The authors examine how institutional arrangements affect incentives that govern the size, allocation, and use of budgetary resources. They use a diagnostic questionnaire to elicit the relative strengths and weaknesses of specific systems in terms of instilling fiscal discipline, strategically...

The author aims to empirically determine the significant factors that affect the levels of budget deficits of central governments across time and across countries. He empirically tests two prominent theories of budget deficits-the Barro (1979) tax-smoothing approach, and the still-untested...

Thirty years ago, in 1974, Chile launched the first large-scale privatization in a developing country. About 15 years later, Argentina provided a new model of global infrastructure management. Since then a variety of public-private partnerships in infrastructure have been adopted throughout the...

The authors propose four economic principles for use in deciding taxing responsibilities for various levels of government. These are: 1) efficiency of the internal common market - for efficiency in internal common market, taxes on mobile factors and tradable goods should either be assigned to...

The objectives of a public sector management program should be to use resources more efficiently rationalize public sector operations and reduce financial disequilibrium. This report presents a comprehensive policy program to improve public finances in Honduras. It recommends that Honduran...

This paper has two broad objectives. The first is the examination of the trends in the size and structure of earmarking since 1970, illuminating the major changes and their causes. The second is an evaluation of the major examples of earmarking with a view toward making recommendations for...

The author estimates empirically the degree to which the tax systems of both home and host countries affect foreign direct investment (FDI). He presents evidence that tax rules significantly affect capital flow fromFDI. Home country taxes in particular appear to significantly affect the behavior...

Facing runaway inflation and budget discipline problems in the early 1990s, the Zambian government introduced the so-called cash budget in which government domestic spending is limited to domestic revenue, leaving no room for excess spending. The authors review Zambia's experience during the...

That free trade allows economies in an ideal world to achieve the greatest possible welfare is one of the few undisputed propositions in economics. In reality, however, free trade is rare. The author argues that many developing countries intervene in trade at least partly to raise revenues, and...

In New Zealand in the next 50 years, an aging population is expected to elevate government liabilities and weaken the government's fiscal position. To maintain fiscal balance, the government must either substantially pre-fund future increases in its liabilities or significantly raise taxes in...