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  • MPI Ethno. Forsch.  (76)
  • Ethn. Museum Berlin
  • Joumard, Isabelle  (40)
  • de Mello, Luiz  (36)
  • Paris : OECD Publishing  (76)
Datasource
  • MPI Ethno. Forsch.  (76)
  • Ethn. Museum Berlin
Material
Language
  • 1
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (22 p.) , 21 x 28cm.
    Series Statement: OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism no.43
    Keywords: Environment ; Taxation ; Development
    Abstract: This paper explores the nexus between decarbonisation and intergovernmental fiscal relations, focusing on related challenges and reform options. It highlights the significant role of subnational governments in tackling climate change. Subnational and national governments share responsibilities in areas such as taxation, spending and regulation pertaining to environmental protection, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation, which calls for effective intergovernmental co-operation to align policy objectives and implementation strategies. The paper outlines decarbonisation requirements across sectors and discusses subnational government involvement in service delivery, investment, revenue generation and regulatory frameworks. Policy options to strengthen subnational contributions to national decarbonisation goals are presented. While focusing primarily on OECD countries, the paper acknowledges the need for improved information on subnational decarbonisation efforts in both advanced and developing countries.
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  • 2
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (30 Seiten) , 21 x 28cm.
    Series Statement: OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism no.37
    Keywords: Economics ; Governance
    Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on lives, the economy, and the public finances worldwide, drawing attention to the need to enhance resilience to future shocks. This paper focuses on subnational governments, given their important and growing role in the provision of essential public goods and services worldwide. The paper discusses key aspects of subnational resilience, in particular the sensitivity of subnational finances to macroeconomic cycles and shocks and the availability of fiscal buffers; the main factors influencing subnational governments’ ability to provide essential services during crises; and their ability to anticipate and prepare for future shocks, especially those related to climate change. The paper also discusses policy and institutional reform options for both national and the subnational governments to strengthen subnational resilience.
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  • 3
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (76 p.)
    Series Statement: OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism no.01
    Keywords: Taxation
    Abstract: Against a background of mounting demands for spending on services provided by sub-central governments, this paper examines how fiscal rules can help to ensure that pressure on resources is minimised and available resources are used efficiently. Drawing on questionnaire responses and other sources, this paper gives a detailed picture of fiscal rules for sub-central governments in place among a number of OECD countries. The paper examines the rationales for using fiscal rules, the various impacts fiscal rules can have, the factors making for effective implementation and the interactions between the various types of rule. It then constructs a number of synthetic sub-indicators designed to assess the extent to which sub-central government fiscal frameworks exhibit favourable characteristics for the achievement of fiscal objectives. It concludes with the construction of a composite indicator based on the combined impacts in the different areas of fiscal policy.
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  • 4
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (circa 19 Seiten) , Illustrationen
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department working papers no. 1400
    Keywords: Finanzpolitik ; Öffentliche Schulden ; Schuldenmanagement ; Nachhaltigkeit ; Indien ; Economics ; India ; Amtsdruckschrift ; Arbeitspapier ; Graue Literatur
    Abstract: In relation to GDP, India's public debt and interest payments are high compared with most other emerging economies and rating agencies have put India's sovereign debt at the lowest investment grade. On the other hand, India benefits from strong economic growth and needs to increase spending on social and physical infrastructure to support economic growth and to meet the needs of its fast-growing population. This paper assesses recent fiscal developments in India, discusses the threshold beyond which debt has adverse effects on the economy, quantifies the uncertainties surrounding key macroeconomic variables and the risks of overshooting the debt threshold to define a "prudent" debt level. It also provides a debt sustainability analysis. It concludes that under a "no-policy change" scenario, the debt-to-GDP ratio will decline gradually to close to the "prudent" level by 2040. However, adverse shocks could derail this benign scenario.
    Note: Zusammenfassung in französischer Sprache
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  • 5
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (circa 38 Seiten) , Illustrationen
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department working papers no. 1389
    Keywords: Steuersystem ; Finanzverwaltung ; Einkommensteuer ; Vermögensteuer ; Erbschaftsteuer ; Umverteilung ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Indien ; Economics ; India ; Amtsdruckschrift ; Arbeitspapier ; Graue Literatur
    Abstract: Tax reforms are crucial to promoting inclusive growth in India. The replacement of a myriad of consumption taxes by a Goods and Services Tax (GST) will boost India's competitiveness, investment, job creation and tax compliance. The potential to raise additional revenue from taxes on goods and services is however limited. In contrast, reforming income and property taxes should help to i) raise more revenue to finance much needed social and physical infrastructure while keeping public debt under control; ii) reduce inequality by increasing the redistributive effect of taxation; iii) promote productivity by reducing distortions in the allocation of resources which emanate from the corporate income tax; iv) boost job creation by eliminating the bias against labour-intensive activities; v) promote confidence, and thus investment, by improving clarity and certainty regarding tax rules and their application and vi) reinforce the ability of states and municipalities to provide key public infrastructure and services. This paper presents the main characteristics of the tax system as well as the rationale and options for reform.
    Note: Zusammenfassung in französischer Sprache
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  • 6
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (circa 52 Seiten) , Illustrationen
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department working papers no. 1397
    Keywords: Auslandsinvestition ; Unternehmensbesteuerung ; Indien ; Economics ; India ; Amtsdruckschrift ; Arbeitspapier ; Graue Literatur
    Abstract: Business taxation in India is characterised by high effective tax rates, a narrow tax base, and an uncertain tax environment for potential investors. However, India has now begun a process of significant business tax reform, including a staged reduction of the corporate income tax rate and removal of a range of business tax concessions. This paper sets the scene for these (and further) reforms by examining the taxation of business income in India with a particular focus on its impact on the investment climate. The paper calculates corporate effective tax rates to highlight the impact of the tax system on investment incentives, investigates the narrowness of the current tax base and the proposed base-broadening reforms, and examines the degree of investor certainty as to the tax rules and their application. This Working Paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of India (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-india.htm)
    Note: Zusammenfassung in französischer Sprache
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  • 7
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (circa 43 Seiten) , Illustrationen
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department working papers no. 1412
    Keywords: Föderalismus ; Regionalentwicklung ; Soziale Ungleichheit ; Landwirtschaft ; Produktivitätsentwicklung ; Urbanisierung ; Indien ; Economics ; India ; Amtsdruckschrift ; Arbeitspapier ; Graue Literatur
    Abstract: While India’s per capita income is converging towards that of the richer countries, inequality has drifted up. Spatial inequality – across states and between urban and rural areas – is pronounced, with large differences in output per capita and in access to core public services, such as electricity, roads, and education. Implementing the GST will contribute to reduce trade barriers across states while recent changes in the federalism model are empowering states and promoting experimentation. Prompting states to modernise product and labour market regulations should allow firms in the organised sector to reach an efficient size, and promote job creation and rising incomes in all states. Raising the living standards in poorer states would also require increasing productivity in the agricultural sector by supporting farm consolidation and improving infrastructure in rural areas, particularly roads that connect villages to market towns, crop storage infrastructure and access to sustainable irrigation technologies. As working population moves out of agriculture, urbanisation will gather pace. However, exploiting cities’ potential for job creation, productivity gains and improvement in the quality of life would require better physical and social urban infrastructure. Local spending and regulatory competences should be clarified. Performance of local bodies should be assessed regularly to make them accountable. Municipalities should also be granted clear revenue-raising power (in particular property taxes and user charges for urban infrastructure) to enable them to fund better public infrastructure and services.
    Note: Zusammenfassung in französischer Sprache
    URL: Volltext  (kostenfrei)
    URL: Volltext  (kostenfrei)
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  • 8
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (32 p.)
