Racionalidades e ambiguidades da organização instituto federal: o caso do Rio Grande do Norte

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação (área de especialização em Organização e Administração Escolar).

Fiscal sustainability across government tiers

This paper analyses how fiscal adjustment comes about when both central and sub-national governments are involved in consolidation. We test sustainability of public debt with a fiscal rule for both the federal and regional government. Results for the German Länder show that lower tier governments bear a relatively smaller part of the burden of debt consolidation, if they consolidate at all. Most of the fiscal adjustment occurs via central government debt. In contrast, both the US federal and state levels contribute to consolidation of public finances.

Government Spending and Re-election

Does additional government spending improve the electoral chances of incumbent political parties? This paper provides the first quasi-experimental evidence on this question. Our research design exploits discontinuities in federal funding to local governments in Brazil around several population cutoffs over the period 1982-1985. We find that extra fiscal transfers resulted in a 20% increase in local government spending per capita, and an increase of about 10 percentage points in the re-election probability of local incumbent parties. We also find positive effects of the government spending on education outcomes and earnings, which we interpret as indirect evidence of public service improvements. Together, our results provide evidence that electoral rewards encourage incumbents to spend part of additional revenues on public services valued by voters, a finding in line with agency models of electoral accountability.

Government spending and re-election: Quasi-experimental evidence from Brazilian municipalities

Does additional government spending improve the electoral chances of incumbent politicalparties? This paper provides the first quasi-experimental evidence on this question. Our researchdesign exploits discontinuities in federal funding to local governments in Brazil around severalpopulation cutoffs over the period 1982-1985. We show that extra fiscal transfers resulted in a20% increase in local government spending per capita, and an increase of about 10 percentagepoints in the re-election probability of local incumbent parties. In the context of an agency modelof electoral accountability, as well as existing results indicating that the revenue jumps studiedhere had positive impacts on education outcomes and earnings, these results suggest that expectedelectoral rewards encouraged incumbents to spend additional funds in ways that were valued byvoters.

Tobin meets Oates: Solidarity and the optimal fiscal federal structure

We explore the implications for the optimal degree of fiscal decentralization when people spreferences for goods and services, which classic treatments of fiscal federalism (Oates, 1972)place in the purview of local governments, exhibit specific egalitarianism (Tobin, 1970), orsolidarity. We find that a system in which the central government provides a common minimumlevel of the publicly provided good, and local governments are allowed to use their ownresources to provide an even higher local level, performs better from an efficiency perspectiverelative to all other systems analyzed for a relevant range of preferences over solidarity.

City of Oakville public assistance grants independent auditor’s reports, schedule of expenditures of federal awards, schedule of findings and questioned costs, year ended june 30, 2009.

Audit report on the City of Oakville, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2009.

Issue review : Federal Budget Control Act of 2011.

This issue review provides an overview and update on the sequester provision of the Federal Budget Control Act of 2011.

Issue review : impact of federal income tax changes on Iowa general fund revenue.

Iowa law allows taxpayers to deduct federal income taxes from income prior to calculating state income tax liability. Due to the federal tax deduction, changes to federal income taxes enacted by Congress directly and automatically impact Iowa's revenue stream. While this issue is present every year, the impact on the budget process has been more pronounced over the past three years as federal tax reductions enacted during the early 2000s were set to expire, were extended, and are now set to expire again. This issue review examines federal deductability and the related issue of federal conformity.

Political centralization and government accountability

This paper studies fiscal federalism when regions differ in voters' ability to monitor publicofficials. We develop a model of political agency in which rent-seeking politicians providepublic goods to win support from heterogeneously informed voters. In equilibrium, voterinformation increases government accountability but displays decreasing returns. Therefore,political centralization reduces aggregate rent extraction when voter information varies acrossregions. It increases welfare as long as the central government is required to provide publicgoods uniformly across regions. The need for uniformity implies an endogenous trade off between reducing rents through centralization and matching idiosyncratic preferences throughdecentralization. We find that a federal structure with overlapping levels of government canbe optimal only if regional differences in accountability are sufficiently large. The modelpredicts that less informed regions should reap greater benefits when the central governmentsets a uniform policy. Consistent with our theory, we present empirical evidence that lessinformed states enjoyed faster declines in pollution after the 1970 Clean Air Act centralizedenvironmental policy at the federal level.

