Public Budget Research Articles

Das Klima und eine marode Infrastruktur richten sich nicht nach der Schuldenbremse

Abstract The German Federal Constitutional Court has ordered a revision of public budgets following the correct interpretation of the German debt brake. The debt brake is an obstacle to necessary public investment needed for ecological transformation of areas such as housing construction and education. The debt brake should be replaced by the golden rule of fiscal policy, which allows credit financing of public investments.

Public Budget Deficit and Economic Growth in Nigeria: Evidence from NARDL Approach

Public Budget Deficit and Economic Growth in Nigeria: Evidence from NARDL Approach

Assessment of extreme temperature to fiscal pressure in China

This paper investigates the impact of climate change on government fiscal pressure using local governments’ fiscal data in China from 2000 to 2020. While previous studies have extensively explored the effects of climate change on individuals and economies, there has been limited research on the negative effects of climate change from a government fiscal perspective. Our study makes contributions by using county-level fiscal data in China, allowing for a detailed examination of the fiscal implications of weather extremes. Moreover, we comprehensively analyze the underlying mechanisms involving population mobility, industrial structure, and electricity consumption. The empirical results indicate that each additional day of extreme temperature in a year leads to a CNY 0.002 billion increase in the general public budget deficit, which is equivalent to 0.1093% of the local fiscal deficit. Furthermore, local governments heavily reliant on agriculture, experiencing low electricity consumption, and significant population outflows face even greater challenges. Notably, medical insurance and the “province-managing-county” reform program emerge as crucial mitigating factors against fiscal pressures. By providing a thorough assessment of climate change’s fiscal impact on local governments, this research contributes to the theoretical foundation for governmental initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Empirical analysis of spatial heterogeneity in the development of China's National Fitness Plan.

The National Fitness Plan (NFP) is a vital initiative aimed at realizing Healthy China 2030. This study assessed spatial heterogeneity in the NFP development and the socioeconomic factors contributing to this inequality. Data from 31 administrative regions in 2021 were analyzed using four NFP development metrics. Spatial autocorrelation was evaluated using global Moran's I, followed by global and local regression models for non-random spatial patterns. National physical fitness exhibited significant clustering (z = 5.403), notably a high-high cluster in East China. The global regression model identified three socioeconomic factors in the geographically weighted regression model: per capita disposable income and the number of public buses positively affected national physical fitness, while general public budget expenditure had a negative impact. Persistent unequal NFP development is projected due to income disparities in economically backward regions. To promote the NFP effectively, a cost-efficient strategy includes creating 15-minute fitness circles, especially by establishing public sports facilities in Western China communities. These findings inform policy priorities for advancing the NFP towards Healthy China 2030.

The public budget for sport and leisure in Brazil: the participation of federated entities (2013-2022)

RESUMO Este estudo teve o objetivo de analisar como tem se materializado o orçamento público da Função Desporto e Lazer (FDL) pelos diferentes entes federados do Estado brasileiro de 2013 a 2022. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva, de cunho quanti-qualitativo, realizada a partir de análise documental, com base no indicador magnitude do gasto. Os dados da pesquisa revelam que: os diferentes entes federados variaram significativamente o gasto com FDL no período; os Municípios foram o ente federativo que mais investiu em FDL, além de mais de 90% daqueles terem aderido a destinação de recurso financeiro para a FDL; todos os Estados/Distrito Federal direcionaram recursos para a FDL no período, mas foram o segundo ente federado que mais gastou; e a União foi a que teve menor investimento.

L'Architecture Financière Publique au Maroc : Analyse des Mécanismes et Pratiques

The article explores the complex landscape of public finance in Morocco by first looking at its foundations in the first chapter. Section 1 examines the legal and institutional framework that governs financial management, while Section 2 focuses on the objectives and priorities that guide the country's financial policies. Section 3 analyzes the various sources of financing that fuel the Moroccan economic machine. In the second chapter, the emphasis is placed on the mechanisms and practices at the heart of public financial management. Section 1 details the functioning of the public budget, a central element of financial planning. Section 2 looks at the tax system, highlighting its crucial role in generating revenue. Fiscal transparency, explored in Section 3, and accountability, discussed in Section 4, emerge as essential elements for strengthening public trust and ensuring accountability in the management of public financial affairs. Briefly, this in-depth analysis aims to provide a complete vision of the foundations and mechanisms that shape public finance in Morocco.

R&D deductions in the Czech Republic: Is the amount dependent on the size of a company?

