Comparative analysis of road financing approaches in Europe and the United States

Road infrastructure has a remarkable economic and social impact on society. This is why road financing has always drawn the attention of policymakers, especially when resources available for government spending become scarce. Nations exhibit differing approaches to dealing with road transportation financing. In the United States, the current system of road funding has been called into question because some regard it as insufficient to meet the amounts now required for road expenditures. By contrast, in most European countries, road charges are very high, but these revenues are not allocated for the funding of roads. This paper analyzes the balance between charging for the use of and expenditure on the road sector in the United States and compares the American policy with those of several European countries (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Switzerland). To that end, a methodology is defined to calculate the annual amount of fee charges levied on light and heavy vehicles in the selected countries in order to compare those charges with annual road expenditures. The results show that road charges in America are noticeably lower than those paid in Europe. Additionally, the research concludes that in Europe, road-generated revenues exceed road expenditures in all the countries studied, so road charges actually subsidize other policies. By contrast, in the United States, the public sector subsidizes the road system in order to maintain the current level of expenditure.

Department of Housing and Urban Development's participation in the Moscow Trade Show [microform] : hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, August 3, 1988.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 89 H401-7

Reforming government : what really needs to be done? : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, January 27, 1994.

Shipping list no.: 95-0021-P.

The Promise and the Price of Contact: Puyallup Indian Acculturation, Federal Indian Policy and the City of Tacoma, 1832-1909

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Technology policy and technological innovation in the People's Republic of China

The objective of this research is to unveil the dynamics of technological innovation in planned economies in transition. It is proposed in the thesis that all innovation systems in the world, in fact, consist of certain configurations of market and hierarchy. These systems have always been shifting from one existing market-hierarchy mix to a new one, which is expected to be more conducive to technological innovation and economic development. Current reforms in many planned economies in transition reflect this theoretical proposition. A research framework is constructed to include three main dimensions for the study of a specific innovation system, i.e. Arrangements, Achievements and Actors. China, which has undergone reforms since 1978, is chosen as the empirical basis of the research. The research examined technology policy and technological innovation in China between 1978 to 1988. The thesis starts from Arrangements - R&D System in China and Its Reform. The thesis illustrates reforms in the R&D system in relation to government technology policy. There exist coherent government efforts to promote innovations through various plans, and the planning process incorporates both market and command elements. The institutional structure of Chinese R&D system remains still vertically departmentalised, but horizontal links are created through the market. Secondly, Achievements - Performance of Chinese R&D System is assessed through patterns of technological innovation. Data from National Awards for S&T Progress (1978-1988) are included in a substantial database, which is used to generate patterns of technological innovation and patterns of innovating organisations. These patterns were presented and interpreted in relation to geographical differences, sectoral differences, typological differences, forms of co-operation and the impacts of S&T policy and reform. The third dimension is study on Actors - Innovation in Applied R&D institutes. Through semi-structured interviews and questionnaire survey, internal structure and research management are analysed in the light of ongoing reforms. The reform of R&D funding system greatly affected the way applied R&D institutes operate. Both organisational and individual incentives for innovating are increasingly associated with economic or material benefits. The research suggests there is a need to put reforms in the R&D system into a wider societal and political context. Some general attributes of applied R&D institutes are also discussed in the thesis.

The importance of institutions in expansionary fiscal consolidations. A critical assessment of non-Keynesian effects

The short-term effects of fiscal consolidation have attracted an increasing attention from both the academia and policy makers in the recent years. Authors in the literature on non- Keynesian effects usually put the emphasis on the need for the devaluation of the national currency, the accommodating reaction of the monetary authority and the favourable international economic conditions as the necessary accompanying tools of fiscal consolidation, in order to realise short-term expansionary effects. Some also add the necessity of large-scale adjustment; while others support the view that a high and increasing debt ratio or increasing government spending, by triggering an unavoidable adjustment, is the key to experiencing short-term expansionary effects. The composition of adjustment also became a crucial explanation for non-Keynesian effects. However, as the following critical assessment of the literature on expansionary fiscal consolidations will reveal, institutional conditions, such as the importance of the depth of financial intermediation and the influencing role of labour market structure, can prove to be crucial in the occurrence of the desired expansionary short-term effects.

Robert J. Barro és a költségvetési túlköltekezés (Robert J. Barro and fiscal overspending)

Robert J. Barro, a Harvard Egyetem professzora főként a gazdaságpolitika makroökonómiai modellezése területén elért eredményei alapján ismert a közgazdászok körében. Tevékenysége kiterjed mind az elméleti, mind pedig az empirikus kutatások területére. Jelen tanulmány Barro azon kutatásainak feltételezéseit és eredményeit összegzi, amelyek a ricardói ekvivalenciaelvből kiindulva a költségvetési politika elméletét magyarázó újszerű eredmények kibontakozását segítették elő. A 80-as években az Egyesült Államok magas költségvetési hiánya számos közgazdászt ösztönzött hasonló témájú elmélet kidolgozására. Mivel hazánkban szinte mindennapos vita forrása a költségvetési hiány túlzott mértéke, ami veszélyezteti a monetáris közösségben való részvételünket, különösen érdekes és időszerű annak áttekintése, hogy hogyan gondolkodik egy modern közgazdász a költségvetési hiány okairól és következményeiről. ________________ The question of budgetary discipline emerges in relation to the criteria of the Economic and Monetary Union in almost all European special journals today. There is much less attention paid to budgetary overspending, the adjustment of which caused a serious puzzle for the government and the economists of the United States in the 80's. The Lucasian world of new classical economics has questioned the effectiveness of government intervention, it confuted above all the efficiency of fiscal policy. The macroeconomic models of Barro (1979, 1986) introduced in the present study - building upon the theoretical approach of economic policy on similar foundations - examine the effect of budgetary spending principally from a long-run perspective. His empirical analysis, overarching almost seventy years (1916–1982), is based upon the time series of variables affecting the budgetary deficit of the United States, distinguishing the effect of the usual government expenses from the over average items within. On the basis of his investigation on the United States and the United Kingdom he, furthermore, did not reject the economic invigorating role of government spending, he opposed Lucas' conclusions and got a modest step closer to the Keynesian standpoint in this sense. Barro, however, irrefutably argues on classical grounds, he recalls and reevaluates the Ricardian equivalence principle, summarizes the critiques raised against it and unintentionally praises the Classical economists. According to Barro we cannot ignore the one-time theorem of Ricardo if we are endeavoring to model government spending - we have to count with it if not definitely as a positive, but at least as a normative economic relationship.