Fiscal sustainability across government tiers: an assessment of soft budget constraints

This paper analyses how fiscal adjustment comes about when both central and sub-national governments are involved in consolidation. We test sustainability of public debt with a fiscal rule for both the federal and regional government. Results for the German Länder show that lower tier governments bear a relatively smaller part of the burden of debt consolidation, if they consolidate at all. Most of the fiscal adjustment occurs via central government debt. In contrast, both the US federal and state levels contribute to consolidation of public finances.

Federal-provincial relations and the environment : attaining sustainable development through cooperation /

A study of intergovernmental relations in the area of the environment will determine whether the current Canadian federal structure represents a dangerous impediment to the promotion of sustainable development. This paper examines the interjurisdictional quagmire that has developed from the fact that authority over the environment is a functionally concurrent field for the two orders of government. A history of federal-provincial relations in the area of environmental protection is followed by an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages associated with competitive and cooperative federalism. For the purpose of this paper, cooperative federalism is characterized by the presence of a formal institutional system to facilitate interaction between politicians and bureaucrats from both orders of government. Competitive federalism is defined as a system that lacks a formal institutional structure to promote discussion and coordination between federal and provincial officials in a specific field of interest. Last, I examine thirty sustainable development issues following the structure established in Agenda 21 to determine the impact of the present federal system on the development of these objectives. This study concludes that Canadian federalism is not a dangerous impediment to the promotion of sustainable development. Cooperative federalism in a form that does not eliminate the ability of governments to revert to competition promotes the emergence of an institutional system that facilitates information-sharing and discussion between the two orders of government, thus leading to coordinated efforts in the field of the environment. Respect for the current division of powers in this area is also essential to the cohesiveness of Canadian society. Policy-makers and advocates for a sustainable society should focus on working within the present system.

Modernizing human resource management : the importance of values-based leadership in the Canadian federal public service /

Over the past several decades, many theories have been advanced as to why efforts to reform the public service have met with only limited success. Clearly, the role of leadership with respect to reform must be examined, since successful organizational leaders should be extremely accomplished in the promotion and protection of the values that underlie decision-making. The issue of effective leadership is particularly significant for the future of the public service of Canada. Large numbers of public servants in the executive ranks are due to retire within the next five years. Given their central role, it is vital that there be enough dedicated and committed public servants to staff future vacancies. It is also essential that future public service leaders possess the competencies and values associated with a world-class public service and, a new type of public organization. Related to this point is the importance of people-management skills. People management in the public service is an issue that has historically faced - and will continue to face - major challenges with respect to recruiting and retaining the leaders it requires for its continued success. It is imperative that the public service not only be revitalized and be seen as an employer of choice, but also that the process by which it accomplishes this goal - the practice of human resource management - be modernized. To achieve the flexibility needed to remain effective, the public service requires the kind ofleadership that supports new public service values such as innovation and which emphasizes a "people- first" approach. This thesis examines the kind of public service leadership needed to modernize the human resource management regime in the federal public service. A historical examination of public service values is presented to help determine the values that are important for public service leaders with respect to modernizing human resource management. Since replenishing the 2 ranks of public service leaders is crucial to ensure the quality of service to Canadians, leadership that supports career planning will be a major focus of this paper. In addition, this thesis demonstrates that while traditional public service values continue to endure, innovative leaders must effectively reconcile new public service values with traditional values in order to increase the possibilities for successful reform as well as achieve business objectives. Much of the thesis is devoted to explaining the crucial role of post-bureaucratic leadership to successful reform. One of the major findings of the thesis is that leaders who demonstrate a blending of new public service values and traditional values are critical to creating effective employment relationships, which are key to modernizing human resource management in the federal public service. It will be apparent that public service leaders must ensure that an appropriate accountability framework is in place before embarking on reform. However, leaders who support new public service values such as innovation and empowerment and who emphasize the importance of people are essential to successful reform.

