Social Risk of Public Spending Cuts in Scotland: Local Authority Experiences

This paper relates to work supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which examines the way Scottish Local Authorities have approached budget cuts (Asenova, et. al., 2013). Starting with a discussion of notions of social risk, we discuss the heightened challenges faced by local authorities. We note that the literature on public sector innovation predict such pressures would cause local authorities to engage in short term decision making and adopt a static coping approach to risk mitigation which is likely to stifle innovation and obstruct the creation of more coherent and resilient localities. Although we find this to have happened in some areas, we discuss two cases where these challenges have promoted innovative and inclusive approaches to service re-design and delivery.

Yesterday’s Games: Contingency Learning and the Growth of Public Spending, 1890-1938

Neither democracy nor globalization can explain the doubling of the peacetime public share in many Western countries between World Wars I and II. Here we examine two other explanations that are consistent with the timing of the observed changes, namely, (1) a shift in the demand for public goods and (2) the effect of war on the willingness to share. We first model each of these approaches as a contingency-learning phenomenon within Schelling’s Multi-Person Dilemma. We then derive verifiable propositions from each hypothesis. National time series of public spending as a share of GNP reveal no unit root but a break in trend, a result shown to favor explanation (2) over (1).

The Effect of Public Spending on Consumption: Reconciling Theory and Evidence

Recent empirical evidence from vector autoregressions (VARs) suggests that public spending shocks increase (crowd in) private consumption. Standard general equilibrium models predict the opposite. We show that a standard real business cycle (RBC) model in which public spending is chosen optimally can rationalize the crowding-in effect documented in the VAR literature. When such a model is used as a data-generating process, a VAR estimated using the artificial data yields a positive consumption response to an increase in public spending, consistent with the empirical findings. This result holds regardless of whether private and public purchases are complements or substitutes.

Management practices on public lands: hearings, Ninety-second Congress, first [and second] session[s], on S. 350, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to Institute Programs designed to reforest and restore the quality of public and private forest lands; to enhance and expand recreational opportunity on such lands; to provide financial incentives to improve management of state and private forest lands; to establish a federal forest lands management fund; to facilitate public participation in Federal Resource Management; and to enhance the quality of the environment ad the resources of the public lands; [and] S. 1734, a bill to provide for comprehensive management of the nation's forest lands through the application of sound forest practices, and for other purposes.

Frank Church, subcommittee chairman.

Looking for a road to get out for poverty. Is the current allocation of public spending on education in Colombia helping?

This paper presents a methodology to explore the impact on poverty of the public spending on education. The methodology consists of two approaches: Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) and behavioral approach. BIA considers the cost and use of the educational service, and the distribution of the benefits among groups of income. Regarding the behavioral approach, we use a Probit model of schooling attendance, in order to determinethe influence of public spending on the probability for thepoor to attend the school. As a complement, a measurement of targeting errors in the allocation of public spending is included in the methodology.

Electoral and Financial Bookkeeping: A Comparison of Pre-Electoral Pledges on Public Spending and the Outcome of Post-Electoral Budget Debates

In the wake of the financial crisis, budgetary discipline has taken centre stage in politics. More than ever a country's budget mirrors the true policy preferences of the legislative majority beyond all political discourse and cheap talk. The paper sheds light on mandate fulfilment in the field of public spending and fiscal policy in general. Based on previous work on pledge fulfilment in Switzerland the paper compares publicised pre-electoral statements of MPs on public spending and the development of the public finances with their post-electoral legislative behaviour during budget debates and votes. The findings of the paper confirm the results of the aforementioned earlier studies and point to the potential of budgetary statements for future mandate fulfilment research.

The significant of public asset management framework application for Indonesian local governments : Opportunities and challenges

The purpose of this paper is to emphasis the significance of public asset management in Indonesia that is by identifying opportunities and challenges of Indonesian local governments in adopting current practice of Public Asset Management System. A Case Study, in South Sulawesi Provincial government was used as the approach to achieve the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques i.e. interviews followed by study on documents. The result of the study indicates there are some significant opportunities and challenges that Indonesian local government might deal with in adopting current practice of public asset management. There are opportunities that can lead to more effective and efficient local government, accountable and auditable local government organization, increase local government portfolio, and improve the quality of public services. The challenges include no clear institutional and legal framework to support the asset management application, non-profit principle of public assets, cross jurisdictions in public asset management, complexity of local government objectives, and unavailability of data for managing public property. The study only covers condition of South Sulawesi Province, which could not represent exactly the whole local governments’ condition in Indonesia. Findings from this study provide useful input for the policy makers, scholars and asset management practitioners in Indonesia to establish a public asset management framework that suitable for Indonesia.

