative methods, and by using primary and secondary sources of information from different international and national relevant institutions and the analysis of the public budgets, for the budgetary years of 2017-2024.
 
 Received: 12 February 2024 / Accepted: 17 March 2024 / Published: 23 March 2024

Pathways and technologies for modern irrigation services: Iran country paper

AbstractI.R. Iran, with 8.8 million ha of irrigated area, is fifth in the world with respect to irrigated land. Scarcity of water resources and great difficulty with water accessibility have brought about initiatives of technology building, as well as approaches to agricultural water management by local communities. During recent decades a huge public budget has been invested in order to improve irrigation services. Improving performance of irrigation systems needs proper diagnosis of the problems and a systematic approach towards modernization. Also having been recently developed and modernized, adjustment of the laws and regulations of the water sector has caused management frameworks of irrigation networks to be gradually improved. In general, in addition to the management framework, equipping with modern tools for measuring water flow and applying tools such as geographic information systems and databases have led to the improvement of water distribution and management. Technical, managerial and policies programmes, as well as investment in water resources and irrigation infrastructures in addition to training and education of farmers and field engineers in water saving in agriculture and enhancing water productivity, resulted in positive impacts on better management of limited fresh water in irrigation.

Automation and taxation

Abstract Do automation-induced changes in labour and capital income undermine public revenues? Decomposing taxes by source (labour, capital, sales), we analyse the impact of automation on tax revenues and the structure of taxation in nineteen EU countries during 1995–2016. Before 2008 robot diffusion was associated with a decline in total tax revenues and taxes from capital, along with decreasing labour and capital income and output. After 2007, the negative effects diminish. Information and Communication Technologies show a weak negative but persistent effect on total tax revenues and taxes on goods for the full period, and an increase in capital income. Overall, the impact of automation on production and taxation varies over time. Whether automation erodes taxation depends on the technology and stage of diffusion. Concerns about public budgets appear myopic when focusing on the short run and ignoring relevant technological trends.

Regulatory Implications of The Public Financial Management Framework in Indonesia

Public Financial Management a set of laws, rules and standards is an important part of regulating the systems and processes used by each sovereign state and local government, in order to mobilize revenue, allocate public funds, conduct public spending, and budget audits. The purpose of public financial management itself is to increase efficiency and transparency in the use of public resources and eliminate the inefficiency of public resources. The regulatory framework for Public Financial Management is able to carry out analytical and critical practices in helping to facilitate services efficiently and effectively. This article uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach as to describe or analyze a research result but is not used to make a broader conclusion. Analysis and Discussion The Government of Indonesia is aware that there are regulations governing the budgeting, although some of them do not understand and study these documents comprehensively. The regulatory framework governing fund management influences service delivery. In conclusion, the regulatory framework explains how public budgets are used to provide better services. The regulation is designed with the aim of helping to reduce budget waste and prevent corruption.

Students’ thoughts about dropping out: Sociodemographic factors and the role of academic help-seeking

Dropout is a problematic issue in education due to its high prevalence and impact on students and society. In fact, it can limit students’ future options, and it involves a substantial cost for public budgets in most countries. This is not an easy problem to solve, since student dropout is a complex decisional process involving such factors as personal and contextual characteristics, educational variables, and psychosocial aspects. Very few studies have examined whether sociodemographic and psycho-educational variables affect educational dropout at different academic levels. For this reason, the present study aims to provide a better understanding of the role of several variables (age, academic results, gender, sexual orientation, academic help-seeking, academic self-efficacy, and planning as a strategy to cope with academic stress) in educational dropout thoughts in a sample of 759 students resident in Spain (age: M = 22.91, 74.0% women). Regression analyses showed that dropout thoughts were significantly predicted by academic results, planning, sexual orientation, academic self-efficacy, and academic help-seeking. Agreements and discrepancies with previous research are discussed. The results of the current study can be used by educators, policy makers and institutions to develop programmes to reduce student dropout by enhancing self-regulated learning strategies.

Revealing the Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Obstacles of Ecological Security in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Region, China

Climate change and human activities have caused various ecological risks to coastal urban agglomerations. Ecological security refers to the state of health of an ecosystem and its integrity. An objective and comprehensive evaluation of ecological security is significant for protecting the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The driving force–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) model was used to construct a dynamic simulation model of ecological security in the Xiamen–Zhangzhou–Quanzhou region (XZQR), located on the eastern coast of China. The ecological security level (ESL) characteristics of the spatial and temporal patterns were evaluated by calculating the ecological security index (ESI). Obstacle factors were analyzed as well. The results show the following: (1) From 2011 to 2021, the average ESI rose from 0.238 to 0.686 and went through a relatively insecure stage (2011–2015), a critical stage (2016–2019), and a relatively secure stage (2020–2021). (2) The ESI level in Quanzhou was higher in the early stage, and the level of ecological security in Zhangzhou showed a significant rising trend, increasing by 0.541. Its increase depended on increases in the impact layer. (3) The impact layer is the main obstacle layer affecting the ESL, and the main obstacles include CO2 emissions (0.117), annual rainfall (0.091), general public budget expenditures (0.082), GDP growth rates (0.082), and green coverage in built-up areas (0.075). Therefore, we recommend promoting the complementary advantages of the XZQR and implementing ecological restoration projects.