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.1184
    Keywords: Social Issues/Migration/Health ; Economics ; India
    Abstract: With India’s low life expectancy largely reflecting deaths from preventable diseases, the most significant gains in health would come from population-wide preventive measures. Access to public health care services varies substantially, resulting in many people turning to private-sector providers who mainly serve those who can pay. While government has scaled up public health services, more health professionals and public health care spending will be needed to ensure broad and adequate health-care coverage. Priority should be given to high impact primary health care services. For more resources to translate into better services, the management of public health care services needs to improve. The private sector can be drawn upon more extensively, but should also be obliged to meet basic quality standards.
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  • 9
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (45 p.)
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.1183
    Keywords: Economics ; Industry and Services ; India
    Abstract: The manufacturing sector has contributed little to income growth and its share in total merchandise exports has been declining. Manufacturing has not brought much new employment, and most of the recent rise in manufacturing employment has been in the informal sector, where workers are not covered by social security arrangements. Productivity of the manufacturing sector is low, partly because the relatively small size of manufacturing firms makes it difficult to exploit economies of scale. Despite abundant, low-skilled and relatively cheap labour, Indian manufacturing is surprisingly capital and skill intensive. Furthermore, firms have little incentive to grow, since by staying small they can avoid taxes and complex labour regulations. Land acquisition is slow, companies face frequent power outages and transport infrastructure is below par. This is especially harmful as manufacturing is highly reliant on well-functioning infrastructure. Stronger manufacturing would increase productivity and make growth more inclusive, while contributing to improved current account balance. In particular, India should aim for more formal jobs, as these tend to be the most secure and of highest productivity.
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  • 10
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD Journal: Economic Studies Vol. 2012, no. 1, p. 37-70 | volume:2012 | year:2012 | number:1 | pages:37-70
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (34 p.) , 21 x 28cm.
    Titel der Quelle: OECD Journal: Economic Studies
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2012, no. 1, p. 37-70
    Angaben zur Quelle: volume:2012
    Angaben zur Quelle: year:2012
    Angaben zur Quelle: number:1
    Angaben zur Quelle: pages:37-70
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Taxes and transfers reduce inequality in disposable income relative to market income. The effect varies, however, across OECD countries. The redistributive impact of taxes and transfers depends on the size, mix and the progressivity of each component. Some countries with a relatively small tax and welfare system (e.g. Australia) achieve the same redistributive impact as countries characterised by much higher taxes and transfers (e.g. Germany) because they rely more on income taxes, which are more progressive than other taxes, and on means-tested cash transfers. This article provides an assessment of the redistributive effect of the main taxes and cash transfers, based on various OECD data sources, a set of policy indicators and a literature review. Using cluster analysis, it also identifies empirically four groups of countries with tax and transfer systems that share broadly similar features.
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  • 11
    Language: English
    Pages: 68 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.926
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  • 12
    Language: English
    Pages: 45 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.924
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  • 13
    Language: English
    Pages: 32 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.871
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  • 14
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 28 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.824
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Despite large differences across countries, Latin America’s average investment-to-GDP ratio and the overall quality of infrastructure in the region are relatively low by international comparison. Empirical evidence on the effects of fiscal decentralisation on investment based on a panel of Latin American countries since the late 1990 suggests that fiscal decentralisation discourages Latin American subnational governments from investing (acquiring fixed assets) and that lower subnational spending on investment is associated with lower economy-wide gross fixed capital formation. Latin American countries will therefore need to face a double challenge of revisiting the current arrangements for decentralised provision that discourage subnational governments from investing, while making the most of decentralisation as a policy lever to raise private investment.
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  • 15
    Language: English
    Pages: 24 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.825
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil ; Indonesia
    Abstract: This paper tests the hypothesis that, by giving people more voice in the government decision-making process, fiscal decentralisation fosters social capital, measured in terms of interpersonal trust. Empirical evidence based on World Values Survey data and seemingly unrelated probit estimations for a cross-section of countries suggests that people living in federal/decentralised countries find it more important to have voice in government decisions than their counterparts living in unitary/centralised countries. Pro-voice attitudes are, in turn, associated with greater social capital. The cross-country estimations are complemented by country-specific regressions for Brazil and Indonesia on account of these countries. experiences with fiscal decentralisation. The results show that the cohorts of individuals that have been exposed to decentralisation are in general more pro-voice (and trustful of strangers in the case of Brazil) than their counterparts that have not been exposed to decentralisation. These findings are not driven by the effects of political liberalisation on people.s attitudes towards the importance of having voice in government decisions and interpersonal trust.
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  • 16
    Language: English
    Pages: 133 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.769
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper presents a set of indicators to assess health care system performance. It also presents new comparative data on health care policies and institutions for OECD countries. This set of indicators allows the empirical characterisation of health care systems and the identification of groups of countries sharing similar health institutions. It also helps to uncover strengths and weaknesses of each country’s health care system and assessing the scope for improving value-for-money. The empirical analysis suggests that there is room in all countries surveyed to improve the effectiveness of health care spending; there is no health care system that performs systematically better in delivering cost-effective health care – big-bang reforms are therefore not warranted; increasing the coherence of policy settings, by adopting best policy practices within a similar system and borrowing the most appropriate elements from other systems will likely be more practical and effective to raise health care spending efficiency.
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  • 17
    Language: English
    Pages: 34 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.813
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  • 18
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 29 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.793
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: The global crisis has left many G20 countries with an unenviable legacy of lower potential output and high government indebtedness. Global imbalances, which had narrowed during the recession, are now beginning to widen again, as the recovery takes hold. Structural reform will be needed not only to recover the crisis-driven output loss and to maintain it in the longer term, but also to put the public finances back on a sustainable path and to rebalance global growth. To contribute to the policy debate, this paper summarises the analysis carried out by the OECD on the effects of a host of structural reforms on GDP growth, public finances and external current account balances.
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  • 19
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 44 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.810
    Keywords: Economics ; Indonesia
    Abstract: Indonesia has made considerable progress over the years in improving the social conditions of its population, especially among disadvantaged groups, not least by raising government spending and strengthening social protection programmes. Nevertheless, in some respects social outcomes remain sub-par in relation to regional peers.
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  • 20
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 33 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.795
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper assesses the sustainability of global imbalances by testing for the presence of unit roots in the current account positions (measured in relation to GDP) of the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the oil-exporting countries using a methodology that allows for structural breaks in levels and trends. We find that the external positions of these major countries/regions are stationary around structural breaks, which define episodes of current account reversals. On the basis of an event analysis of past reversals, it appears that structural breaks are associated with shifts in the fiscal stance, exchange rate parities and potential output growth, a finding that underscores the scope for macroeconomic and structural policies to ensure the sustainability of external positions while avoiding potentially disruptive reversals. These findings have implications for long-term capital flows after the crisis.
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  • 21
    Language: English
    Pages: 27 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.710
    Keywords: Economics ; Indonesia
    Abstract: The Indonesian labour market is characterised by widespread informality. To some extent, these outcomes can be attributed to a sharp increase in the real value of the minimum wage since 2001, when minimum-wage setting was decentralised to the provincial governments. To test this hypothesis, this paper uses survey data on the labour market (Sakernas), household income and expenditure (Susenas) and the industrial sector (Survei Industri) to construct a district-level dataset spanning the period 1996 to 2004. The effects of changes in the minimum wage on unemployment, formal-sector employment and the incidence of informality in urban areas are estimated separately by fixed effects and jointly by a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) estimator. Our findings show that an increase in the minimum-to-mean wage ratio is associated with a net increase in employment: a rise in informal-sector employment more than compensates for job losses in the formal sector. This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Assessment of Indonesia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/indonesia).