Institutional change and coproduction of public services: The effect of charter schools on parental involvement

Recent discussions of school choice have revived arguments that the decentralization of governing institutions can enhance the quality of public services by increasing the participation of intended beneficiaries in the production of those services. We use data from the Schools and Staffing Survey to examine the extent to which the decentralization of authority to charter schools induces parents to become more involved in their children's schools. We find that parents are indeed more involved in charter schools than in observationally similar public schools, especially in urban elementary and middle schools. Although we find that this difference is partly attributable to measurable institutional and organizational factors, we also find that charter schools tend to be established in areas with above-average proportions of involved parents, and we find suggestive evidence that, within those areas, it is the more involved parents who tend to select into charter schools. Thus, while the institutional characteristics of charter schools do appear to induce parents to become more involved in their children's schools, such characteristics are only part of the explanation for the greater parental involvement in charter schools than in traditional public schools. © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Estimating the effect of discretionary spending on corruption: evidence from Brazilian municipalities

O presente artigo estuda a relação entre corrupção e discricionariedade do gasto público ao responder a seguinte pergunta: regras de licitação mais rígidas, uma proxy para discricionariedade, resultam em menor prevalência de corrupção nos municípios brasileiros? A estratégia empírica é uma aproximação de regressões em dois estágios (2SLS) estimadas localmente em cada transição de regras de licitação, cuja fonte de dados de corrupção é o Programa de Fiscalização por Sorteio da CGU e os dados sobre discricionariedade são derivados da Lei 8.666/93, responsável por regular os processos de compras e construção civil em todas as esferas de governo. Os resultados mostram, entretanto, que menor discricionariedade está relacionada com maior corrupção para quase todos os cortes impostos pela lei de licitações.

A közbeszerzés jogi és hatékonysági aspektusai (The legal and efficiency aspects of public procurement)

A közpénzelköltés hatékonyságát hazai viszonylatban az éves közpénzköltés nagyságával és az alkalmazott eljárástípusok, beszerzési tárgyak számával, értékével kapcsolatosan van lehetősége a hivatalos statisztikák elemzése során az érdeklődőnek vizsgálni. A törvény preambulumában található „a közpénzek ésszerű felhasználása átláthatóságának és széles körű nyilvános ellenőrizhetőségének megteremtése, továbbá a közbeszerzések során a verseny tisztaságának biztosítása” célrendszer csak részben érvényesül. A tanulmány arra kíván rávilágítani, hogy a hazai közbeszerzés-kutatás eredményei alapján milyen elképzelés van a GDP közel 5%-án hatékony elköltéséről Magyarországon. Vajon valódi akadálya-e a közbeszerzés a tisztességtelen versenynek, s elősegíti-e a piaci folyamatok érvényesülését annak szabályozása. A szerző válaszai rávilágítanak a közbeszerzési piaci folyamatok, gyengeségek, kevésbé hatékony megnyilvánulások és kritikus vélemények okaira, melyek közvetlen kapcsolatban vannak a közbeszerzés válságos helyzetével, s azonosítják azokat a kritikus pontokat, melyeken érdemes változtatni egy reménybeli hatékonyabb állapot, piaci egyensúlyi helyzet kialakítása érdekében. _______ The analysis of public spending can be based on official statistics showing the figures of annual public spending and the value and number of different procedures and purchased items. However, public procurement spending an annual amount of 1600-1800 billion HUF of public money in an ever changing legal environment, are intended to ensure not only some efficiency in public spending, but to reach several other aims as well. Although the preamble of the public procurement law states, that “a legal environment ought to be created, where the transparency and public accountability of spending public money and fair competition regarding public procurement procedures is ensured”, these requirements are only partially met. This study, based on the results of recent analyses concerning public procurement, wishes to represent our ideas about how to spend efficiently nearly 5% of the Hungarian GDP. Is it really true, that public procurement can be regarded as a genuine means against unfair competition, and can we really foster market processes by regulating public procurement? The author answers highlight the causes of the weaknesses of public procurement procedures, inefficient practices and critical opinions, which are closely connected to the present dire state of public procurement. This study also identifies the crucial elements to be changed in order to achieve a hopefully more efficient state and a preferable market balance.

Análise do nível de aderência do modelo conceitual do sistema de custos às teorias da contabilidade de custo: experiência no governo federal para configuração e implantação do sistema de informações de custos - SIC

Este estudo expõe os objetivos, as diretrizes, o modelo conceitual e o processo desenvolvido para a implantação do Sistema de Informações de Custos do Governo Federal (SIC), descrevendo e explicando o marco conceitual e suas principais características, a abordagem em três dimensões (conceitual, tecnológica e cultural), as razões para os procedimentos adotados na sua construção, trabalhando a correspondência entre os conceitos da contabilidade governamental e da contabilidade de custos. O trabalho teve como proposta identificar e apresentar a configuração do sistema de informações de custos (SIC) a ser adotado pelo Brasil no âmbito da Administração Pública Federal como uma solução conciliatória junto aos atores envolvidos, e analisar e revelar o nível de aderência do SIC às teorias da Contabilidade de Custos, para tal fim foi desenvolvida a pesquisa exploratóriodescritiva, socorrendo-se em pesquisas bibliográfica e documental; na coleta de informações aplicando as técnicas de entrevista e observação direta intensiva; e na análise dos dados levantados, a técnica de análise de conteúdo. A importância do SIC é enfatizada como elemento de mensuração de custos, de melhoria da qualidade do gasto público e de vetor indutor da construção da mentalidade de custos na Administração Pública Federal que, poderá vir a ser o grande salto da administração patrimonial e burocrática para a administração gerencial.