National energy policies of the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada in the 1970s and 1980s: are economic and/or environmental concerns responsible for change?

The thesis presents a comparison of the national energy policies of the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada from 1973 until the late 1980s. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether economic and/or environmental concerns were responsible for changes in the· West-German and Canadian national energy policies. Furthermore, the feasibility of implementing a soft energy path in West-Germany and Canada is examined. For better comprehension of the policy-making process and implemented changes in the national energy policies of the two states, the West-German and Canadian parliamentary systems and the political cultures were compared. For the analysis, several events with international impact were taken as guidelines. Furthermore, based on statistical data, the West-German and Canadian energy production and consumption were analyzed. With reference to these results the degree of the de facto changes in the national energy policies were analyzed. In addition, the thesis discusses the possibilities which a soft energy path offers to both national governments to renounce themselves from the dependencies on a few energy resources. The thesis reveals that changes in the West-German and Canadian national energy policies, in their energy production and consumption are correlated to various world events. In particular, governmental reponses security of energy supply by the two international oil crises of 1973 and 1979/1980 demonstrate that changes in the West-German and Canadian national energy policies were implemented in reaction to economic concerns than environmental ones. With the policies "away from oil" and "off oil", the West-German and Canadian government implemented the i i substitution of oil through various diverse energy supply resources. However, energy savings concepts and policies were initiated through the first oil crisis in 1973. The world recessions in 1975 and 1982 had no 'profound impacts on the agenda of West-German and Canadian energy policies. As a consequence of the stagnation or the negative growth of the world economic market, changes in their energy production and consumption can be perceived. However, the West-German and Canadian energy production and consumption intensified with the augmentation of the world economy. During the period of study, environmental concerns were taken into account in the energy policy agendas of the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada but they were not of primary concern. wi thin the decade of. the 1980s notably more environmental considerations were taken into account in the energy policies of the two states. The two nuclear reactor accidents in 1979 and 1986 sharpened to various degrees West-German and Canadian public discourse of present energy supply mix and attitude towards energy production and consumption. The statistical data reflects yet no changes in the energy policies in regard to the position of nuclear power. However, in the next several years possible changes can be observed through statistical data, because the planning, the construction and possible phase out of nuclear power requires several years. Finally, the thesis reveals that the implementation of a soft energy path requires profound changes in the consumer behaviour. As several studies indicate, a soft energy path is technological and economically feasible for the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada, its implementation remains to be a political decision.

Regulatory History Material as an Extrinsic Aid to Interpretation: An Empirical Study on the Use of RIAS by the Federal Court of Canada

Since 1986, the Canadian Public Administration is required to analyze the socio-economic impact of new regulatory requirements or regulatory changes. To report on its analysis, a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) is produced and published in the Canada Gazette with the proposed regulation to which it pertains for notice to, and comments by, interested parties. After the allocated time for comments has elapsed, the regulation is adopted with a final version of the RIAS. Both documents are again published in the Canada Gazette. As a result, the RIAS acquires the status of an official public document of the Government of Canada and its content can be argued in courts as an extrinsic aid to the interpretation of a regulation. In this paper, an analysis of empirical findings on the uses of this interpretative tool by the Federal Court of Canada is made. A sample of decisions classified as unorthodox show that judges are making determinations on the basis of two distinct sets of arguments built from the information found in a RIAS and which the author calls “technocratic” and “democratic”. The author argues that these uses raise the general question of “What makes law possible in our contemporary legal systems”? for they underline enduring legal problems pertaining to the knowledge and the acceptance of the law by the governed. She concludes that this new interpretive trend of making technocratic and democratic uses of a RIAS in case law should be monitored closely as it may signal a greater change than foreseen, and perhaps an unwanted one, regarding the relationship between the government and the judiciary.