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  • 22
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 35 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.703
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: The possibility that a country’s external current account may adjust nonlinearly to shocks is attracting increasing attention in the empirical literature. To shed further light on this issue in the context of emerging-market economies, this paper uses Brazilian data to estimate the determinants of the current account in a smooth-transition vector-autoregressive (ST-VAR) setting. We allow for the transition parameters and the model coefficients to be estimated simultaneously by non-linear constrained maximum likelihood. We find strong evidence of non-linearity in the VAR when (lagged) government consumption and investment are used as the variables governing transition across regimes. The computation of non-linear impulse response functions suggests that the system’s history, as well as the sign and magnitude of shocks, affect the current account’s responses to exogenous changes in income, government consumption and investment. In particular, responses to fiscal shocks depend on whether they are positive or negative and whether they follow periods of fiscal expansions or contractions. Current account responses to a positive fiscal impulse are much stronger when conditioned on periods of fiscal expansion (rising government consumption) than retrenchment. The importance of conditioning history and the magnitude of shocks in the current account’s response to shocks is confirmed by forecast error variance decomposition analysis.
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  • 23
    Language: English
    Pages: 23 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.712
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  • 24
    Language: English
    Pages: 25 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.690
    Keywords: Economics ; Indonesia
    Abstract: This paper uses household survey (Sakernas) data from the 1996 and 2004 to estimate the determinants of earnings in Indonesia. The Indonesian labour market is segmented, with a majority of workers engaged in informal-sector occupations, and earnings data are available only for formal-sector workers (salaried employees). This posed problems for the estimation of earnings equations, because selection into different labour market statuses is likely to be non-random. In order to describe selection into different labour market statuses we use the most general version of the method proposed by Dubin and McFadden (1984), which Bourguignon, Fournier and Gurgand (2007) proved to be preferable to other available multinomial selection methods. We also deal with reverse causality between education attainment and earnings by estimating the selection equations using an instrumental variable technique. Our findings cast doubt on the use of a binomial selection rule and suggest that workers with higher levels of educational attainment are most likely to find a job in the formal sector, and that the informal sector is perceived by those workers who cannot obtain a job in the formal sector as an alternative to inactivity. This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Assessment of Indonesia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/indonesia).
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  • 25
    Language: English
    Pages: 24 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.711
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  • 26
    Language: English
    Pages: 20 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.704
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: Brazil, like other natural resource-exporting countries, has benefited from a sharp increase in commodity prices over the last few years. To investigate the possible impact of terms-of-trade gains on the real economy, this paper estimates normalised quadratic input demand and output supply functions for the Brazilian economy during 1997-2008. Technological change is modelled in a flexible manner through the inclusion of quadratic splines in the profit function. The paper contributes to the literature by using nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression techniques to estimate the input demand and output supply functions and by disaggregating exports and imports into capital, consumption and intermediate goods. Improvements in the terms of trade due to rising export prices and/or falling import prices are associated with hikes in export volumes on the back of rising import demand and some labour shedding in the sectors using imported capital goods. The direct impact of terms-of-trade changes on domestic consumption and investment is comparatively modest, possibly due to the fact that the Brazilian economy remains relatively closed to trade.
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  • 27
    Language: English
    Pages: 28 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.679
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  • 28
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 17 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.598
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Tax receipts surged between 2005 and 2007 in many OECD countries, resulting in significant improvements in headline fiscal positions. As a consequence, pressures for tax cuts and for public spending increases have emerged. In the past, responding to such demands has permanently weakened budget positions as revenue windfalls ultimately proved to be temporary. Hence, the opportunity to address structural deficit problems and prepare for future demographic trends has been lost, and the ability to respond to subsequent cyclical downturns has been weakened. This paper provides an analysis of the factors behind recent revenue buoyancy and examines past responses to unexpected revenue gains. It also discusses whether improved information on fiscal positions and future fiscal challenges, combined with relevant fiscal rules, might help in avoiding a repetition of past errors in fiscal policy.
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  • 29
    Language: English
    Pages: 32 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.593
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil ; Czech Republic
    Abstract: The bulk of recent literature on foreign-exchange interventions has overlooked the potential interdependencies that may exist between these operations and the conduct of monetary policy. This is the case even under inflation targeting and especially in emerging-market economies, because central banks often explicitly reserve the right to intervene to calm disorderly markets and to accumulate foreign reserves, and when the exchange rate is perceived as out of step with fundamentals. This paper uses a friction model to estimate intervention reaction functions and the associated marginal effects for Brazil and the Czech Republic since adoption of inflation targeting in these countries in 1999 and 1998, respectively. The main findings are that: i) in both countries interventions occur predominantly to reduce exchange-rate volatility, while in Brazil the central bank also reacts to exchange-rate deviations from medium-term trends; ii) there are strong, asymmetric threshold effects in the reaction functions, and interventions are more likely and of higher magnitudes when they are carried out to depreciate than to appreciate the domestic currency; and iii) interventions seem to take place independently of contemporaneous monetary policy in Brazil, but not in the Czech Republic, where both policies appear to be interrelated.
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  • 30
    Language: English
    Pages: 36 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.607
    Keywords: Economics ; Chile
    Abstract: Informality often arises from disincentives associated with high taxes and a restrictive regulatory framework in both labour and product markets. About 20% of the Chilean population aged 15 years and above and working at least 20 hours per week did not have a formal labour contract in 2006. At the same time, nearly 11% of the potential value added tax base is estimated to have been undeclared in 2005. While Chile’s tax system is not particularly burdensome to business formality, there is scope for making product-market regulations less onerous to firms and the labour code more flexible, especially with regards to indefinite contracts and the allocation of working time. Low human capital remains an important obstacle to reducing labour informality. To the extent that informal businesses also hire informally, there is some room for designing policies to tackle business informality in conjunction with those aimed at boosting formal labour contracting. Chile is strengthening its social safety net through the introduction of unemployment insurance and by reforming existing health insurance and pension systems. An important policy question is whether the incentives for formality arising from more comprehensive social protection will be strong enough to compensate for the additional costs these contributory programmes entail. This paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).
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  • 31
    Language: English
    Pages: 35 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.655
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: The financial crisis and economic downturn are going to weigh on fiscal positions in OECD countries over the short to medium-term, both through the operation of automatic stabilisers and the enactment of discretionary fiscal stimulus packages. However, the strategic policy options facing OECD countries are mainly determined by the soundness of their underlying fiscal positions which vary substantially. This paper first describes how OECD economies are situated with respect to underlying fiscal balances and net government debt. A number of countries seem to enjoy favourable fiscal positions with underlying fiscal surpluses, low government debt or even positive net financial asset positions. When taking account, as far as possible, of implicit liabilities associated with ageing populations and resource-based revenues, fiscal positions still vary greatly across countries. The paper then examines the criteria involved in deciding whether government financial asset accumulation is in excess of needs and the use to which any excess government saving might be put, whether increasing public spending or reducing taxes. Finally, the determinants of the optimal size of the government balance sheet for any given desired net debt position are discussed.
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  • 32
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 32 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.605
    Keywords: Economics ; Chile
    Abstract: Compliance with the structural budget surplus rule, which has been in place since 2001, has allowed the government to maintain a counter-cyclical fiscal stance in an environment of rising copper prices, while delivering a gradual reduction in public indebtedness. Monetary policy is conducted within a framework that combines inflation targeting with exchange-rate flexibility. A Fiscal Responsibility Law was promulgated in September 2006, strengthening the macroeconomic framework further by embedding the fiscal rule in law and setting out regulations for the use of fiscal savings. Complementary pension reform is being discussed in Congress with the objective of strengthening the pension system’s solidarity pillar and encouraging retirement saving. The tax system is also being improved with a view to removing obstacles to financial deepening and to business-sector development. Government spending on social programmes is budgeted to rise considerably, in line with the authorities’ emphasis on social development. The main challenge in the macroeconomic area is to maintain the policy setting that has served Chile so well over the recent copper-price upswing, while tempering demands for hiking public social spending and maintaining a lean public sector in a low-tax, low-debt environment. This paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).
