Most countries exhibit large and persistent geographical differences in wages, income and unemployment rates. A growing class of "place based" policies attempt to address these differences through public investments and subsidies that target disadvantaged neighborhoods, cities or regions. Place...

This paper aims at giving a theoretical background to the, some- times observed, puzzling inverse correlation between the degree of de- centralization and economic growth. We provide evidence that there is some interaction between decentralization and corruption in ex- plaining growth. Within an...

Fiscal decentralization has been a fundamental aspect of China's transition to a market economy; and the country has made substantial efforts to break down its highly centralized fiscal management system with various forms of fiscal contracting systems (1978-1993) and later a tax sharing system...

This paper sheds light on the heavy financial burden on peasants in China's fiscal decentralization system. Using a political economy framework, this paper explores the tax-farming nature of China's fiscally decentralized system and examines why the system incurs a particularly heavy financial...

The article examines transfers between regions via the central government budget, referring essentially to the regional household accounts published by the National Accounts Institute. It examines only the aspects concerning allocation between the regions of that part of government revenue and...

Based on the conceptual framework developed by the European Commission for linking the quality of public finances and economic growth, this study examines empirically the key channels through which fiscal policy impacts economic growth in the Mediterranean partner countries of the EU. The...

This paper sheds light on the heavy financial burden on peasants in China's fiscal decentralization system. Using a political economy framework, this paper explores the tax-farming nature of China's fiscally decentralized system and examines why the system incurs a particularly heavy financial...

Until the early 1990s, the discussions on fiscal policy primarily centered on the functions of economic stabilization, income redistribution and resource allocation. Long-term growth was not usually viewed as an end itself, and fiscal policy was often not sufficiently tailored to the different...

This paper aims at giving a theoretical background to the, some- times observed, puzzling inverse correlation between the degree of de- centralization and economic growth. We provide evidence that there is some interaction between decentralization and corruption in ex- plaining growth. Within an...

This paper describes briefly the different forms of equalization, principally focusing on the distinction between revenue equalization versus cost equalization. In addition, some international country case studies from Australia, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland are presented. Based on these...