Mexico has experimented with several tax instruments designed to promote private capital formation. Among such initiatives were general and industry-specific tax credits, employment tax credits, and corporate tax credits. The authors examine relative efficacy of such instruments using a dynamic...

The authors review experiences with fiscal federalism in industrial countries and present a framework for a reform of fiscal systems in developing and transition economies. They indicate how the benefits of decentralized decisionmaking in a federal system can be achieved in a manner consistent...

Regional disparities present an ever present development challenge in most countries, especially those with large geographic areas under their jurisdiction. A neglect of these inequities may create the potential for disunity and, in extreme cases, for disintegration. In view of this, most...

Tax sensitivity of foreign direct investment (FDI) has important policy implications. If FDI is not responsive to taxation, then it may be an appropriate target for taxation by the host country, which can raise revenue without sacrificing any economic benefits FDI produces. This paper examines...

The authors contend that in evaluating and designing investment incentives in developing economies, analysts should consider their effect on: the marginal effective tax rate (METR). Even simple tax incentives can perversely affect the METR. Many schemes have relatively generous write-offs to...

Despite decades of studies, tax incidence analyses for developing countries continue to be based on the same shifting assumptions used in developed country studies - despite obvious pitfalls. Taxes are assumed to be shifted forward to consumers or backward onto factor incomes. Developing...

This paper specifies a microeconomic model to estimate the impact of investment in public infrastructure on private industrial profitability. Empirical results based on time series data for 34 industries characterize the Mexican industrial structure as having involuntary unemployment, deficient...

Tax policy instruments are often used to stimulate private investment in developing countries. But researchers have not explored how well such policies have met stated policy objectives. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tax incentives for industrial and technological development, the...

A resurgence of recent interest in fiscal federalism has been a source of concern among macroeconomic stabilization experts. They argue that a decentralized fiscal system poses a threat to macroeconomic stability as it is incompatible with prudent monetary and fiscal management. The author...

The authors provide an empirical framework for assessing the effects of tax policy on an array of producer decisions about output supplies and input demands in Mexico, Pakistan, and Turkey. They specify and estimate a dynamic production structure model with imperfect competition for selected...