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  • 33
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 48 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.637
    Keywords: Economics ; Indonesia
    Abstract: Indonesia’s growth performance is improving, following a slow recovery from the 1997-98 financial crisis. Investment is picking up, despite considerable business-climate obstacles to entrepreneurship. Unemployment remains high, and labour informality is pervasive. Fiscal policy has been conducted responsibly and in an increasingly decentralised manner. Monetary policy is now carried out within a fully-fledged inflation-targeting framework. This paper argues that the main barriers to raising the economy’s growth potential are to be found on the supply side of the economy. Indonesia will need to improve the business environment and to make better use of labour inputs to put the economy on a higher growth trajectory. The country’s income gap relative to the OECD is sizeable, and several years of sustained growth will be needed to eliminate it. This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Assessment of Indonesia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/indonesia).
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  • 34
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 23 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.604
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper develops a differential game of tax avoidance by modelling the interactions between a taxpayer and the tax authority. This framework is particularly useful for explicitly modelling situations of conflict. The solution to the game is a non-co-operative Nash that depends on the resources that need to be used by the tax authority to enforce legislation and the cost to be borne by the taxpayer in tax compliance, provided that the curvature of the utility functions is bounded. Empirical evidence is provided for the value added tax (VAT) using a cross-section of OECD and non-OECD countries. OECD indicators of tax administration efficiency are included in the regressions. The empirical findings show that VAT efficiency, defined as the ratio of collections as a share of consumption to the statutory rate, rises the lower the VAT rate, the lower the share of administrative costs in tax revenue (proxying for the efficiency of tax administration), the more pro-competition the regulatory framework in product markets (measuring non-tax incentives for non-compliance) and the better the country’s governance indicators (regulatory quality, rule of law and government effectiveness). This paper is forthcoming in the Public Finance Review.
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  • 35
    Language: English
    Pages: 34 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.642
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Frequent recourse to large one-off operations in a number of OECD countries has undermined the accuracy of cyclically adjusted fiscal balances as a measure of both the sustainability of public finance and the fiscal stance. This paper first provides detailed information on the nature and amount of these one-offs for 9 OECD countries. The paper then presents a new indicator – the “underlying” fiscal balance – which effectively eliminates the impact of one-offs and cyclical developments. One-offs are derived as the deviations from trend in net capital transfers, i.e. from widely available national account data. This approach provides a consistent treatment of one-offs both across countries and over time, avoiding the potential information biases which could result from an individual identification of one-offs.
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  • 36
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 29 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.608
    Keywords: Economics ; Chile
    Abstract: Chile’s labour force participation is low by comparison with most countries in the OECD area, especially among females and youths. In the case of women, labour supply has risen steadily over time for prime-age and older individuals, against a background of relative stability for men. With regards to youths, participation rates are trending down, primarily as a result of rising school enrolment, especially for males, while remaining fairly low and stable over the years for young females. The main policy challenge in this area is to raise female labour supply further, for both prime-age individuals and youths, as a means of making a better use of labour inputs in support of long-term growth. This can be achieved essentially by removing provisions in the labour code that constrain the allocation of working time and by improving access to affordable child care for mothers with young children. Policies aimed at fostering human capital accumulation for the population as a whole would also contribute, because educational attainment is one of the most powerful determinants of labour force participation. This paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).
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  • 37
    Language: English
    Pages: 75 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.627
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper aims to shed light on the contribution of health care and other determinants to the health status of the population and to provide evidence on whether or not health care resources are producing similar value for money across OECD countries. First, it discusses the pros and cons of various indicators of the health status, concluding that mortality and longevity indicators have some drawbacks but remain the best available proxies. Second, it suggests that changes in health care spending, lifestyle factors (smoking and alcohol consumption as well as diet), education, pollution and income have been important factors behind improvements in health status. Third, it derives estimates of countries’ relative performance in transforming health care resources into longevity from two different methods – panel data regressions and data envelopment analysis – which give remarkably consistent results. The empirical estimates suggest that potential efficiency gains might be large enough to raise life expectancy at birth by almost three years on average for OECD countries, while a 10% increase in total health spending would increase life expectancy by three to four months.
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  • 38
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD journal on budgeting Vol. 7, no. 1, p. 1-41
    ISSN: 1681-2336
    Language: English
    Pages: 42 p
    Titel der Quelle: OECD journal on budgeting
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2001
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 7, no. 1, p. 1-41
    Keywords: Governance
    Abstract: This article examines key institutional drivers that may contribute to improving public sector efficiency and focuses on one of them in more detail: performance information and its role and use in the budget process (“performance budgeting”).
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  • 39
    Language: English
    Pages: 31 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.545
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil ; Chile ; Colombia ; Mexico
    Abstract: In 1999, new monetary policy regimes were adopted in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, combining inflation targeting with floating exchange rates. These regime changes have been accompanied by lower volatility in the monetary stance in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, despite higher inflation volatility in Brazil and Colombia. This paper estimates a conventional New Keynesian model for these four countries and shows that: i) the post-1999 regime has been associated with greater responsiveness by the monetary authority to changes in expected inflation in Brazil and Chile, while in Colombia and Mexico monetary policy has become less counter-cyclical, ii) lower interest-rate volatility in the post-1999 period owes more to a benign economic environment than to a change in the policy setting, and iii) the change in the monetary regime has not yet resulted in a reduction in output volatility in these countries.
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  • 40
    Language: English
    Pages: 39 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.554
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: A key policy challenge in most OECD countries is to improve outcomes of the health care system while containing its costs. Benchmarking countries and identifying best practices to enhance public spending cost-effectiveness would, in this regard, be a useful exercise. This paper presents three main options for measuring effectiveness in the health care sector, discusses their pros and cons, including data availability and the possibility of whether these options would allow an analysis of how the institutional setting shapes spending effectiveness.
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  • 41
    Language: English
    Pages: 27 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.544
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: This paper tests for horizontal tax competition in the VAT for a sample of Brazilian states in the period 1985-2001. The states have considerable autonomy to set their VAT rates and bases, often using this tax as an industrial policy tool. The empirical findings, based on the estimation of a tax reaction function in an error-correction set-up, confirm the hypothesis of horizontal tax competition: the states react strongly to changes in their neighbours? VAT code, especially those that belong to the same geo-economic region. Also, there appears to be a Stackelberg leader among the states, with the remaining jurisdictions responding strongly to its policy moves. There is no co-occupancy of tax bases between different levels of government and hence limited scope for vertical externalities in tax setting. But the fact that the federal government shares with the states part of the revenue of its more elastic taxes, such as the income tax, appears to affect the opportunity cost of horizontal tax competition.
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  • 42
    Language: English
    Pages: 51 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.543
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper presents composite indicators of the institutional and policy characteristics of educational systems, collated from the questionnaire responses of 26 Member countries. These indicators provide an overview of the institutional framework in the primary and secondary education sector and are constructed so as to be used for the analysis of international differences in spending efficiency. The key features of the institutional setting in the non-tertiary education sector are grouped under three headings: i) the ability to prioritise and allocate resources efficiently (through decentralisation and mechanisms matching resources to specific needs); ii) the efficiency in managing spending at the local level (through outcome-focused policies and managerial autonomy), and iii) the efficiency in service provision (through benchmarking and user choice). For each country, an intermediate indicator is computed for each of these six institutional properties. Composite indicators then combine the six intermediate indicators of spending efficiency into a single, aggregate measure. Results are presented and some of their implications are discussed. Overall, the characteristics of the institutional framework in the non-tertiary public education sector seem to be very favourable, compared to OECD average, in the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, whereas results are less favourable for the Czech Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, Japan, Turkey, Hungary, Belgium (French speaking community), Switzerland and Austria.