Contribui????es do governo eletr??nico para a reforma administrativa e a governan??a no Brasil

O artigo investiga as contribui????es da pol??tica de governo eletr??nico para a reforma administrativa e a governan??a no Brasil. A pesquisa baseou-se na opini??o de informantes-chave dos quatro setores que atuam no e-gov: setor p??blico, iniciativa privada, terceiro setor e academia. Concluiu-se que as tecnologias de informa????o e comunica????o (TIC) podem ser a principal ferramenta para as iniciativas de moderniza????o do Estado, sendo ressalvado que o e-governo n??o pode ser visto como panac??ia para as reformas: o uso de tecnologias deveria caminhar em paralelo com outras medidas governamentais, nos campos pol??tico e econ??mico, por exemplo. Embora tenha sido reconhecido o potencial das TIC, o governo eletr??nico ainda n??o se encontra inserido com a ??nfase necess??ria na agenda governamental brasileira, de modo a contribuir decisivamente para a reforma administrativa e a governan??a.

Forty Years of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (XXX) on Zionism and Racism: the Brazilian Vote as an instance of United States - Brazil Relations

Abstract In 1975, Brazil voted in favor of the United Nations General Assembly resolution 3379 (XXX), equating Zionism with a form of racism. Focusing on the decision-making process of president Ernesto Geisel's (1974-1979) foreign policy, "responsible pragmatism", this article discusses how the ultimate decision to vote in favor of resolution was taken taking into account mainly US-Brazil relationship.

Majoritarian delays

This paper illustrates how delayed debt stabilizations can arise in a society without any emerging conflict of interests among its members. We argue that, under a majority voting rule, the economy may generate excessive levels of government spending and larger debts over time, and that this delay is increasing in income inequality. The intuition for this result is simple: a majority of citizens may find in delaying stabilizations a way to increase government expenditures, transferring in this way resources from the richest to the poorest citizens in the economy. This process may explain the upward trend and the difficulty to reduce public expenditures, the so called "ratchet effect."

IPH Manifesto for 2009 European Elections

The 2009 European Elections provide an opportunity to influence health at local and European Government level.  IPH has produced a short manifesto identifying 5 areas of action in public health for MEPs and political parties. The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) aims to improve health on the island of Ireland capitalising on benefits from North South cooperation. Our focus is tackling health inequalities and influencing public policies in favour of health.

A Strategy for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting in NI (PDF 180KB)

This study was designed to examine critically the impact of a government-led policy document upon community nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice in Northern Ireland (Strategy for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in Northern Ireland. Action Plan for Community Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors, Working Together: A Focus on Health and Social Well-being, DHSS, 1996). The total number of participants was (n=409) and the eleven Health and Personal Social Services Trusts in NI were represented in the sample group which consisted of 93% females and 7% males. A questionnaire containing twenty items was designed and a pilot study was carried out with twenty-five community practitioners. Following the pilot study appropriate modifications were made to the questionnaire. åÊ

The Relevance of the Principal-Agent Model for the Analysis of Public Policies : Do the Objectives Conflict ?

This paper aims to provide empirical support for the use of the principal-agent framework in the analysis of public sector and public policies. After reviewing the different conditions to be met for a relevant analysis of the relationship between population and government using the principal-agent theory, our paper focuses on the assumption of conflicting goals between the principal and the agent. A principal-agent analysis assumes in effect that inefficiencies may arise because principal and agent pursue different goals. Using data collected during an amalgamation project of two Swiss municipalities, we show the existence of a gap between the goals of the population and those of the government. Consequently, inefficiencies as predicted by the principal-agent model may arise during the implementation of a public policy, i.e. an amalgamation project. In a context of direct democracy where policies are regularly subjected to referendum, the conflict of objectives may even lead to a total failure of the policy at the polls.

The efficiency of direct payments versus tax reductions under uncertainty

This paper analyzes the optimal behavior of farmers in the presence of direct payments and uncertainty. In an empirical analysis for Switzerland, it confirms previously obtained theoretical results and determines the magnitude of the theoretical predicted effects. The results show that direct payments increase agricultural production between 3.7% to 4.8%. Alternatively to direct payments, the production effect of tax reductions is evaluated in order to determine its magnitude. The empirical analysis corroborates the theoretical results of the literature and demonstrates that tax reductions are also distorting, but to a substantially lesser degree if losses are not offset. However, tax reductions, independently whether losses are offset or not, lead to higher government spending than pure direct payments

Iowa Budget Report Fiscal Year 2010.

Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge submitted their $6.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2010. The proposal recommends further budget cuts – rather than tax increases – to help meet the challenges of declining state revenues. “In recent months, we have reduced state government spending by nearly $180 million in order to maintain a balanced budget,” said Governor Culver. "My budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 will reflect a 6.5 percent cut to almost every state department and program,” the Governor continued. “In fact, 207 of the 253 line items in my budget proposal will be cut by 6.5 percent. That represents a savings of $400 million to Iowa taxpayers.”