Efficiency Of Public Spending Research Articles

Impact of on-track competition on public finances – The case of the Czech Republic

The European Commission presumes that competition in the passenger railway market will motivate railway operators to become more customer-led companies. Competition forces should lead to an improvement in the quality of services provided and thereby increase demand for rail transport and cut budget burdens.This paper aims to assess the budgetary impacts and development of public spending efficiency in the context of on-track competition in the Czech Republic. The paper illustrates what impact the increase of the number of passengers (including passengers entitled to state-imposed discounts on commercial lines) had on public funds, and public spending efficiency as measured by the ratio of public expenditures to rail transport performance.The general results indicate that the situation regarding the budgetary impact is more complex than the original ideas considered. While both the length of subsidised railway lines and the number of subsidised train-kilometres have decreased, the fiscal burden has not dropped but increased as a final consequence. It turns out that an introduction of competition need not result in a reduction in budget entitlements nor an increase in the efficiency of public resources spent. The efficiency of public resources remained unaffected despite the introduction of on-track competition on the main routes.

Scientific Research on the Efficiency of Public Expenditures: How and Where is it Going?

ABSTRACT Recent scientific research has advanced the measurement of the relative performance of organizations and the efficiency of public spending, based on analyzes of the services offered and results achieved. However, from the methodological point of view, there are several methods to analyze the performance and efficiency of spending in the private and public sectors. In this sense, the present study performs a systematic bibliometric review to analyze all scientific publications on the efficiency of public spending published in the last 20 years. The results show that most cost-efficiency analyzes have been limited to education and health expenditures and have used quantitative analysis, mainly through the application of data-involution analysis. The present review is a first step in mapping scientific publications on efficiency in public spending, which will support researchers and managers to make public spending more efficient.

Eficiência da alocação de recursos públicos nas unidades da federação nos governos Lula e Dilma

A eficiência nos gastos constitui um dos principais desafios da gestão pública. Neste artigo, analisa-se a eficiência na alocação de recursos públicos nas 27 Unidades da Federação (UF) durante os governos Lula e Dilma. Para tanto, utilizou-se a Análise Envoltória de Dados (Data Envelopment Analysis – DEA), no modelo Retornos Constantes à Escala, proposto por Charnes, Cooper e Rhodes (1978) e conhecido como modelo CCR, e no modelo Retornos Variáveis à Escala, proposto por Banker, Charnes e Cooper (1984) e nomeado BCC, com orientação de output, para o cálculo de eficiência das 27 UFs. Como entrada para os dois modelos, foram utilizados os gastos com saúde e educação de cada UF, assim como a renda média familiar. Como saída, utilizou-se a média do Índice FIRJAN de Desenvolvimento Municipal (IFDM) dos municípios de cada UF. Foram feitas correlações entre a eficiência de cada UF obtida pela DEA e o respectivo Produto Interno Bruto (PIB). Com base no CCR, em que a eficiência é calculada considerando-se o axioma da proporcionalidade entre inputs e outputs, houve maior número de UFs eficientes no governo Dilma. Em relação ao BCC, o qual admite que a eficiência máxima varie em função da economia de escala, os resultados são semelhantes entre os dois governos, apresentando o governo Lula maior número de UFs eficientes. Há correlação entre os modelos CCR e BCC, assim como entre o modelo CCR e o PIB, mas não há correlação entre o modelo BCC e o PIB.

Measuring Efficiency at the Regional Level: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

European countries have been continuously under the pressure to improve public balances and efficiency of public spending. Economic crisis which started during 2007 weakened public finances at the state and local level in countries all over the world. In Croatia local government budgets are still below the pre-crisis level in many local government units. This paper empirically examines efficiency of public expenditures at the regional level. Performance has been investigated by developing a composite indicator of output. Spending efficiency at the regional level was analysed using Data Envelopment Analysis methodology. Results suggest that there are large differences at the regional level in using resources to provide public services. The results show that the local government units in the least efficient county should on average decrease their expenses by 55 percent, while achieving the same performance to become efficient.

EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC SPENDING ON HIGHER EDUCATION: A DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS FOR EU-28

One of the main goals of education policy is to enhance educational outcomes. If resources are used inefficiently, they will fail to maximise those outcomes. Data Envelopment Analysis was used to calculate technical efficiency of public spending on education for EU-28 using the latest higher education statistics available. Focusing on European higher education, conceptual and methodological issues related to the measurement and analysis of efficiency were discussed. The most efficient countries are identified and also countries for which real efficiency improvements are possible. A novel set of variables is used to highlight more appropriately the distinctiveness of the higher education sector and the relationship between input and outputs. The advantage of using Data Envelopment Analysis is that it identifies the best performing decision, making units and not the averages. This type of information about the efficiency of public spending on education is of importance to many parties. It can be used to promote ‘yardstick’ competition in the areas of education where the lack of market mechanisms is apparent, guide policy proposals, and to enhance the monitoring of education. Key words: efficiency in education, higher education, public spending, data envelopment analysis, European Union.

The Role of Cash Benefit and In-Kind Benefit Spending for Child Poverty in Times of Austerity: An Analysis of 22 European Countries 2006\u20132015

This article investigates the development of two forms of public spending on families, as well as their role for child poverty in 22 European countries during the period 2006–2015. It uses aggregated data on child poverty from Eurostat and data relating to public spending on families from the OECD SOCX database. It analyses the association between child poverty and public family spending on cash benefits and in-kind benefits, respectively. The findings show a stable growth in the GDP-related and real levels of spending on both cash benefits and benefits in kind, although spending on cash benefits have been more exposed to cost containment than spending on inkind benefits. Furthermore, spending on benefits in kind was found to be more efficient for curbing child poverty than spending on cash benefits, even after controlling for unemployment, family structure, the general standard of living, as well as welfare institutional configurations. However, the efficiency of public family spending declined over the studied period. Moreover, the relative significance of public family spending for child poverty, in comparison to structural factors (such as unemployment), varied according to which spending measure that was used.

IMF Managing Director's Statement to the Development Committee, April 2019

While growth in advanced economies is losing momentum amid trade tensions and policy uncertainty, activity in many emerging and low-income developing countries (EMDEs) has remained more robust, supported by still favorable financing conditions. Differences across EMDEs are large, however, and downside risks are building. Policy priorities include enhancing resilience in response to a more challenging global environment, creating fiscal space for essential development spending, containing debt vulnerabilities, and promoting strong and inclusive growth. Strengthening revenue generating capacity, enhancing public spending efficiency, and addressing infrastructure gaps are critical for reaching the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Rising incomes and inequality of access to infrastructure among Latin American Households

The question of infrastructure needs is a crucial policy one in Latin America, given evidence of large access shortfalls across all major types of infrastructure, and the increase in demand linked to the rapid growth in households’ income over the past two decades. However, how much and how fast countries should invest in each of the main infrastructure areas are largely speculative, as to date, literature on investment needs has relied exclusively on aggregate data and cross-country regressions, ignoring both potential policy and supply-side differences across settings, and variations in demand along the income distribution. This paper addresses these shortcomings, providing building blocks to better assess infrastructure investment needs across the region. It does so documenting access to services and ownership of infrastructure-related durables in the water, energy, telecom, and transport areas, based on harmonized household survey data covering 1.6 million households in 14 Latin American countries from 1992 to –2012. It provides a systematic disaggregation of access and ownership rates at different levels of income and over time, and econometrically derives the country infrastructure premium, a measure of how much a household benefits from simply being located in a given country. Within countries, the results show extensive inequality of access across the income distribution, but this is also the case for households at similar levels of income across countries. Few country fundamentals appear to be significant in explaining this variability, pointing to differences in policy choices and local constraints as important determinants. The paper derives disaggregated income elasticity measures for the full set of infrastructure indicators and uses these to estimate the time that would be needed to close the remaining gap for households at different levels of the income distribution in each country under a “business as usual” hypothesis. Under that scenario, universal access appears to still be decades away for many countries in the region. The last part discusses the policy challenges, arguing that in a context in which public budgets face strong constraints and significant increases in private investment are unlikely to be forthcoming, a large part of the solution lies in refocused investment strategies, better demand management, and improved public spending efficiency.