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  • 43
    Language: English
    Pages: 67 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.546
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper assesses the potential to raise public spending efficiency in the primary and secondary education sector. Resource availability per pupil has increased significantly over the past decade in a number of countries; often in attempting to exploit the link between educational attainment and growth. However, available evidence reveals only a weak correlation between increased resource availability and pupil performance. In order to draw cross-country comparisons...
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  • 44
    Language: English
    Pages: 30 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.581
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: There is a large literature on how the sharing of revenue between different levels of government and the design of intergovernmental transfer schemes affect sub-national finances. Using a panel of OECD countries during 1980-2005, this paper tests for: i) the presence of a stable long-run statistical association between changes in transfer receipts and sub-national net worth and ii) the direction of causality between changes in transfer receipts and net worth. The main empirical findings are that, first, there is a stable long-term relationship between transfer receipts and local government net worth for the case of current, but not capital, transfers. An increase in intergovernmental transfer receipts is found to be associated with a modest reduction in the recipient jurisdiction’s net worth over the long term, but a fall in net worth is associated with an almost one-to-one subsequent increase in transfer receipts. Second, the direction of causality is sensitive to the technique used to estimate the long-term parameters. One technique suggests that causality runs from transfers to net worth, which lends support to a large literature on the effect of cost-shifting on sub-national budget outcomes. But causality also appears to run from net worth to transfer receipts, suggesting that transfers may be used as a deficitfinancing tool.
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  • 45
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  Revue économique de l'OCDE Vol. 2005, no. 2, p. 153-197
    ISSN: 1684-3444
    Language: French
    Pages: 56 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Sub-central government fiscal rules
    Titel der Quelle: Revue économique de l'OCDE
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : OCDE, 1998
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2005, no. 2, p. 153-197
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Les règles qui limitent les pouvoirs discrétionnaires des responsables des politiques budgétaires sont aujourd’hui courantes dans les économies de l’OCDE, et le rôle croissant que jouent les institutions décentralisées dans l’offre des services publics a entraîné leur généralisation à l’échelon territorial. Des règles bien conçues permettent de tirer des gains d’efficience de l’autonomie locale tout en facilitant l’assainissement budgétaire, en amortissant les chocs économiques et en répondant aux objectifs de viabilité à long terme des finances publiques, tâches d’autant plus urgentes que, selon les prévisions, les services rendus par les collectivités territoriales seront de plus en plus sollicités du fait du vieillissement de la population.
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  • 46
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD journal: economic studies Vol. 2005, no. 2, p. 141-181
    ISSN: 1995-2856
    Language: English
    Pages: 51 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Les règles budgétaires s'appliquant aux collectivités territoriales
    Titel der Quelle: OECD journal: economic studies
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2008
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2005, no. 2, p. 141-181
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Rules constraining the discretionary powers of budget policymakers have become widespread among OECD economies, and the expanding role played by decentralised institutions in providing public services has led to their increasing adoption at the sub-central level.
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  • 47
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 41 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.533
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: Labour force participation is comparable to the OECD area for prime-age males. It is somewhat lower for females and is trending down for youths as a result of rising school enrolment. The labour market is placing an increasing premium on skills, making it particularly difficult for the less educated to find a job. Labour informality is pervasive and turnover high, especially for the less educated, discouraging investment in labour training and the acquisition of job-related skills, and perpetuating income disparities. The main policy challenge is to improve labour utilisation by reducing informality and fostering human capital accumulation on and off the job. A stable macroeconomy is a pre-condition for reducing unemployment, but a greater focus on activation within the current policy framework would be advisable. To close the remaining gender gap, female labour force participation in full-time jobs could be encouraged by increasing the supply of affordable child care and pre-school education. Labour turnover can be reduced by mitigating the incentives for negotiated separation, which currently arise from the design of severance insurance (FGTS) in the event of unfair dismissal. Skill marketability can be enhanced through the introduction of a national skills certification system, and labour training can become more cost-effective through increased contestability in existing programmes.
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  • 48
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 42 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.531
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: Brazil has made considerable progress in recent years towards consolidating macroeconomic stability, which is a key framework condition for sustained growth. Monetary policy continues to respond swiftly to changes in the inflation outlook, anchoring expectations. Fiscal policy has been guided by debt sustainability considerations, delivering primary budget surpluses that have often exceeded the end-year targets. Nevertheless, while the public debt-to-GDP has been reduced, it remains high, especially in comparison with other emerging-market economies. Brazil?s overarching macroeconomic challenge is therefore to continue to reduce the public debt overhang while improving the quality of fiscal adjustment, which has so far been underpinned by revenue hikes, rather than a retrenchment of expenditure commitments. To do so, measures will need to be taken to arrest the increase in current spending, especially on pensions, paving the way for subsequently removing distortions and reducing the tax burden over the medium to longer term, once the debt-to-GDP ratio has been reduced in a sustainable manner. The favourable domestic macroeconomic environment, with falling inflation and improving growth prospects, appears propitious for reform towards the gradual phasing-out of directed credit and a reduction in compulsory reserve requirements.
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  • 49
    Language: English
    Pages: 29 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.494
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper provides cross-country empirical evidence on the productivity of bank transaction taxes (BTTs). Our data set comprises six Latin American countries that have levied BTTs since the late 1980s: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. We find that, for a given tax rate, revenue declines over time. Therefore, in order to meet a fixed revenue target in real terms, the tax rate needs to be raised repeatedly. However, we also find that successive increases in the tax rate erode the tax base by more than they raise revenue yield and that the higher the increase in the tax rate, the more and faster the tax base is eroded. We conclude that BTTs do not provide a reliable source of revenue, especially over the medium term.
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  • 50
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 34 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.532
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: Brazil's main challenge in innovation policy is to encourage the business sector to engage in productivity-enhancing innovative activities. At 1% of GDP, R&D spending (both public and private) is comparatively low by OECD standards and is carried out predominantly by the government. Most scientists work in public universities and research institutions, rather than in the business sector. Output indicators, such as the number of patents held abroad, suggest that there is much scope for improvement. Academic patenting effort is being stepped up and should be facilitated by the easing of restrictions on the transfer and sharing of proceeds of intellectual property rights between businesses and public universities and research institutions. Innovation policy is beginning to focus on the potential synergies among science and technology promotion, R&D support and trade competitiveness. To be successful in boosting business innovation, these policies will need to be complemented by measures aimed at tackling the shortage of skills in the labour force; this shortage is among the most important deterrents to innovation in Brazil, particularly against the backdrop of a widening gap in tertiary educational attainment with respect to the OECD area.
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  • 51
    Language: English
    Pages: 39 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.485
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: Brazil's fiscal adjustment since the floating of the real in 1999 has been impressive, even in periods of lacklustre growth. This suggests a remarkable fiscal effort to ensure public debt sustainability. To better gauge the magnitude of this adjustment effort, this paper applies the methodology used by the OECD Secretariat to distinguish changes in the fiscal stance that are due to policy action from those that are related to the automatic stabilisers built into the tax code, the social security system and unemployment insurance. The paper's main finding is that discretionary action tends to be essentially pro-cyclical in downturns, underscoring the presence of a strong "sustainability motive" in the conduct of Brazilian fiscal policy. Spending on mandatory items, such as personnel, are pro-cyclical in upturns too, which can create a "ratcheting-up" effect on government spending over time, an issue that will have to be addressed to improve the quality of on-going fiscal adjustment. An increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio by 1 percentage point is associated with a decrease in discretionary federal spending by 0.33 percentage point during 1997-2005. This responsiveness appears to have become stronger after the floating of the real in 1999. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Brazil (www.oecd.org/eco/survey/brazil).
