Suchergebnisse

The collection of taxes, in any economic system, clearly requires the use of resources. In modern democratic states tax legislation is almost always controversial, and subject to extensive lobbying. In developing counties the wealthy often successfully avoid payment of taxes and the burden has to be borne by relatively impoverished rural classes, who are themselves not easy to tax directly because of poor record -keeping and difficulty of communications. In earlier times kings and princes often lacked the necessary means of direct taxation and were forced to rely on decentralized institutions such as feudalism. To convince the skeptical reader that the issue of tax-collection costs is neither trivial nor obvious, we pose the following question. What is the effect of greater efficiency in tax collection on the welfare of the tax-paying public? If the government is benign, taxing only to defray socially necessary public expenditure, a reduction in the costs of collecting these minimal taxes would clearly be a 'good thing'. What, however, if the state is inherently "predatory" in nature, as argued by Brennan and Buchanan (1980) and a number of others? In this case the state taxes not only to pay for public services but also to raise revenue for its own, possibly nefarious, purposes. Would an increase in the efficiency if tax-collection be undesirable under this alternative scenario?

The objectives of government are pivotal to understanding the diverse negative effects of corruption on public welfare. Corruption renders governments unable or unwilling to maximize welfare. In the first case, it distorts agents' decisions and limits the contractual space available to agents and the government, acting as a benevolent principal. In the second case, a corrupt principal creates allocative inefficiencies, cripples its credible commitment to effective policies, and opens the door to opportunism.

What are the welfare effects of enhanced disclosures of public information - Is it always the case, that frequent and timely publication of economic statistics by government agencies and the central bank are desirable - This question has become one of several interlinked strands of debate on the desirability of transparency in hte conduct of monetary policy. Here we put to the test the presumption that greater disclosures of public information is always welfare enhancing. We examine the impact of public information in a setting where a principal provides public information to private sector agents. The principal's interest is in inducing the agents to take actions that are appropriate to the fundamentals. The agents, too, are motivated to take actions appropriate to the underlying state, but they also have a coordination motive arising from a strategic complementarity in their actions. When there is perfect information concerning the underlying state, there is no conflict of interest between the principal and the agents. However, when there is imperfect information, the welfare effects of increased public disclosures is more equivocal. ; Welche Wohlfahrtseffekte hat eine größere Publizität öffentlicher Informationen? Ist die häufige und zeitnahe Veröffentlichung von Wirtschaftsstatistiken durch Regierungsstellen und die Zentralbank immer wünschenswert? Diese Frage zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch die Diskussion über das Thema, inwieweit Transparenz bei der Durchführung der Geldpolitik wünschenswert ist. Wir prüfen die These, dass eine verbesserte Publizität öffentlicher Informationen stets wohlfahrtssteigernd ist. Wir wollen im Rahmen eines Modells, bei dem der Prinzipal (Zentralbank) Informationen an die Akteure im privaten Sektor gibt herausfinden, wie öffentliche Informationen wirken. Der Informationsgeber möchte bewirken, dass die Akteure den wirtschaftlichen Grunddaten entsprechend handeln. Die Akteure sind ihrerseits auch daran interessiert, ihr Handeln an den grundlegenden Bedingungen zu orientieren, aber sie sind auch auf Koordination bedacht, da sich ihre Handlungen aus strategischen Gründen gegenseitig ergänzen müssen. Bei vollkommener Information über die Grundbedingungen besteht kein Interessenkonflikt zwischen Informationsgeber und Akteuren. Bei unvollkommener Information hingegen sind die Wohlfahrtseffekte einer größeren Publizität öffentlicher Informationen weniger eindeutig.

Many large-scale, ongoing welfare research projects will release interim or final reports in 1999. In addition, the federal government is funding studies about different populations and programs that, in general, have not been the subject of welfare research. This article describes: © Recent findings from some of the large-scale welfare waiver experiments and major national research efforts; © Relatively new federally-funded research projects; and © The evaluations that expect to release final reports in 1999. This research is contributing to an extensive body of knowledge about the effects of the welfare waiver programs initiated in the early 1990's, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), and related social policies. The Research Forum is currently keeping track of these and other research projects. Of the 43 large-scale research projects in the Research Forum's on-line database, 27 have impact studies (20 of which are controlled experiments). Also included are implementation studies (some of which relate to the impact research), child outcomes studies embedded in larger impact studies, and policy analyses. Many smaller projects are also underway. Summaries of the 43 large-scale projects and 60 small-scale projects, names of individuals to contact for additional project information, and existing and forthcoming publications are all accessible at the Forum's web site: www.researchforum.org.

