This Handbook explores and explains new developments in the "second generation" theory of public finance, in which benevolent rulers and governments have been replaced by personally motivated politicians and the associated institutions. In other words, the normative approach has largely given...

Although oil windfalls have opened a window of opportunity for the Gulf States, at the same time they have created numerous problems. In particular, the uncertainty associated with periods of boom and bust in the oil market has made the formulation and implementation of sound fiscal policies a...

There is increasing interest in fiscal decentralization in Peru as a mechanism to generate more involved decision-making at the subnational level. This is tempered with a continuing emphasis on overall fiscal stability. However, considerable work needs to be undertaken to define more clearly...

The reform of fiscal relations between different levels of geovernment is crucial to the success of China's current structural transformation to a socialist market economy. The reform will profoundly affect macroeconomic stability, growth prospects , and the effectiveness of providing public...