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  • 52
    Language: English
    Pages: 22 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.534
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: This paper reviews the main elements of social security reform in Brazil since 1998 and discusses areas where further policy action is yet to be taken to ensure the sustainability of the social-security system over time. Outlays on pensions paid to private-sector workers have risen as a result of population ageing and the increase in the value of the minimum wage in real terms, to which the minimum pension is linked. Some features of existing social protection programmes, including means-tested old-age and disability-related benefits, reduce the incentives facing workers to seek social security coverage. At the same time, an expansion of the base of contributions to social security has been constrained by widespread labour informality. Further reform will therefore need to focus on options for containing the rise in social security spending while tackling labour informality so as to broaden the base of contributions.
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  • 53
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  Revue économique de l'OCDE Vol. 2003, no. 2, p. 125-184
    ISSN: 1684-3444
    Language: French
    Pages: 70 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Enhancing the Cost Effectiveness of Public Spending: Experience in OECD Countries
    Titel der Quelle: Revue économique de l'OCDE
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : OCDE, 1998
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2003, no. 2, p. 125-184
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Les dépenses publiques en proportion du PIB ont augmenté régulièrement dans la zone OCDE jusqu’au milieu des années 90, mais cette tendance s’est atténuée depuis. L’augmentation des dépenses résultant du développement continu des programmes sociaux a été en partie compensée par des facteurs temporaires ou ponctuels. Cependant, il est probable que les pressions sur les dépenses publiques vont s’intensifier, notamment sous l’effet du vieillissement des populations. Bien que les dépenses publiques aient un rôle à jouer dans la poursuite des grands objectifs...
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  • 54
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 32 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.454
    Keywords: Economics ; Chile
    Abstract: A good framework for investment in innovation can contribute to increasing Chile’s growth potential. Spending on R&D is currently low in relation to GDP and heavily reliant on government financing. Innovation activity in the business sector is also limited by insufficient seed and venture capital and human capital constraints. This is despite several favourable framework conditions, including a stable macro-economy, liberal foreign trade and investment regimes, and reasonably pro-competition regulations in product markets. The government intends to increase public spending on R&D, to be financed by revenue from the mining tax introduced in May 2005, and to create a National Innovation Council. The effectiveness of these measures will depend largely on the extent to which they will boost business-financed innovation consistent with Chile’s comparative advantages. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).
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  • 55
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 48 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.436
    Keywords: Economics ; Spain
    Abstract: In about two decades, Spain was transformed from one of the most centralised countries to one of the most decentralised. Spending functions were devolved rapidly. The regions have exercised their discretionary powers quite extensively and innovative policies have been implemented. But devolution was also accompanied by a hike in public employment and pressures on public spending, reflecting duplication in resources and poor co-ordination across and between government levels. The recent devolution of taxing powers could raise the accountability of the regions and, thus, cost-consciousness, although their effective use has been limited. Securing fiscal discipline would require better information on sub-national governments’ policies and outcomes so as to allow citizens to press for improved performance. The financing system of the regions also needs to be reformed to ensure sustainability in the face of changing demographics, while the fiscal rules need to be upgraded to avoid recourse to off-budget operations. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Spain (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/spain).
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  • 56
    Language: English
    Pages: 30 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.455
    Keywords: Economics ; Chile
    Abstract: Chile’s regulatory framework is working reasonably well. The country’s structural reforms since the 1980s, with the privatisation of utilities and deregulation of product and labour markets, have improved resource allocation and increased the population’s access to basic services, while calling for a comprehensive upgrading of regulatory institutions. At the same time, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are contributing to closing Chile’s infrastructure deficit, particularly in transport. The recurrent cuts in shipments of natural gas from Argentina since 2004 have put additional strain on regulation in the electricity sector to encourage investment in generation and ensure the security of supply. This paper reviews regulatory reform in three network industries (electricity, gas and telecoms), where further liberalisation, particularly in electricity retailing, and improvements in the regulation of telecoms would do much to further improve the business climate. The governance of public-private partnerships can be improved by increasing transparency and accountability in the concession process. In doing so, the government’s exposure to contingent liabilities can be contained. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/chile).
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  • 57
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 28 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.423
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: This paper reviews recent trends in fiscal performance in Brazil, estimates fiscal reaction functions for the consolidated public sector and different levels of government, and tests for the sustainability of the public debt dynamics. The empirical analysis, based on monthly data for the period 1995-2004, suggests that all levels of government react strongly to changes in indebtedness by adjusting their primary budget surplus targets. In addition, the central government appears to follow a spend-and-tax policy: changes in revenue are affected strongly by expenditure, with about two-thirds of changes in primary spending being offset through higher revenue over the long term. Institutions are also found to matter for fiscal sustainability. The responsiveness of sub-national fiscal stance to indebtedness, as well as that of central government revenue to changes in primary spending, appears to have strengthened after 1998, when ceilings on indebtedness were introduced.
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  • 58
    Language: English
    Pages: 49 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.416
    Keywords: Economics ; Japan
    Abstract: Revamping fiscal relations across levels of government is of paramount importance in supporting fiscal consolidation and public sector effectiveness. This paper analyses a number of problems, including regulations that limit local governments’ ability to innovate and respond to local citizens’ preferences, the inefficient system of intergovernmental grants, the complex structure of local taxes and fiscal rules which are too lenient to secure fiscal discipline. The paper concludes that the grant system should be reformed to promote local governments’ incentives to introduce innovations so as to better respond to needs at lower cost. Barriers to the effective use of sub-national governments’ taxing powers should be removed while efforts should be made to keep the tax system as simple and neutral as possible. Existing fiscal rules and market instruments should be hardened. This would require that the central government state clearly that it will not intervene as a lender of last ...
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  • 59
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 27 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.424
    Keywords: Economics ; Brazil
    Abstract: For many years, Brazil lagged behind other middle-income countries in terms of school enrolment rates. But since 1998 policies have aimed at bridging this gap, in particular, with the implementation of FUNDEF, a fund for financing sub-national spending on primary and lower-secondary education. Using state- and municipality-level data during 1991-2002, this paper shows that FUNDEF played a key role in the increase in enrolment rates over the period, particularly in small municipalities, which rely more heavily on transfers from higher levels of government as a source of revenue. These findings underscore the importance of FUNDEF in eliminating supply constraints to the improvement of education attainment. Enrolment rates are now nearly universal for primary and lower-secondary education. Emphasis should therefore be placed on policies to improve the quality of services and to remove supply constraints to the expansion of enrolment in upper-secondary and tertiary education.
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  • 60
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 47 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.453
    Keywords: Economics ; Mexico
    Abstract: Enhanced autonomy of sub-national governments has spurred innovative management. Spending assignments across levels of government, however, often overlap and/or are not yet fully understood by most citizens. Sub-national governments’ accountability is further reduced by the heavy reliance on federal transfers, as opposed to own-revenues (taxes and user fees). In addition, the use of federal transfers as collateral for states' borrowing potentially undermines the role of financial markets in disciplining fiscal behaviour. Getting the most out of decentralisation would thus require a national agreement clarifying responsibilities for each level of government. Improving sub-national governments’ incentives in delivering cost-effective public services would further require improving the quality of information on actual spending and outcomes, raising the volume of their own taxes and reforming the grant systems. Decentralisation should also be more consistent with the aim of improving interregional equity in obtaining access to core public services. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Mexico (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/mexico).