A implementação do sistema de informação de custos do setor público: o caso do governo federal

No desenvolvimento da administração pública brasileira destacam-se significativas iniciativas de melhoria da qualidade do gasto público. O referido assunto tem figurado em inúmeras discussões em ambiente público e acadêmico e enseja uma oportunidade de otimização da ação pública por meio do controle efetivo de seus custos. Desde a década de 60 a gestão pública brasileira anseia pela implementação de um sistema capaz de apresentar as faces do custo bem como monitorar as atividades da gestão em termos de sua relação custo x benefício. Entretanto somente a partir da primeira década do século XXI surgem ações concretas com a pretensão de avançar em direção a um modelo de sistema de custos a ser adotado pela administração pública e seus diversos órgãos e entidades. Para tanto, este trabalho se propõe a pesquisar este processo de implementação bem como descrever as interfaces com os demais subsistemas de gestão. Esta pesquisa foi fundamentada em experiências nacionais e internacionais de implementação de sistemas de custos visando a compreensão das bases que nortearam a criação e implantação do modelo brasileiro. O objetivo portanto é a busca de subsídios que tem o propósito de clarificar a iniciativa do Ministério da Fazenda quanto à implementação deste sistema, que corrobora com as determinações legais expressas e com a necessidade premente de aumentar a qualidade do gasto público.

Análise do custo-aluno das creches municipais diretas do município de Santo André

O presente estudo tem como foco o levantamento e análise do custo-aluno das creches, primeira etapa da Educação Infantil, que compreende as crianças de 0 a 3 anos de idade. Ele responde à situação problema apresentada pela Secretaria de Educação do Município de Santo André (SP), caracterizada pela necessidade do aprimoramento da gestão dos recursos financeiros em um cenário de dificuldades orçamentárias e aumento de demanda. Foram selecionadas 12 unidades municipais da rede direta, com atendimento exclusivo a crianças nesta faixa etária. A metodologia utilizada teve como base a utilização do Sistema de Informações do Orçamento Público municipal, a partir do qual foram realizadas as consultas e definições dos componentes do custo do objeto em estudo, sendo que a metodologia de acumulação de custos utilizada foi o custeio por absorção. Adicionalmente, os autores analisaram os processos administrativos relacionados aos itens de custeio e realizaram entrevistas com os diversos atores envolvidos nos processos de gestão daquela e de outras secretarias, bem como acadêmicos dedicados ao estudo de custos no setor público, cujas experiências relatadas subsidiaram a pesquisa e as avaliações realizadas. O estudo apontou um custo-aluno médio de R$ 11.970,72 sendo que, para melhor análise dos resultados, as unidades escolares foram agrupadas em três categorias de acordo com o número de alunos: i) pequeno porte: com até 149 alunos (três unidades); ii) médio porte: entre 150 e 190 alunos (cinco unidades); e, iii) grande porte: com mais de 190 alunos (quatro unidades). A partir dessa divisão foi possível concluir que as creches de grande porte apresentaram vantagem comparativa em relação às demais, com custo-aluno médio de R$ 11.684,03, seguidas das creches de médio porte, R$ 11.751,46 e pelas unidades de pequeno porte, que apresentaram o custo-aluno de R$ 13.235,88, ou seja, 13,23% acima das escolas de grande porte. Esses resultados indicam a existência de ganhos de escalas de acordo com o porte da creche e pode subsidiar a tomada de decisão dos gestores para futuros projetos de expansão da rede pública de creches.

Qualidade do gasto público em educação para os municípios da região metropolitana de Natal-2007

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the quality of public spending on education for the municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Natal (RMN) in 2009 by use of two theories: The Theory of Welfare (Welfare State) and the Public Choice Theory (TEP), both important to understand the relationship between education and economics. The study also uses principles of microeconomics and public sector economics to get a better idea of the role of education in economy and society. It describes the development of the educational policy in Brazil from 1988 to the Federal Constitution of 2010, following the major changes in basic education during each government. The characteristics of the RMN municipalities were illustrated with socioeconomic indicators, while educational indicators were used to characterize each municipality regarding education. The model used in this study was developed by Bertê, Brunet and Borges, the data was collected on the back of the School Census 2009 and the Brazil Exam 2009 and it was processed quantitavely in the Information System on Public Budgets in Education (SIOPE) by use of the statistical method called standardized score of the normal cumulative distribution function. The quality of public spending on education is the result of the relation between performance indicator ratio and expense ratio. For the qualitative analysis of results, the criteria of efficiency, efficacy and effectiveness were used. The study found that municipalities with higher expenses showed a worse quality of spending and failed to convert the expenditure incurred into performance, thus confirming ineffectiveness