THE IMPACT OF CORRUPTION ON THE EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC SPENDING ACROSS COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DEMOCRACY

Corruption, being linked to institutions of power, affects the efficiency of using public funds in a country. This happens, in particular, due to distortions in the structure of public expenditure, worsening quality and decreasing accessibility of public services, and overpricing of public services. The consequences of corruption that arise in different areas of human activity often become subject of scientific investigations performed by reputable scientists. However, the issue of the impact of corruption on public spending efficiency in the countries with different levels of democratic development has not been researched. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of corruption on the efficiency of public spending across the world (in 166 countries for the period from 2004 until 2017). The research is carried out by applying regression analysis to indicators characterizing the level of corruption and the efficiency of public spending obtained from large-scale survey data collected by major international organizations and aggregated in the World Bank’s “World Development Indicators” database. The analysis is also performed by using k-means clustering method to group countries into 4 clusters by the level of democracy and to build refined one-factor econometric models for each of them.The study revealed strong correlation relationship between corruption and public spending efficiency. It has been determined that a unit increase in corruption perceptions (a decrease in corruption) leads to a marginal increase in the efficiency of public spending by 0.931 units in the simple linear regression model and by 0.807 units in the multiple regression model. The study also showed that the impact of corruption on public spending varies depending on the level of democracy in a country. In the countries with low democracy levels, a unit decrease in corruption increases the efficiency of public spending by 0.923 units, whereas a similar decrease in corruption in the countries with high democracy levels will increase public spending efficiency only by 0.701 units. The findings of this study allow us to determine with higher accuracy the effects of corruption reduction measures on the efficiency of public spending.

Educational Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity in Spanish Regions: What does PISA 2015 Reveal?

The territorial organization of Spain into regions (autonomous communities) involves a remarkable decentralization. Therefore, it is interesting to make a comparative efficiency analysis of the public spending in education among regions that can to shed light on both the educational policies at the regional level, and the corrective state actions of inter-territorial imbalances. Furthermore, equity of the results of the education system is an indisputable goal of any society that aspires to justice and social cohesion. This research poses, firstly, an estimation of educational effectiveness and efficiency of public spending using a secondary analysis of PISA 2015 data that takes into account the value of ESCS. Subsequently, two educational equity parameters are estimated. The triple empirical categorization of autonomous communities, according to the efficiency and equity results, allows the derivation of policy recommendations of interest both at the regional and central government levels.

Outsourcing and Public Expenditure: An Aggregate Perspective with Regional Data

Outsourcing can be defined as the delivery of public services by the private sector. The sign of the effect of outsourcing on public spending is ambiguous ex-ante. While outsourcing may reduce public spending through higher competition in the private sector, it may also increase public spending due to the presence of transaction costs or the so-called “hold-up” problem among others. Using a panel of Spanish regions over the 2002-2018 period, this paper explores the association between outsourcing and public spending empirically. Spain offers an interesting case study from a broad perspective, as the degree of decentralization of public health and education is almost complete, and the different regions have adopted quite distinct approaches as regards the public-private mix in the provision of these public services. In line with previous cross-country evidence [e.g. Alonso et al. (2017); Potrafke (2018)] our estimates point to a positive relationship between public spending and outsourcing. The result holds when a number of robustness exercises are carried out. By components, we find that outsourcing is associated with higher public consumption and health spending, while there is no statistical association with investment and education expenditure. In any case, it is worth mentioning that the impact of outsourcing on the efficiency of public spending cannot be ascertained with our approach, due to data limitations.

Improving the Efficiency and Equity of Public Education Spending: The Case of Moldova

This paper, using Moldova as an example, presents a systematic approach to assess the efficiency and equity of public education spending, identify sources of inefficiencies and inequality, and formulate potential reform options. The analytical framework combines international benchmarking with country-specific analysis-such as microeconomic analysis based on household survey data-and can provide important insights into diagnosing and reforming education systems. The analysis finds significant scope to improve both efficiency and equity of the education sector in Moldova. Potential reform measures include further consolidating the oversized school network, reducing overstaffing, and better targeting government subsidies. The current remuneration policy could also be improved to attract high quality teachers and incentivize performance.