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  • 61
    Language: English
    Pages: 77 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.465
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Against a background of mounting demands for spending on services provided by sub-central governments, this paper examines how fiscal rules can help to ensure that pressure on resources is minimised and available resources are used efficiently. Drawing on questionnaire responses and other sources, this paper gives a detailed picture of fiscal rules for sub-central governments in place among a number of OECD countries. The paper examines the rationales for using fiscal rules, the various impacts fiscal rules can have, the factors making for effective implementation and the interactions between the various types of rule. It then constructs a number of synthetic sub-indicators designed to assess the extent to which sub-central government fiscal frameworks exhibit favourable characteristics for the achievement of fiscal objectives. It concludes with the construction of a composite indicator based on the combined impacts in the different areas of fiscal policy.
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  • 62
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  Revue économique de l'OCDE Vol. 2003, no. 1, p. 169-254
    ISSN: 1684-3444
    Language: French
    Pages: 88 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Fiscal Relations across Government Levels
    Titel der Quelle: Revue économique de l'OCDE
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : OCDE, 1998
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2003, no. 1, p. 169-254
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Le transfert de compétences budgétaires aux collectivités territoriales n'a pas toujours procédé de façon linéaire au cours des deux dernières décennies, malgré certains avantages reconnus. La décentralisation peut contribuer au renforcement du processus démocratique, permettre aux collectivités territoriales d'adapter l'offre de services publics aux préférences locales et introduire de la concurrence entre localités, permettant ainsi d'améliorer l'efficience du secteur public. La décentralisation peut néanmoins générer des pertes d'efficacité, rendre difficile la mise en place de politiques redistributives et compliquer la mise en oeuvre de politiques macroéconomiques cohérentes. Du côté des dépenses, la décentralisation peut être sous-optimale dès lors que sont importants les économies d'échelle et les effets de « spillover » géographique – effets fréquents car peu de biens publics sont des biens purement locaux par nature. Du côté des revenus, rares sont les assiettes fiscales qui peuvent être gérées au niveau local sans risquer de mettre en péril les objectifs nationaux ou de soulever des problèmes sérieux de redistribution. Cet article propose un cadre d'analyse des relations budgétaires entre l'État et les collectivités territoriales en s'appuyant sur les expériences mises en place dans différents ...
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  • 63
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD journal: economic studies Vol. 2003, no. 2, p. 109-161
    ISSN: 1995-2856
    Language: English
    Pages: 55 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Améliorer le rapport coût-efficacité des dépenses publiques : L'expérience des pays de l'OCDE
    Titel der Quelle: OECD journal: economic studies
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2008
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2003, no. 2, p. 109-161
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: In most OECD countries, public spending rose steadily as a share of GDP over the past decades to the mid-1990s, but this trend has since abated. The spending pressures stemming from the continued expansion of social programmes have been partly compensated by transient or one-off factors. Pressures on public spending, however, appear likely to intensify, in particular as a consequence of ageing populations. Since most OECD economies have very little scope for raising taxation or debt to finance higher spending, reforms to curb the growth in public spending while raising its cost effectiveness are now required. Based on detailed country reviews for over two-thirds of OECD countries, this paper identifies three main areas for action: the budget process; management practices; and the use of market mechanisms in the delivery of public services ...
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  • 64
    Language: English
    Pages: 53 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.380
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: In most OECD countries, public spending rose steadily as a share of GDP over the past decades to the mid-1990s, but this trend has since abated. The spending pressures stemming from the continued expansion of social programmes have been partly compensated by transient or one-off factors. Pressures on public spending, however, appear likely to intensify, in particular as a consequence of ageing populations. Since most OECD economies have very little scope for raising taxation or debt to finance higher spending, reforms to curb the growth in public spending while raising its cost effectiveness are now required. This paper presents a reform strategy for progress in this direction, based on detailed country reviews for over twothirds of OECD countries. Three main areas for action are identified: the budget process; management practices and the use of market mechanisms in the delivery of public services ...
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  • 65
    Language: English
    Pages: 39 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.397
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: This paper examines the extent to which fiscal policy actions may be offset by simultaneous, anticipatory changes in private saving, as well as the determinants of that offset. The conditions under which private agents will engage in forward-looking consumption-smoothing behaviour are quite strict and unlikely to hold fully in practice. However, based on a sample of at most 21 OECD countries spanning the period 1970-2002, there is strong evidence of partial, yet substantial, offsetting movements in aggregate private and public saving. The overall offset is estimated at between about one-third and one-half, depending on model specification, and applies both to public consumption and revenue shifts. This is consistent with a marked degree of anticipatory private sector behaviour, insofar as the ex ante saving “leakage” embedded in the pure Keynesian or IS/LM type models would be expected to be smaller and apply only to revenues and transfers. Wealth effects, as in the case of rising equity and housing prices, are found to have an important complementary impact on saving, usually in reinforcing the direct saving offset. Initial conditions, as reflected in debt/GDP ratios are also found to influence the size of the offset.
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  • 66
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD journal: economic studies Vol. 2003, no. 1, p. 155-229
    ISSN: 1995-2856
    Language: English
    Pages: 78 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Les relations financières entre l'État et les collectivités locales
    Titel der Quelle: OECD journal: economic studies
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2008
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2003, no. 1, p. 155-229
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Despite its apparent advantages, devolution of fiscal responsibilities has not proceeded evenly over the past two decades. Decentralisation can strengthen the democratic process, allow governments to tailor the supply of public goods to local preferences and introduce some competition across jurisdictions, thus raising public sector efficiency. It can, however, entail efficiency losses and make it difficult to implement redistributive policies. On the spending side, local provision may fail to exploit economies of scale and internalise territorial spillovers – a serious issue since few public goods are purely local by nature. On the revenue side, few tax bases can be exploited by sub-national governments without risking making national objectives difficult to achieve and raising serious distributive concerns. This paper, which is largely based on country experiences in mitigating the potential drawbacks of decentralisation while obtaining most of its benefits, provides a framework for assessing fiscal relations across levels of government...
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  • 67
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  Revue économique de l'OCDE Vol. 2002, no. 1, p. 97-164
    ISSN: 1684-3444
    Language: French
    Pages: 82 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Tax systems in European Union countries
    Titel der Quelle: Revue économique de l'OCDE
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : OCDE, 1998
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2002, no. 1, p. 97-164
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Malgré les récentes baisses d’impôt, le taux de prélèvement obligatoire de la plupart des pays de l’UE est supérieur à celui observé dans les autres économies. La répartition de la charge fiscale diffère aussi ; les revenus du travail sont lourdement taxés alors que les impôts sur la consommation et ceux dit « verts » représentent une part plus importante des recettes fiscales. Bien que la marge de manœuvre pour réduire les taux de prélèvements obligatoires soit faible en l’absence d’une baisse parallèle des dépenses publiques, un rééquilibrage de la charge fiscale – des revenus du travail vers d’autres assiettes imposables – pourrait contribuer à l’amélioration des performances en matière d’emploi. Une hausse des taxes sur la propriété, qui sont faibles par rapport à la plupart des autres pays de l’OCDE, ainsi qu’un moindre recours à des taux de TVA réduits et à des incitations fiscales généreuses pour certains instruments d’épargne devraient être envisagés. L’expérience des pays de l’Union européenne en matière de réforme fiscale pourrait aussi être riche d’enseignements pour d’autres régions où l’intégration économique s’accroît. En effet, la libre circulation des biens, des personnes et des capitaux à l’intérieur de l’Union européenne, ainsi que le passage à la monnaie unique, ont influencé la conception des systèmes fiscaux nationaux et mis sur le devant de la scène un certain nombre de problèmes de fiscalité internationale.
