Public Finance Theory

Class Analysis of an Indian Budget

by Abhishek Shaw

Dissertation submitted to the Department of Economics,
University of Hyderabad in partial fulfillment of Integrated Master of Arts (Economics), March 2011

Freud, efficiency and pragmatism

by Patricia Shields

Published in Society. 1989. Jan/Feb. Vol.26.pp.67-72.

This article enters the worlds of the social worker (Freud), economist (efficiency) and public administrator... more This article enters the worlds of the social worker (Freud), economist (efficiency) and public administrator (Pragmatism) and explores them through the mechanism of public pricing or user fees. The point is to capture the language and values of each and to show how they differ. Social work looks to Freud for guidance. Clients get better if they pay an appropriate amount. Economists see user fees as a price a key mechanism of efficiency. Public administrators need to pay the bills and view fees as a revenue source.

Controlling local government expenditures

by Patricia Shields

Published in the Handbook of Governmental Accounting and Finance (2nd edition). 1992. L. Crumbly and N. Apostulo editors.

This chapter examines privatization as a method of expenditure control. The philosophical underpinnings of... more This chapter examines privatization as a method of expenditure control. The philosophical underpinnings of privatization are explored. Techniques of privatization )load shedding, contracting, franchising, self-help and volunteers) are introduced and assessed. Special attention is paid to issues surrounding contract monitoring.

Public Pricing: One Answer to the Human Service Fiscal Dilemma

by Patricia Shields

Published in the New England Journal of Human Services 1981 1(3): 18-24

Public Pricing is a generic term referring to "fee for services" or "user charges." Advocates of... more Public Pricing is a generic term referring to "fee for services" or "user charges." Advocates of public pricing as a substitute for and supplement to taxation or grants claim it increased both efficiency and equity in the allocation of goods and services for public purposes. Furthermore, a pricing mechanism is particularly suited to human services that are provided at the local level. Critics, however, claim fees are regressive, placing a disproportionate burden on the poor. This paper acquaints the reader with the advantages and limitations of public pricing. The equity problems is discussed and alternative pricing schemes that take income differences into account are evaluated..

Assessing Economic Development Incentives: Central Texas City: Managers Perspectives

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Lester, Nina, "Assessing Economic Development Incentives: Central Texas City: Managers Perspectives" (2005). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 6.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/6

Purpose: This study is an assessment of economic development incentives. Economic development is a staple in the... more Purpose: This study is an assessment of economic development incentives. Economic development is a staple in the growth of municipalities, and the use of incentives continues to grow in popularity. Existing literature on economic development and incentives often cites that the downfall of the literature is its failure to judge a program’s ability to effectively meet their goals. As such, the purpose of this research is threefold: (1) literature identifies the four major goals of economic development (attract target industry, employment opportunities, increase tax revenue, and increase economic activity) and the four most commonly used incentives (tax abatement, tax increment financing, industrial development revenue bonds, and loan guarantees), (2) a connection is drawn between the goals of economic development and how they act as adequate criteria to assess the success of an incentive, (3) the perspectives of Central Texas City Managers assist in assessing the success of incentives in achieving the goals of economic development through this connection.

Methods: To satisfy the research purposes, a survey instrument was developed from the conceptual framework (descriptive categories). These surveys were administered to Texas City Managers in Texas City Management Association (TCMA) Regions seven and eight. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results.

Findings: The data provides evidence that all incentives are considered to be successful in meeting the goals of economic development. Some incentives, however, were identified to be more successful or favored for particular goals. Based on the results of the survey, it is concluded that Tax Abatement can be accurately ranked as the most successful incentive in meeting all four economic development goals.

Applying Pragmatism to Public Budgeting and Financial Management

by Patricia Shields

Co-authored with John Bartle.
Presented at the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management Conference, October 24, 2008, Chicago, Illinois.

Pragmatism is a philosophy that emphasizes learning through action and building a knowledge base from experience and... more Pragmatism is a philosophy that emphasizes learning through action and building a knowledge base from experience and reflection. It is a potentially compelling approach for public budgeting and financial management. The largely normative theories of public finance, public financial management and public budgeting are examined and critiqued. We do not seek to abandon these valuable contributions to practice, however they often fail to describe and explain the practices of the field. In some cases, the norms prescribed may not be shared by government officials and citizens, and thus the management or policy prescription become unhelpful. We believe theory should guide practice, but theory must also be informed by practice. We seek to establish a better basis to understand the structure and evolution of government budgeting and finance, and to help practitioners face difficult situations that call for workable solutions.
The classical pragmatism of Charles Sanders Peirce, John Dewey, William James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Jane Addams is presented and applied to the theories of public finance, budgeting and financial management. Pragmatism focuses on inquiry and the problematic situation. Theories are viewed as tools to resolve the problematic situation. And, just as there are often many tools used to approach a problematic situation, there are many theories that, like tools or maps, are judged by their usefulness. This orientation makes sense for financial management because like all managers, they are focused on solutions to problems and cannot be wedded to academic theories to guide their action when the elected officials and citizens they serve need a solution.

Beyond Gaps and Imbalances: Restructuring the debate on Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations

by Chanchal Sharma

Published in : PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (WILEY-Blackwell) 2011 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01947.x/abstract

How do we know whether a country suffers from vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI)? What should be done about it? Academic... more How do we know whether a country suffers from vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI)? What should be done about it? Academic appreciation of these issues in general, and the nature of political behaviour in particular, both have major implications for the way federations are fiscally structured. While the latter clearly is a problem of political negotiations, our focus is on the former, that is, conceptual clarity, which precedes meaningful negotiations. Thus, the paper aims to clarify the multiple usages of the symbolically loaded terms VFI and VFG (vertical fiscal gap) by critically engaging the fundamental assumptions and premises underlying these ostensibly similar notions. It proposes an alternative conceptual framework and introduces the concepts of vertical fiscal asymmetry (VFA) and vertical fiscal difference (VFD) that have the potential to better structure public debate on issues of vertical fiscal relations and stimulate a sensible appreciation of the problem and possible remedies.