The Effect of MENFPESRS Programs on Performance: An analysis of three components

In this work, we present the results of a survey on the effect of the programs of the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and scientific research (MENFPESRS) on the performance of Moroccan public academic institutions (Organic Law n°130-13 relative to the finance law). In this study, we focus on the three components, namely strengthening transparency, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending and the quality of service provided to citizens, and increasing the accountability of managers. This survey allowed us to assess the relationships between the different variables in the research model using multiple regression analyses. The hypothesis test carried out on the managers ' sample of 41 observations yielded quite different results. In the results obtained using the questionnaire, we found that 91.1% of the relationship between performance and programs is explained and that the quality of the fit is very good (R2 = 82.9%) and that the objectives of the performance can be achieved using the programs of leadership and governance, higher education, and scientific and Technological Research.

Актуальные вопросы организации государственного финансирования НИОКР в странах ОЭСР

The article focuses on several challenges that OECD countries are currently facing when planning and providing public funding of R&D sphere. These issues are analyzed within more general framework — increase of efficiency of public spending of R&D and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) sector as a whole. The authors examine application of public R&D funding based on socio-economic classification (Frascati Manual 2015), optimal choice of forms and instruments of R&D public funding, which is linked with desired outputs and socio-economic outcomes, and methodologies of efficiency evaluation of public funding of R&D in OECD. Moreover, the authors draw the conclusion about marked extension of the list and variety of forms, methods and instruments of R&D public funding after 2007-08 global financial crisis. In addition to traditional institutional (block grants) and project financing, new form — Research Excellence Initiative (REI) — has evolved. It combines features of institutional core funding (longtermed, program format, etc.) with competitive organization and outcome orientation. It is especially efficient and effective when the focus is made on exceptional quality of research, interdisciplinary and multi-university studies. Integration of performance budgeting elements in institutional funding (e.g., performance contracts) is another noticeable trend in the evolution of public financing in OECD countries during the last decade. At the same time, the certain limits of project-based financing and application of competitive mechanisms in organization of R&D public funding became more evident, because of shorter terms and more risks associated with such projects. One more conclusion refers to wider application of holistic approach to efficiency evaluation of R&D public funding in OECD countries, when efficiency is evaluated at every stage of R&D process. Results of the research can be used in spending reviews in R&D or STI area as well as in recommendations for increasing efficiency of public governance of these areas.

Measuring performance in Education: a cross-country analysis

This research aims to identify and analyse the variables that affect the efficiency of public spending in secondary education, in a cross-country perspective. Applying the methods of data envelopment analysis, Malmquist index, and panel data regression, we analysed data from 65 countries that undertook the PISA examination. The results demonstrate that Brazil was the most inefficient in applying its resources over the period and achieved only 84.3% of its potential outputs. Finally, the significant variables in explaining the efficiency were the natural logarithm of the GDP per capita, the curriculum autonomy of schools, financial autonomy, and the level of corruption and the socioeconomic backgrounds of students.

Desenvolvimento municipal e eficiência dos gastos públicos em Minas Gerais: uma análise do IDHM

Como importante fonte de informação na definição de políticas públicas, carece ao IDHM considerar, para além da conjuntura econômica-social do município, os esforços envolvidos na busca de melhores resultados. O presente trabalho objetiva, portanto, inserir um indicador de eficiência dos gastos públicos no cômputo do IDHM, de modo que este reflita também a qualidade da gestão dos recursos financeiros utilizados em saúde e educação. Para tanto, vale-se da metodologia da Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA), complementada por uma análise espacial visando identificar clusters municipais de eficiência. Os resultados apontam que a mensuração do desenvolvimento municipal, e consequentemente sua compreensão, podem ser enriquecidas por esta proposta. Em termos mais específicos, embora municípios mais eficientes não sejam necessariamente mais desenvolvidos, o inverso não se observa, de forma que baixos níveis de desenvolvimento envolvem consideráveis ineficiências de gastos, sinalizando que a melhor gestão destes é condição necessária para a superação do subdesenvolvimento.