Research and development (R&D) is considered a critical factor in the long-term performance of companies. Governments are therefore seeking to increase the availability of R&D support for enterprises. This support may include indirect or tax support, often offered as deductions from the tax base or credits on already calculated tax. The paper analyzes the average amount of R&D deductions depending on the size of enterprises in the Czech Republic that use R&D deductions. The research sample includes all companies residing in the Czech Republic that filed tax returns between 2009 and 2021. The methods of descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and trend analysis were used to test the hypotheses. The results suggest a statistically significant difference (α < 0.01) between the average R&D deduction of companies using the R&D deduction and a company’s size. Furthermore, it was found that the average amount of the R&D deduction has changed and is expected to change as well. This trend in the case of micro companies is negative, and by other groups, it is relatively constant or slightly rising and is also expected to increase. Authorities could use these results to adjust tax laws governing R&D deductions in the Czech Republic. Acknowledgment This article was written as one of the outputs of support from the project of Excellent Research called “The impact of tax optimization of intangible assets on corporate finances and national public budgets,” which is being continuously implemented at the Faculty of Economics of the Technical University in Liberec within the years 2021–2022.

The cost of participation: An analysis of the financial dimensions of participatory budgets in Portugal

AbstractParticipatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic innovation that allows citizens to deliberate about a share of the public budget. Portugal was one of the most influent countries in this field in the last decade, as PB was implemented at multiple levels. However, few studies have made in‐depth research on the financial dimensions of PB, which raises interest as to whether and how citizens' voice has had a significant impact on policy‐making. To fill in this gap, this article considers the financial asset of local, regional, and national PBs in Portugal up to the disruption of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Our methodological approach relies on both quantitative data analyzed through Geographical Information Systems and descriptive statistics, and qualitative data retrieved from document analysis. Findings are discussed through four different stages of dissemination in the country, and show that despite significant advancements in this field, impacts in the financial dimensions lay behind expectations.

Implementacija zelene proračunske politike u financiranju održivog društva - iskustvo Slovenije

Sustainable societies of the future should be designed on the basis of a green public budgeting, as green public 79 spending and investment are the key drivers of sustainable development. Studies on green budgeting have so far tended to focus on green taxes and favourable regulatory regimes for specific sectors, although 14 out of 38 OECD countries have introduced these in some form. Based on secondary research of Slovenian budget documentation for the period from 2018 to 2022, our research findings show that green and sustainable content is weak, both in terms of content and scope. Only 11 out of 24 policies and only 23 out of over 3000 projects have included some ideas of the green and sustainable concept. Due to the evolving methodology and framework of green budgeting, the research challenge could be identified in a repeated and deeper analysis, including the targets and indicators in the coming years.

Resource allocation in public sector programmes: does the value of a life differ between governmental departments?

BackgroundThe value of a life is regularly monetised by government departments for informing resource allocation. Guidance documents indicate how economic evaluation should be conducted, often specifying precise values for different impacts. However, we find different values of life and health are used in analyses by departments within the same government despite commonality in desired outcomes. This creates potential inconsistencies in considering trade-offs within a broader public sector spending budget. We provide evidence to better inform the political process and to raise important issues in assessing the value of public expenditure across different sectors.MethodsOur document analysis identifies thresholds, explicitly or implicitly, as observed in government-related publications in the following public sectors: health, social care, transport, and environment. We include both demand-side and supply-side thresholds, understood as societies’ and governments’ willingness to pay for health gains. We look at key countries that introduced formal economic evaluation processes early on and have impacted other countries’ policy development: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. We also present a framework to consider how governments allocate resources across different public services.ResultsOur analysis supports that identifying and describing the Value of a Life from disparate public sector activities in a manner that facilitates comparison is theoretically meaningful. The optimal allocation of resources across sectors depends on the relative position of benefits across different attributes, weighted by the social value that society puts on them. The value of a Quality-Adjusted Life Year is generally used as a demand-side threshold by Departments of transport and environment. It exceeds those used in health, often by a large enough proportion to be a multiple thereof. Decisions made across departments are generally based on an unspecified rationing rule.ConclusionsComparing government expenditure across different public sector departments, in terms of the value of each department outcome, is not only possible but also desirable. It is essential for an optimal resource allocation to identify the relevant social attributes and to quantify the value of these attributes for each department.

Spillover Effects of Land Port Economy: A Case Study of Huaihua International Land Port in Hunan, China

Previous studies have shown that the construction and development of international land ports have a significant economic spillover effect on the neighboring regions. The construction and development of Huaihua International Land Port inevitably exerts economic spillover effects on the adjacent regions. It is necessary to analyze and predict the trend of economic data before and after the construction of the land port in the study area to evaluate accurately the role and effect of the land port in driving the economic development of the local and neighboring regions. Then, the impact of land ports as a variable is quantified by analyzing the difference between the predicted and actual results, thus providing a basis for formulating scientific policies. Local governments’ general public budget revenue (GPBR) is an important indicator to measure the economic development of a region. The paper uses the local governments’ GPBR of Huaihua International Land Port Economic Development Zone, Hecheng District, and Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County from January 2019 to June 2023. Based on this, time series decomposition and SARIMA modeling are carried out. It analyzes the impact of Huaihua International Land Port on the region and its economic spillover effect on the surrounding regions. The results found that the impact presented by the model is consistent with the actual situation. Therefore, the evaluation results have high accuracy and reliability.