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  • 68
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    In:  OECD journal: economic studies Vol. 2002, no. 1, p. 91-151
    ISSN: 1995-2856
    Language: English
    Pages: 72 p
    Parallel Title: Parallelausg. Les systèmes fiscaux des pays de l'Union européenne
    Titel der Quelle: OECD journal: economic studies
    Publ. der Quelle: Paris : Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2008
    Angaben zur Quelle: Vol. 2002, no. 1, p. 91-151
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Despite recent cuts, the tax-to-GDP ratio in most EU countries remains much higher than in other economies. The tax mix is also different, with high tax wedges on labour and a stronger reliance on consumption and environmentally related taxes. While there is not much room for cutting taxes significantly without downsizing public spending, further re-balancing the tax burden away from labour could contribute to better employment performance. Greater reliance on property taxes, which are low by international standards, less use of reduced VAT rates and tax incentives targeted to specific saving vehicles should be considered. EU countries’ experience in reforming their tax system may also provide useful insights for other regions where international integration is deepening. The free movement of goods, people and capital within the EU area, combined with the advent of the single currency, has also affected the design of national tax systems and has brought to the fore a number of international taxation issues.
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  • 69
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 64 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.375
    Keywords: Economics
    Abstract: Despite its apparent advantages, devolution of fiscal responsibilities has not proceeded evenly over the past two decades. Decentralisation can strengthen the democratic process, allow governments to tailor the supply of public goods to local preferences and introduce some competition across jurisdictions, thus raising public sector efficiency. It can, however, entail efficiency losses, and make it difficult to implement redistributive policies and complicate macroeconomic management. On the spending side, local provision may fail to exploit economies of scale and internalise territorial spillovers -- a serious issue since few public goods are purely local by nature. On the revenue side, few tax bases can be exploited by subnational governments without risking making national objectives difficult to achieve and raising serious distributive concerns. This paper, which is largely based on country experiences in mitigating the potential drawbacks of decentralisation while obtaining ...
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  • 70
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 54 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.343
    Keywords: Economics ; Norway
    Abstract: Public spending is very high in Norway, partly reflecting an extensive coverage of the welfare system and ambitious regional development objectives. Moreover, several institutional features contribute to dampening the cost-effectiveness of many public-spending programmes. Abundant oil revenues have so far mitigated strains on public finance. However, coping with the depletion of oil resources and the fiscal consequences of ageing would require to increase the cost-effectiveness of many public spending programmes, while leaving some room to cut the high tax-to-GDP ratio. This paper identifies the main sources of inefficiencies and suggests policy options. These include: supplementing the existing deficit rule by an expenditure rule; increasing flexibility in public sector wages and job tenure; reforming the funding system of local governments; raising the contestability of public service provision; intensifying the use of price signals and improving incentives to reduce the ...
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  • 71
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 45 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.332
    Keywords: Economics ; Switzerland
    Abstract: Switzerland is a highly decentralised country with large spending and revenue-raising powers devolved to cantons and municipalities. The federal system, in combination with an extensive use of direct democracy, has contributed to keep public spending at a relatively low level in international comparison. It has also made it possible to tailor the provision of public services to citizens’ needs and willingness to pay and to experiment with a variety of policies. At the same time, several tensions have emerged and effective control of spending deteriorated during the 1990s. After identifying these tensions, this paper reviews recent policy initiatives and proposes options for further enhancing public spending effectiveness. These entail implementing a new fiscal rule which will allow the free play of the automatic stabilisers at the federal level and ensuring its consistency with other government levels’ behaviour; increasing transparency in public spending costs and ...
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  • 72
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 53 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.319
    Keywords: Economics ; Finland
    Abstract: This paper reviews the Finnish tax system and the scope for further tax reform. Finland is among the most egalitarian countries in the OECD and a high tax burden is required to finance the associated public spending. Nevertheless, capital and corporate income taxation was substantially and effectively reformed in the early 1990s, through significant rate cuts cum base broadening measures. But, despite income tax cuts since the mid-1990s, high taxes, especially on labour income, still hamper growth potential and distort economic behaviour. In this respect, the poor performance of the Finnish labour market is revealing. Tax reforms have a major role to play in improving the long-term performance of the Finnish economy. Though the scope is limited, the tax burden should be shifted as much as possible from labour to property and consumption, while the earned-income tax allowance should play a smaller role, enabling cuts in statutory rates. Redesigning social security contributions to ...
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  • 73
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 57 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.301
    Keywords: Economics ; European Union
    Abstract: The tax-to-GDP ratio rose steadily in most EU countries up to the late 1990s, largely reflecting a sustained expansion of public sector commitments to welfare provision. Since the late 1990s, many EU countries have cut tax rates. However, the tax burden in the EU area remains much higher than in most other economies. The tax mix is also different, with high tax wedges on labour and a stronger reliance on consumption and environmentally-related taxes. Recent measures targeted at lowering the tax burden on labour, in particular at the lower end of the income scale, have had promising results in terms of employment growth, showing how tax design is an important influence on countries’ performances. While there is not much room for cutting taxes significantly without downsizing public spending, further rebalancing the tax burden away from labour could contribute to better employment performance. Greater reliance on property taxes, which are low by international standards, could be ...
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  • 74
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 64 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.249
    Keywords: Economics ; Spain
    Abstract: The recent tax reforms have improved incentives to work and removed barriers to the internationalisation of Spanish firms, and have helped to make the tax system simpler and more neutral, especially as regards saving. However, the structure of tax wedges, combined with significant labour market rigidities, continues to inhibit job creation, and particularly job creation for the unskilled. Furthermore, certain tax privileges, in particular incentives favouring owner-occupied housing, and the multiplicity of tax rates and systems applying to business profits, hamper economic efficiency and/or weaken income redistribution. Also, while the territorial authorities’ taxing powers have been increased considerably since 1997, they remain modest by comparison with their prerogatives as regards spending. The absence of adequate mechanism for controlling expenditure at the territorial level, plus the tax revenue guarantees extended to the regions by central government, could jeopardize ...
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  • 75
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    Paris : OECD Publishing
    Language: English
    Pages: 67 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Economics Department Working Papers no.214
    Keywords: Economics ; Greece
    Abstract: A successful reform of public enterprises would improve productivity in key sectors of the Greek economy, and thus provide essential inputs at lower cost to the economy as a whole. Reforms would need to address the factors that are responsible for the poor performance of Greek public enterprises. First, labour costs are high and productivity low in international comparisons. Second, there are wide technology gaps between Greece and other OECD countries. Third, Greece’s public enterprises fulfil heavy public service commitments without matching compensation. As a result, prices are often out of line with prices elsewhere. In recognition of the large drag on the economy, as well as the burden on the budget, the Government has embarked on a programme to revitalise inefficient public enterprises. The objective of this paper is to analyse the main issues concerning the public enterprise sector and assess the current policy framework, as well as planned changes to it. First, the key ...
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  • 76
    Language: English
    Pages: 83 p. , 21 x 29.7cm
    Series Statement: OECD Development Centre Working Papers no.77
    Keywords: Development ; Eswatini ; Niger
    Abstract: This Technical Paper presents the results of research on the impact of taxation and other regulations on micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in two countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The fiscal and other regulations of the countries studied — Niger and Swaziland — and their administrative systems are quite different. Based on approximately similar samples of enterprises from the two countries, this study estimated and compared the level of compliance with these different legal requirements, and also ascertained their consequences for the functioning and growth of these enterprises. The research revealed that the MSEs of the two countries do not comply with all the applicable regulations. The level of compliance itself depended more on the type of regulation and characteristics of the MSEs studied than on the country. It appears that the proportion of MSEs that are registered was nearly identical in the two countries, while differences depend primarily on location (rural versus urban) ...
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