Shipping list no.: 2005-0093-P. ; "Contract # 282-98-0016 (TO # 34)." ; "Prepared for Julia Isaacs, DHHS/ASPE; prepared by the Lewin Group, Rockefeller Institute of Government." ; "August 2004." ; Mode of access: Internet.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-368) and indexes. ; al.] -- ; Mode of access: Internet.

This paper explores the impact of the race of individual clients and of the local racial context on the implementation of sanctions for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in a Midwestern state. We find that although nonwhites are sanctioned at lower rates than whites overall, nonwhites are sanctioned more compared to whites in each local area. This paradox occurs because nonwhites tend to live in areas with lower sanction rates. Consistent with the literature on race and policy, we find that sanction rates increase as the nonwhite population increases until a threshold is reached where nonwhites gain political power.

Bibliography: leaves 105-111. ; The study set out to establish the extent to which the needs of Community's were taken into consideration in the formulation of Social Welfare Policy. The Structure in the Government service is such that Policy's are formulated by top management. Top management in the Government Service is constituted by the Ministry. When the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly sits the Minister at one of these sessions delivers the policy speech. This policy is disseminated to the Community through the Department's Secretary by the Civil Servants. As Social Workers are concerned in their delivery of Social Welfare Services about minimising problematic situations, the study will examine the role played by Social Workers in the formulation of Social Welfare Policy. The involvement of Social Workers in policy formulation is seen as a helpful tool in enabling them to play the advocacy role. Their contribution would enable the policy formulation to have an idea about issues that policy must address.

This report presents the major findings of the most detailed investigation of the attitudes of a cross-section of the Australian population and their attitudes to state and private welfare provisions. The survey, which was sponsored by the Social Policy Research Centre, was conducted in 1988-89 and based on a sample of 3507 people covering all States and Territories. The report addresses many of the issues raised in debates over the past two decades about the future of the welfare state in Australia and overseas. The release of the report is particularly timely since it coincides with arguments between the major political parties over the reform of statutory provision for health care, education and pensions. The Federal Opposition has placed on the agenda the notion of much greater involvement by the private sector and by charitable and voluntary organizations in all these spheres. The apparent justification for these suggestions has been to reduce government spending, to address the problem of an apparent decline in the work ethic among sections of the population, and to challenge the power of interest groups that are associated with the existing government welfare provisions. The Federal Government has been swift to condemn some of these proposals but has also continued to review existing welfare state provisions and arrangements. This report examines public attitudes relevant to some of these debates. Dr Papadakis has emphasised that the focus on public attitudes can easily be misinterpreted to mean that public opinion shapes public policy. In reality, the picture is more complex. Political parties, the media and interest groups are constantly attempting to shape public opinion about the welfare state, though not necessarily with great success. Dr Papadakis does, however, point out that it is possible to create radically different platforms for reform in social policy by being highly selective in the use of evidence from survey research.

Description based on : 1980-Oct. 1988. ; Last issue of each fiscal year is cumulative from 1980. ; Mode of access: Internet.

"B-252340"--P. 1. ; "GAO/AIMD-94-52FS." ; "February 1994." ; Cover title. ; Includes bibliographical references (p. 40). ; Mode of access: Internet.

"B-219254" ; Cover title. ; "GAO/HRD-86-117BR." ; "August 1986." ; Mode of access: Internet.

United States. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 ; The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 represents a fundamental change in our country's approach to supporting families in economic need. Since the enactment of PRWORA, researchers have been studying the experiences of families as they attempt to transition from government assistance to various levels of increased self sufficiency. Of particular interest is how families with young children are faring in response to welfare reform. While many families with young children are experiencing success as they enter the work force, others are having more difficulty. Research findings indicate that the likelihood of making a successful transition is affected by the supports available to families and the barriers families face. Understanding the role of these supports and barriers is of critical importance to policymakers as re-authorization nears. ; Research funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation & The David & Lucile Packard Foundation. This study extends upon the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, supported through grants to local researchers and a contract to Mathematica Policy Research by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) number of recently naturalized citizens receiving benefits from four major public assistance programs (Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Food Stamps) compared with that of the native-born population in 1997; and (2) estimated annual cost to the federal and state governments of providing such benefits to these naturalized citizens."

Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Bill C-69 : An act to permit restraint of government expenditures.