This article examines the principles behind recent reforms in local government finance in Scottish local government. It is argued that whilst the local tax reform has been implemented relatively smoothly, the other reforms which accompanied it have been more problematic. In particular the switch from selective to universal capping has resulted in the unintended consequence of previous 'underspenders' spending much closer to their centrally determined level. Accountability has also become increasingly blurred due to increased local dependence on grant. The large mismatches between Government Assessed Expenditure levels and notional budgets have clouded the picture still further.
AbstractInstitutional design balances the costs and benefits of dictatorship and disorder. Democracy can be efficient if it improves the performance of government. Yet, sometimes authoritarian governments can be efficient if they reduce disorder. We show that democratisation has a non-linear effect on income-adjusted perceptions of government effectiveness. These findings present a new opportunity to revisit the study of government performance for researchers working in public administration and political science.
Local government is the subject of official review. This paper suggests that any review of the system of local government should consider at the outset the purposes or values which provide the rationale for local government, and should examine how the institutional framework and prevailing organizational practices promote or hinder achievement of those values. The values of local government as traditionally understood are summarized and aspects of the institutional framework and organizational practices are explored.
Concepts statement No. 1 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Objectives of financial Reporting, elaborates how governmental financial reporting is supposed to support the accountability relationship between governments & citizens. Within that context, this article explores the degree to which GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements -- and Management's Discussion and Analysis -- for State and Local Governments, serves the accountability needs of citizens & their governments. Although the new financial statements should help local governments lay the groundwork to better & more fully meet those needs, some objectives nevertheless remain unfulfilled under these guidelines. 3 Tables, 12 References. Adapted from the source document.
PurposeUnderstanding how value is actually generated in e‐government projects is one of the most challenging, and relevant, issues in e‐government research. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of service‐based information technology (IT) integration for generating value in the public sector, proposing a theoretical framework based on the theory of IT conversion effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe paper illustrates this novel approach to electronic government evaluation with an exploratory case study of a service‐based IT integration project developed by the City of Genoa, showing how and why IT integration can substantially contribute to value generation in the public sector.FindingsContrarily to what one would expect according to the original theory of IT conversion effectiveness, value generation may happen even with no substantial growth in the pre‐existing IT asset portfolio. In fact, what is truly important is not only the availability of IT assets (policy output), but also their proper use (policy outcome) and their final effects on policy takers (policy impact). The case study shows how a low‐cost and small IT integration project based on agile information system development practices can significantly leverage the legacy systems, enhancing the overall degree of IT conversion effectiveness (first stage), with expected positive effects on policy outcomes (second stage) and policy impacts (third stage). The enabling effect of the web services technology has a central role in the overall value generation process.Originality/valueWhile addressing a literature void in the context of public sector, this theoretical approach is substantial as it can be used to evaluate and maximize the value generated by e‐government projects, with a special focus on service‐based IT integration projects.
Since 1970, state and local governments have experienced two "insurance crises;" the first occurred in the mid‐ to late‐1970s and the second in the mid‐80s. The result has been a twenty‐year period of time in which state and local governments have been able to afford insurance only intermittently‐if insurance has been available at all. In response to this problem, local governments, government associations, and state governments created alternative risk‐finartcing mechanisms to provide coverage for themselves. These mechanisms, commonly referred to as self‐insurance pools, enable local governments within a state to pool together risks and resources to finance the costs of fortuitous losses. In 1988, the first comprehensive examination of pooling practices was undertaken through a nationwide survey. This article reports the findings from the first follow‐up study since the 1988 survey and further extends knowledge of pooling and pooling practices.
It is widely recognized that in the management of employee pay, there is a definite divide between government and the private sector. The immediate question comes to mind: "How is performance-related pay working in government?" A closer look provides insight on the kind of challenges governments are facing in getting this process working. It is obvious that they need to, as this pay philosophy is not working as it should or could. A proper analysis of the current scenario would pave the way to a much improved performance-related pay structure in government as a whole. It is clear that the link to performance management is of critical importance. Should governments and the private sector alike not start to learn from each other, instead of adopting the "we are better and different than you philosophy?" It is all one economy in each country with two major role players, of which government is a significant stakeholder. It is hoped that this article will assist senior government officials in establishing that closer link between performance and pay.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the incentive effects taxes versus pollution permits for a revenue maximizing government that also pursues environmental objectives. In our model, pollution pollution permits are analyzed as durable goods, and the leasing of pollution permits is seen as an equivalent to a pollution tax. We show that environmental policy based on durable pollution permits can be welfare superior to a pollution tax regime. The intuition is that a monopolistic government would, in order to maximize its revenues, try to restrict the permit sales below the welfare maximizing level. While a pollution tax or leasing charge allows the government to credibly commit to a monopoly level of pollution in futzre periods, a system based on durable permits weakens the monopolistic government's ability to credibly restrict future sales. Therefore, a pollution tax regime may be better for the environment and simultaneously increase Government revenues, but social welfare is larger with pollutioin permits. Hence, a regime welfare where the government cannot commit to monopoly quantaties may be preferable from a welfare economic perspective. This argument in favor of durable permits complements more traditional arguments based on information asymmetries and innovation incentives.
The First Complete Contracting Reference/ Textbook for State and Local AgenciesFederal contracting officials have a comprehensive resource in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to guide them through the arduous contracting process; however, until now there has been no such counterpart for state and local government agencies. Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies is the first reference book of its kind specifically designed to provide state and local administrators with a concise authoritative resource on contracting for services. Draws from the best features of.
Chinese government publications constitute a significantly large portion of print and digital information output in China. This material genre is critical to the operation of the country, to people's lives, and therefore, is important to research and scholarly work. Overseas scholars rely heavily on libraries to access and use Chinese government publications, however, collecting this type of materials has been a challenge since the scope of Chinese government publications has not been clear, and the collecting channels have been limited. This paper intends to discuss the scope of Chinese government publications, its availability in digital format, the types of publications library normally collects, and opportunities and challenges in collecting them.