An investigation of the influencing factors of value added tax collection effectiveness in EU Member States

AbstractTax evasion is reducing the revenues of public budgets of many European Union (EU) Member States (MS). To improve the effectiveness of tax collection, during the last decade authorities in several MS have taken measures to reduce the value added tax (VAT) gap (i.e., revenue received as a percentage of theoretical liability). In the Central and Eastern European region, VAT gap reduction measures have been implemented effectively in Hungary and Poland, whereas in Romania the effectiveness of these measures is very low: Romania has been the worst-performing EU MS in collecting VAT for more than 10 years. Our study analyses the factors influencing this VAT gap. Our analysis relied mainly on a fixed effects panel regression model, using for a balanced panel an individual and time fixed-effects with cluster-robust standard errors model, and for the unbalanced panel the fixed-effects regression with individual-specific slopes. Our results show that the size of the VAT gap is primarily influenced by five variables: the transparency index, the tax collection ratio, the law enforcement index, the VAT revenues ratio and the digitisation index.

The public budget as a limit for the implementation of social rights: analysis of social rights from the perspective of reserving the possible

This paper analyzes the promotion of social rights as a fundamental objective provided for in the Constitution of the Republic, which must be promoted by the public power as a way of promoting citizenship and human dignity. The promotion of fundamental social rights requires large sums of public resources, which are insufficient to fund all public policies. The postulate of the theory of reserve of the possible establishes that the State must use reasonable criteria and give the greatest possible effectiveness to social rights in the measure of available financial resources. Public Budget is an institutional guarantee of the stability of the Public Power, essential for the development and balance of the State's financial activity.

A Framework for the Fair Pricing of Medicines.

As high-cost medicines put increasing pressure on public health care budgets, the need to identify 'fair' prices for medicines has never been greater. This paper proposes a framework, built upon fundamental economic principles, that allows for the consideration of 'fair' prices for medicines. The framework incorporates key considerations from conventional supply-side and demand-side approaches for specifying a cost-effectiveness 'threshold', including the health opportunity cost borne by other patients ([Formula: see text]) and society's willingness to pay for marginal improvements in population health ([Formula: see text]). The costs incurred by manufacturers in developing and supplying new medicines are also considered, as are the incentives for manufacturers to strategically price up to any common price per unit of benefit (cost-effectiveness 'threshold') specified by the payer. The framework finds that, at any 'fair' price, a medicine's dynamically calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) lies below [Formula: see text]. When pricing medicines collectively, the framework finds that a common price below [Formula: see text] is required to maximize population health (consumer surplus) or to maximize total welfare (consumer and producer surplus). This framework has important policy implications for payers who wish to improve population health outcomes from constrained health care budgets. In particular, existing approaches to 'value-based pricing' should be reconsidered to ensure that patients receive a 'fair' share of the resulting economic surplus.

How to Share Information Giving in Underprivileged Communities

Infertility is a global disease and one of the major causes of psychosocial issues within reproductive group. This affects multilayer of socio economy strata including in developing world. Awareness and information of infertility in the community varies depending on the level of education. One of other key challenges in improving quality of reproductive care in infertility is accessibility. This implies to availability of resources and facility infrastructures. Health education generally varies in between socio economy background. Indonesia as example has different demographic layers which is stratified into upper, middle, and lower income. Although the country’s GDP continue to grow, large proportion of the community falls into the category of middle-income market. Their typical education degree are at high school level. Healthcare information are mostly delivered proactively through primary healthcare providers and social media plays significant role in as information source. Government and professional society organizations have important responsibility in how the information is delivered accurately and effectively. Reproductive campaign requires good strategy at public policy and budget associated with it. At the professional level, it is the duty of the providers to share proportional and accurate healthcare information irrespective of the patient’s background. However, to allow patients to make a well-informed decision, it is important that healthcare professionals to have good communication skills. They need to have sufficient time in delivering the message to educate the patients of proposed treatment plan. Theoretically this may not be applicable when supply of counselling time is not available due to lack of healthcare resources. For lengthy reproductive counselling, information can be provided by doctors and nurses. Empowerment of nurses and allied healthcare workers will extend the information shared by the doctors. They may be able to address other non-clinical matters to build trust and will assist patients in making decisions.