Comparison of essential indicators related to the personal income tax burden in the EU countries

Agriculture performs productive functions and is an essential provider of job opportunities. The labour force is one of the important factors affecting agricultural and food production. In general, the business environment affects, among other things, employers' and employees' personal income tax burden. Increasing the efficiency of business activity is inevitably associated with achieving the lowest possible costs. It can be concluded that labor and other personal costs represent, on average, 30-60% of the costs of the agricultural product. In general, taxation of individuals engaged in agriculture with personal income tax does not differ from taxation of individual's income in other sectors of the national economy. The paper focuses on assessing indicators related to the personal income tax burden in the EU countries for the years 2008-2020 based on the data from the Eurostat Tax Classification presented by descriptive characteristics. Achieved results are compared within the EU Member States and for particular countries with an EU-27 average. The West EU countries implement tax and fiscal policies compared to the East EU countries, which are not subject to significant changes in the tax system and thus ensure relatively stable tax revenues to public budgets regarding total taxes and employment income, including unchanged personal income tax rates. The East EU countries declare a lower tax burden of personal income tax. Still, due to the competitiveness of the countries, this burden is also being gradually reduced in the reviewed period in the case of the West EU countries, thus bringing closer unification of the tax policies. Slovakia achieved below-average values of all assessed indicators and at the same time high variability.

Between Eating and Being Fed: Competing Ethics of Community-Based Road Building in Nepal

ABSTRACT: This paper explores locally-situated logics of ethical judgment underpinning practices of road building in Nepal, and how those logics are attuned to the challenges of navigating complex socio-political dynamics, socio-natural environments, and regional political economies. In so doing it challenges homogenizing discourses of corruption that commonly surround infrastructure development. Building on ethnographic research on rural road construction in two agrarian districts, we argue that different understandings of who is responsible for contributing to infrastructure development, and what forms of private gain from public road budgets are justifiable, do not always conform to official understandings of the public good. Such discrepancies arise, we suggest, from the practical role that certain forms of rule breaking play in getting roads built, as well as from the contested legitimacy of the rules themselves. The politics of participatory development bring to light the ambivalent morality of certain forms of public/private transgressions, and tensions between competing imaginaries of the "public" nature of "local" rural roads—which constitute important, and largely overlooked, dynamics in infrastructure development. Attention to such dynamics is needed to better understand the challenge of building high-quality rural roads and, we contend, to inform just and sustainable approaches to infrastructure development.

A Titan in public budgeting and finance: Tribute to Thomas P. Lauth April 27, 1938–May 13, 2023

A Titan in public budgeting and finance: Tribute to Thomas P. Lauth April 27, 1938–May 13, 2023

Analysis of the causes of death of live newborns of mothers living in Belo Horizonte/MG in the period 2015-2019

The investigation carried out by the committee for the prevention of infant and neonatal deaths is extremely important to understand what made it possible for the death to happen, what is happening to the population and the family. Aiming at the reduction of deaths from preventable causes. For this to happen in a standardized way it is important that the training of professionals is done, correct filling of forms, improving the quality of care to pregnant women, before and after birth, encouraging guidance and autonomy. Objective: To characterize the deaths of newborns from mothers living in Belo Horizonte/MG in the period 2015 to 2019. Methodology: This is a descriptive study with original secondary data made freely available by the Ministry of Health, through the DATASUS Information System and TABNET. Results: Of the 1,041 newborn deaths in BH/MG, it was possible to find the main causes with emphasis on: some disorders originating in the perinatal period and congenital malformation deformities and chromosomal anomalies. Conclusion: Live birth deaths in Belo Horizonte are preventable, monitoring through prenatal consultations, the birth plan, monitoring of the pregnant woman and humanized delivery within the service capable of meeting the pregnant woman's needs would reduce deaths. In addition to providing reliable data for sizing the public budget and developing strategies that prioritize specific actions for prevention and health promotion.

Economic Hardships in Managing COVID-19 Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Observational Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India.

The information on healthcare expenditure is crucial to know the impact of the pandemic on public health budgets, thereby correctly managing the ongoing crisis and preparing for subsequent waves. To estimate the length of stay and cost incurred on COVID-19 patients who died in the ICU. It is a record-based descriptive study conducted on 76 deceased COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU of a dedicated COVID-19 hospital (DCH) between April and October 2020. Central Government Health Services (CGHS) package rate list, Delhi-NCR, was used as a reference for the cost of the ICU bed, ventilator, investigations, and procedures. The median duration of stay in the hospital was 12 days, and in the ICU, it was eight days. The median total cost of managing the patient was 91,235.6 INR; of this, the median total cost for ICU stay per patient was 6,904 INR. The major proportion of total expenses was contributed by personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, an average of 11,091.33 INR per month. The median cost of stay in the ICU, on the ventilator, in the ward, and mean cost of investigations were higher among those with associated co-morbidities. Most elderly male with co-morbidities lost their battle after ventilator support in the ICU. Patients with co-morbidities and severe disease not only have a long duration of hospitalization and poor survival rate but also fetch an economic burden close to one lakh on the institute.

CONTROL OF UNFINISHED BUILDING WORK BY THE COURT OF AUDITORS OF THE STATE OF TOCANTINS

Using the bibliographical method, this paper addresses the role of the state in guiding community life and the role of public policies in building the minimum conditions for the country's socio-economic development. To this end, it analyses the discussion of public finances and the public budget in the light of the paradigms of efficiency and social participation. It also discussed the deepening of the control network over public administration, especially with regard to external control. On this occasion, the modalities of auditing and the results they aim to achieve were discussed. Finally, using the documentary method, information was collected on the inspections of public works at state level carried out by the TCE/TO. The aim is to identify the main data collected so that, by evaluating the results obtained, possible improvements can be made in future inspections by Tocantins' external control body.