CAUSES OF A PUBLIC DEBT AND BUDGET DEFICIT

The aim of the article is to present a problem concerning the reasons for the formation of public debt and the budget deficit. Public debt is undoubtedly caused by excessive expenses, which may be caused by the militarization of the economy, extensive administration or high social transfers. Rarely the cause may be too low taxes and other public revenues, the reasons for which may be very numerous, from too low effective tax rates through ineffective tax collection system, to narrowing the tax base caused by the falling level of gross domestic product production. The main reason for the public deficit is the failure to adjust the size of public expenditure to the profitability of the economy. This maladjustment may have a permanent character caused by the tendency to excessive expansion of public expenditure. Maladjustment may also have short-term character related to the alternate nature of economic development, which is expressed in the business cycle. Among the other sources and causes of the public deficit may be distinguished low efficiency of public spending, low efficiency of public debt collection and the burden of budget expenditure on the costs of already existing public debt.

Obstacles in Secondary Analysis of Routine Data From Primary Care

Routinely recorded data from everyday ambulatory medical care are urgently needed for health services and systems research, but this faces major limitations in Germany. In 2018, European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and new German Federal Data Protection Act (FDPA) become effective. Via simulated real-life scenarios it may be possible to find out if access to and utilization of routine data for research becomes easier or faces additional obstacles. General practitioners, information scientists, data trustees and privacy protection experts create concepts, processes and standards for lawful handling of routinely recorded data for secondary research and study their feasibility in 2 scenarios (anonymous and pseudonymous data utilization). From the point of view of technical assessment and privacy protection, technical and organizational obstacles are presented as well as the legal framework. Outdated software interface, insufficient maintenance by software vendors, burdens associated with organization and cost as well as poor IT standards place obstacles to systematic and longitudinal use of healthcare routine data. Future pan-European law for privacy protection will allow research utilization of ambulatory data in principle. However, there are persisting conflicts between individual (fundamental right of privacy protection) and public interests (research for quality and efficiency of public spending; European market's free exchange of goods and services). This becomes evident especially when using routine data via pseudonymization. Neither insurmountable hurdles by privacy protecting law nor a threat from Big Data are currently the major obstacles to secondary utilization of routine data but real-life problems at the technology and operational level. GDPR and FDPA that have become into effect in May 2018 have improved European legal unity and transparency of patients' interests. Tension between privacy protection of data on an identified or identifiable person and scientific utilization and exchange of such data in public interest necessitates additional legal clarification. One possible solution, an advanced and ready-to-use software interface, awaits implementation.

Mikro, mali i średni przedsiębiorcy w zamówieniach publicznych. Kilka propozycji de lege ferenda

MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS. SOME PROPOSALS DE LEGE FERENDAPublic procurements are one of the main methods of the state’s influence on the economy. The aims of the procurement should be the implementation of the Value for Public Money as the eff ectiveness rule, which means the exponential growth of the strategic procurements: innovative, green and social; concerning National Purchase Policy, particularly the fast growth of innovative procurements. The Polish Ministry of Development and Finance is preparing a new Public Procurement Act. This Act should replace the Act of 29 January 2004 — Public Procurement Law Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1579. The overall objective is to obtain better Value for Public Money, to deliver better outcomes for societal and other public policy objectives while increasing the efficiency of public spending. This is the very good moment for some proposals connected with the improvement of SME’s situation in public procurement.

Organized crime and public spending: a panel data analysis

The aim of this paper is to investigate, empirically, what components of public spending imply a decreasing effect on organized crime and what components create opportunities for organized crime, discussing also the role of government efficiency. Using a panel data analysis, the results show a strikingly consistent pattern for the EU Member States. Organized crime mainly operates in the distribution of government spending for local public goods and public provision of private services. There is a decreasing effect on organized crime of the public expenditure devoted to education and social policy. Government efficiency in public spending is beneficial to limit the opportunities of the organized crime.