Decentralization and the Welfare State: What Do Citizens Perceive?

Trust in public institutions and public policies are generally perceived as a precondition for economic recovery in times of recession. Recent empirical evidence tends to find a positive link between decentralization and trust. But our knowledge about whether decentralization – through increased trust – improves the perception of the delivery and effectiveness of public policies is still limited. In this paper we estimate the impact of fiscal and political decentralization on the perception of the state of the education system and of health services, by using the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 waves of the European social survey. The analysis of the views of 160,000 individuals in 31 European countries indicates that while the effect of fiscal decentralization on the perception of the state of the health and education system is limited, political decentralization clearly affects citizen’s satisfaction with education and health delivery. The influence of political decentralization, however, is highly contingent on whether we consider the capacity of the local or regional government to exercise authority over its citizens (self-rule) or to influence policy at the national level (shared-rule). Keywords: Education, health, satisfaction, fiscal and political decentralization, Europe. JEL codes: H11, H77

Iowa Interstate Corridor Plan, 2013

The purpose of this Interstate Corridor Plan (plan) is to provide the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) with an initial screening and prioritization of interstate corridors/segments. This process evaluates the entire interstate system, independent of current financial constraints, using a select group of criteria weighted in terms of their relative significance. The resulting segments would then represent those areas that should be considered for further study (e.g., environmental, design, engineering), with the possibility of being considered for programming by the Iowa Transportation Commission. There was a dominant theme present in conversations with those department stakeholders who have a keen interest in the product of this planning effort. A statement that was often heard was that staff needed more information to help answer the question, “Where do we need to be looking to next, and when?” There was a strong desire to be able to use this plan to help populate that initial pool of candidate segments that would progress towards further study, as discussed below. It was this theme that framed the need for this plan and ultimately guided its development. Further study: As acknowledged at the beginning of this section, the product of this planning effort will be an initial screening and prioritization of interstate corridors/segments. While this initial screening will assist the Iowa DOT in identifying those areas that should be considered for further study, the plan will not identify specific projects or alternatives that could be directly considered as part of the programming process. Bridging the gap between this plan and the programming process are a variety of environmental, design, and engineering activities conducted by various Iowa DOT offices. It is these activities that will further refine the priority corridors/segments identified in this plan into candidate projects. In addition, should the evaluation process developed through this planning effort prove to be successful, it is possible that there will be additional applications, such as future primary system highway plans and statewide freight plans.

Water planning law and government.

Water planning efforts typically identify problems and needs. But simply calling attention to issues is usually not enough to spur action; the end result of many well-intentioned planning efforts is a report that ends up gathering dust on a shelf. Vague recommendations like “Water conservation measures should be implemented” usually accomplish little by themselves as they don’t assign responsibility to anyone. Success is more likely when an implementation strategy — who can and should do what — is developed as part of the planning process. The more detailed and specific the implementation strategy, the greater the chance that something will actually be done. The question then becomes who has the legal authority or responsibility to do what? Are new laws and programs needed or can existing ones be used to implement the recommendations? ... This document is divided into four main parts. The first, “Carrots and Sticks” looks at two basic approaches — regulatory and non-regulatory — that can be, and are, used to carry out water policy. Both have advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered. The second, “The powers of federal, state and local governments…,” looks at the constitutional powers the federal government and state and local governments have to carry out water policy. An initial look at the U. S. Constitution might suggest the federal government’s regulatory authority over water is limited but, in fact, its powers are very substantial. States have considerable authority to do a number of things but have to be mindful of any federal efforts that might conflict with those state efforts. And local governments can only do those things the state constitution or state legislature says they can do and must conform to any requirements or limitations on those powers that are contained in the enabling acts. Parts three and four examine in more detail the main programs and agencies at the federal level as well as Iowa’s state and local levels and the roles they play in national and state water policy.

Iowa's Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Impacts, TR-593, 2010

The federal government is aggressively promoting biofuels as an answer to global climate change and dependence on imported sources of energy. Iowa has quickly become a leader in the bioeconomy and wind energy production, but meeting the United States Department of Energy’s goal having 20% of U.S. transportation fuels come from biologically based sources by 2030 will require a dramatic increase in ethanol and biodiesel production and distribution. At the same time, much of Iowa’s rural transportation infrastructure is near or beyond its original design life. As Iowa’s rural roadway structures, pavements, and unpaved roadways become structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, public sector maintenance and rehabilitation costs rapidly increase. More importantly, costs to move all farm products will rapidly increase if infrastructure components are allowed to fail; longer hauls, slower turnaround times, and smaller loads result. When these results occur on a large scale, Iowa will start to lose its economic competitive edge in the rapidly developing bioeconomy. The primary objective of this study was to document the current physical and fiscal impacts of Iowa’s existing biofuels and wind power industries. A four-county cluster in north-central Iowa and a two-county cluster in southeast Iowa were identified through a local agency survey as having a large number of diverse facilities and were selected for the traffic and physical impact analysis. The research team investigated the large truck traffic patterns on Iowa’s secondary and local roads from 2002 to 2008 and associated those with the pavement condition and county maintenance expenditures. The impacts were quantified to the extent possible and visualized using geographic information system (GIS) tools. In addition, a traffic and fiscal assessment tool was developed to understand the impact of the development of the biofuels on Iowa’s secondary road system. Recommended changes in public policies relating to the local government and to the administration of those policies included standardizing the reporting and format of all county expenditures, conducting regular pavement evaluations on a county’s system, cooperating and communicating with cities (adjacent to a plant site), considering utilization of tax increment financing (TIF) districts as a short-term tool to produce revenues, and considering alternative ways to tax the industry.