The Role of Public Policy in Gender Inequality in the Arts in Israel

Abstract This article deals with Israel's cultural policy and public funding for the arts—a nascent, under-developed research field in Israeli scholarship. The article focuses on the plastic arts and film, presenting data about the system of budget allocation and the structure of relevant Ministry of Culture and Sports decision-making committees. The discussion takes a gender perspective, focusing on obstacles women artists face in accessibility to public budgets for the arts. These challenges, we argue, are compounded when considering additional and overlapping identity categories. We apply intersectional analysis—a perspective that considers positionality and social background, including gender, class, race, nationality, and religion—and conclude with suggestions for improving public policy for the arts.

Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Dependence of Local Governments on Land Finance in China

With the increasing debt accumulated by local governments, land finance has become an important issue worth paying attention to in the Chinas economy. Based on the political economy literature, this paper selects general public budget expenditure, regional GDP, per Capita GDP, urbanization rate of permanent people, and the development of the secondary industry as independent variables and the dependence on land finance of the local government as dependent variable. Panel data from 22 provincial local governments is collected for empirical research. The empirical results indicate that accelerating urbanization, general public budget expenditure have led to local governments obtaining extra-budgetary land fiscal revenue. The growth of regional GDP and the expansion of the secondary industry will bring revenue to the region, which will help reduce the dependence of local governments on land finance. The political economics research on land finance helps to understand the economic behavior of local governments in China and also contributes to understanding the issue of soft budget constraint.

Do budget Maneuvers reduce future budget resiliency? Evidence from states following the great recession

AbstractConventional wisdom suggests budget maneuvers threaten long‐term structural balance because they transfer resources from the future to the present by non‐transparent means. Budget maneuvers remain poorly understood in part because they are more difficult to observe than traditional tax and expenditure changes to remedy budget deficits. In this research, a taxonomy of budget maneuvers influenced by the recent work of the Volcker Alliance and other public budgeting scholars is used to create an original tally of maneuvers used by U.S. state governments during the Great Recession. Ten states implemented more than half of documented budget maneuver use during that era, while incidence of maneuver use for the remaining 40 states is largely limited to transfers of balances from cash funds. This supports NASBO's contention that maneuvers are not a primary budget‐balancing instrument for most states. This research then presents the postrecession trajectories of four states that relied heavily on maneuvers—California, Connecticut, Illinois, and Wisconsin. While California and Wisconsin largely curtailed the use of budget maneuvers after the Great Recession, Connecticut and Illinois continued to implement them as they remained mired in subsequent budget crises.

An analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution and driving force of cultivated land green utilization in karst region of southwest China

Optimizing the green use efficiency of cultivated land in the karst region of southwest China is crucial for promoting sustainable development of land resources and achieving harmony between humans and nature. Based on the epsilon-based measure model and geographically and temporally weighted regression methods, this paper investigated the spatio-temporal variation and influencing factors of cultivated land green utilization efficiency. The results indicated that: i) Cultivated land green utilization efficiency had slightly increased from 0.842 in 2000 to 0.866 in 2020. ii) The spatial pattern of cultivated land green utilization efficiency showed a significant positive correlation, with a “hotspot-not significant-coldspot” from north to south. iii) Its spatial heterogeneity had increased during the observation period, with high-efficiency areas shifting from northeast to north. iv) The proportion of agricultural economy, general public budget revenue, per unit cultivated land value had a positive impact on the cultivated land green utilization efficiency, while urbanization rate, per capita cultivated land area, land replanting index, average altitude had a negative impact. Moreover, the driving factors exhibited significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Therefore, it is necessary to promote technological progress and scientific research, implement funds and policies, leverage the leading role of high-efficiency areas, formulate differentiated development strategies, and thereby improve the green use efficiency of cultivated land.

Decision support in the budget management of a public institution: a constructivist multicriteria model

The need for having controls that provide support for decision-making and the improvement of management techniques encourages managers to seek greater efficiency in the use of public resources. Utilizing tools that allow for a more in-depth evaluation and analysis, using clearly defined and transparent criteria encompassing the public budget, assists in decision support and enhancing the budgeting process. By defining criteria for each context, those responsible gain the means to support their decisions, backed by consistent and measurable information. In this way, this study aimed to construct a multicriteria performance evaluation model to support the budget management of a public institution, based on the needs and perceptions of its budget manager. To do this, the MCDA-C methodology was adopted as the methodological procedure. This instrument allowed for the identification of 34 descriptors considered relevant by the decision-maker, an understanding of the impact of their decisions, and the recommendation of improvement actions. Furthermore, the study compared the criteria identified in the literature, directed toward performance evaluation and public budget, with the descriptors highlighted in the model. It was found that some concerns of the decision-maker, listed in the model, are not present in the criteria identified in the literature, resulting from a constructivist bias. As a contribution, the model provides a new tool to support the manager in making decisions regarding the use of public resources, as well as serving as a reference for other institutions and in the development of further research.