Overview

In a multi-level government system institutional legacy and the assignment of roles and responsibilities between the federal and the subnational governments create imbalances. These imbalances in economic terms are a result of a mismatch between revenue-raising capacity and the spending responsibilities of the different levels of the government. Intergovernmental Transfers in Federations presents a synthesis of recent international experience of large federations in addressing the most fundamental issues of horizontal and vertical imbalances through the prism of intergovernmental transfers. It compares mature federal systems and the maturing federations of the world. Contributors delve into the various aspects of policymaking as well as policy choices in selecting an efficiency path for a meaningful fiscal devolution aimed at integrating performance and incentives to reach an expenditure mix that facilitates better service delivery. Chapters include empirical, theoretical and methodological contributions as well as case studies that illustrate important policy or methodological lessons for future work. This collection is essential reading for researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students wishing to understand the choices made by different countries in response to the overarching principles of needs, equity and efficiency for sharing of resources.

Full Product Details

Author:   Serdar Yilmaz ,  Farah Zahir
Publisher:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Imprint:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
ISBN:  

9781789900842

ISBN 10:   1789900840
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   14 January 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Contents: Foreword by Richard Bird xiii 1 Introduction to the volume 1 Serdar Yilmaz and Farah Zahir PART I CONCEPTUAL ISSUES 2 The architecture of intergovernmental transfers: principles and practice in low- and middle-income countries 7 Roy W. Bahl Jr 3 Issues in intergovernmental fiscal transfers: public finance and political economy considerations 21 Serdar Yilmaz and Farah Zahir 4 The practice of fiscal equalization: a political economy clarification 41 Bernard Dafflon and Francois Vaillancourt PART II INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS IN MATURE FEDERATIONS 5 The German model of addressing vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances 64 Paul B. Spahn 6 The United States grant system 86 Howard A. Chernick 7 Federal finance arrangements in Canada: the challenges of fiscal imbalance and natural resource rents 109 Marcelin Joanis and Fran.ois Vaillancourt 8 Revenue and expenditure needs equalization: the Swiss answer 134 Bernard Dafflon 9 Intergovernmental fiscal relations in Australia 163 Bob Searle 10 The economic impacts of horizontal fiscal equalization as practised in Australia 185 Jonathan Coppel PART III INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS IN EVOLVING FEDERATIONS 11 Intergovernmental fiscal transfers and performance grants in Brazil 204 Deborah L. Wetzel and Lorena Vinuela 12 Intergovernmental fiscal transfer system in Argentina: historical evolution, current performance and reform options to promote efficiency, equity and transparency 224 Marco Larizza and Julian Folgar 13 Evolving role of the Finance Commissions in India in the last 25 years 248 Farah Zahir 14 Emerging trends in fiscal transfer systems in selected federations: implications for India 275 Jorge Martinez-Vazquez PART IV INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS IN UNITARY FEDERATIONS 15 Intergovernmental fiscal transfers in Kenya: the evolution of revenue sharing under new devolution in a quasi-federal system 296 Jamie Boex and Paul Smoke 16 Reforming vertical programmes: the case of South African local government 323 David Savage Index 345

Reviews

'This excellent volume brings together most of the world's leading experts on intergovernmental fiscal relations. They provide important contributions to both the conceptual and practical literature on the design of intergovernmental transfers. Building on three insightful discussions of the principles of effective transfer design, the volume contains a dozen in-depth descriptions and critical analyses of grant systems in mature federations, evolving federations, and multi-level unitary governments. Policymakers, scholars, and students will all profit from the lessons about the design of intergovernmental transfers provided in this timely volume.' -- Andrew Reschovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison US 'When it comes to designing intergovernmental transfers in a federation, there is no one model that stands above the rest. This book clearly illustrates this point with case studies from ten mature and maturing federations, written by leading scholars. Even though transfers differ across countries, there are important lessons to be learned from these case studies. For policy makers, researchers, and practitioners interested in understanding the theoretical considerations in designing transfers, what works and what does not work, and how to design a better system, this book is essential reading.' -- Enid Slack, University of Toronto, Canada

Author Information

Edited by Serdar Yilmaz, Lead Public Sector Specialist and Farah Zahir, Senior Economist, Governance Global Practice, The World Bank

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