Taxing Sweets: Sweetener Input Tax or Final Consumption Tax?

In order to reduce obesity and associated costs, policymakers are considering various policies, including taxes, to change consumers high-calorie consumption habits. We investigate two tax policies aimed at reducing added sweetener consumption. Both a consumption tax on sweet goods and a sweetener input tax can reach the same policy target of reducing added sweetener consumption. Both tax instruments are regressive, but the associated surplus losses are limited. The tax on sweetener inputs targets sweeteners directly and causes about five times less surplus loss than the final consumption tax. Previous analyses have overlooked this important point.

Water Planning Law and Government, November 2008

Water planning efforts typically identify problems and needs. But simply calling attention to issues is usually not enough to spur action; the end result of many well-intentioned planning efforts is a report that ends up gathering dust on a shelf. Vague recommendations like “Water conservation measures should be implemented” usually accomplish little by themselves as they don’t assign responsibility to anyone. Success is more likely when an implementation strategy — who can and should do what — is developed as part of the planning process. The more detailed and specific the implementation strategy, the greater the chance that something will actually be done.

Seguiment de la diagnosi socioambiental del Camí de Cavalls: sector nord-est

El Camí de Cavalls és un element característic amb una importància històrica, cultural i recreativa considerable a Menorca. Aquesta illa va ser declarada Reserva de la Biosfera per l UNESCO l’any 1993; com a conseqüència, a l’any 2000 es va implantar el Pla Especial del Camí de Cavalls amb diversos objectius: definir les característiques del Camí i els seus instruments de gestió i aplicació; implantar mecanismes i normes que permetin l’ús públic que garanteixin la seva protecció i conservació; i finalment definir polítiques de sostenibilitat i conscienciació ambiental. Al llarg dels anys, la seva gestió ha permès que el Camí presenti una millora del seu estat de conservació i fer-ne un ús favorable a nivell socioambiental. L’any 2008 es va realitzar una diagnosi del Sector nord-est de la illa, aplicant-ne diversos indicadors per tal de determinar l’estat del Cam,í coincidint amb l’aplicació dels criteris plantejats pel Pla Especial del 2000 (Diagnosi Socioambiental del Camí de Cavalls de Menorca 2008). En aquest document s’explica la realització de la segona diagnosi, a partir del protocol dissenyat cinc anys abans, per tal de valorar l’estat actual del Camí i observar i definir les variacions que s’han produït en aquest període de temps. Els resultats mostren una tendència global positiva de millora del Camí, tal i com es planteja en la hipòtesis del projecte, tot i presentar-se una sèrie d’inconvenients a l’hora d’aplicar i valorar qualitativament els indicadors utilitzats. L’estudi s’ha realitzat amb la col·laboració dels centres de estudis ambientals de l’ICTA (Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) amb seu a la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), i l’OBSAM (Observatori Socioambiental de Menorca) amb seu a l’IME (Institut Menorquí d’Estudis).

The Adoption of Technologies, Policies, and Systems for Improving Fleet Fuel Performance, 2007

The dramatic rise in fuel prices and growing environmental concerns are pressing freight transportation companies to pursue new systems and methods to improve fuel efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. While select major carriers appear to be leading efforts to adopt technologies that support a dramatic improvement in fuel performance, there appears to be little understanding as to the breadth and depth of efforts being taken by the broader motor carrier community, consisting of over 20,000 companies of all sizes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of adoption of technologies and policies to support improved fuel efficiency among motor carrier fleets.

Shrouded costs of government: The political economy of state and local public pensions

Why do public-sector workers receive so much of their compensation in the formof pensions and other benefits? This paper presents a political economy model inwhich politicians compete for taxpayers' and government employees' votes by promising compensation packages, but some voters cannot evaluate every aspect of promisedcompensation. If pension packages are "shrouded", so that public-sector workers better understand their value than ordinary taxpayers, then compensation will be highlyback-loaded. In equilibrium, the welfare of public-sector workers could be improved,holding total public-sector costs constant, if they received higher wages and lowerpensions. Centralizing pension determination has two offsetting effects on generosity:more state-level media attention helps taxpayers better understand pension costs, andthat reduces pension generosity; but a larger share of public-sector workers will votewithin the jurisdiction, which increases pension generosity. A short discussion of pensions in two decentralized states (California and Pennsylvania) and two centralizedstates (Massachusetts and Ohio) suggests that centralization appears to have modestlyreduced pensions, but, as the model suggests, this is unlikely to be universal.

State of Iowa Employee Handbook, 2015

This information is based on Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) rules and policies and does not create an employment contract. Much of the information in this handbook is also covered in the State’s collective bargaining agreements. Where there are differences between a collective bargaining agreement and this handbook, the collective bargaining agreement prevails for employees covered by the agreement. Where there are differences between this handbook and DAS rules and policies, DAS rules and policies prevail.

Fiscal Year 2015 Report on the Condition of Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Multi-cultural Programs in State Government and Fiscal Year 2016 Plan, September 30, 2015

Each agency is invited and encouraged to send a representative to a quarterly Department of Administrative Services State Recruitment Coordinating Committee “Committee” meeting. This Committee conducts strategic planning sessions to identify top goals and initiatives for the next 2-3 years.