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3971. Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Framework for the Economic Impact

Author:
Susan Steiner
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper contributes to providing insights into the impact of decentralisation on poverty. It starts out with an overview of which role decentralisation plays in strategies and policies for poverty eradication and derives economic and political impact channels. It concentrates on the economic channel, the reasoning of which is rooted in fiscal federalism theory. It shows that decentralisation cannot only influence poverty by assigning expenditure responsibility to lower levels of government but also by assigning tax-raising power, which has so far been neglected by the literature. The paper concludes by pointing out a number of possible risks for realising the poverty-reducing potential of decentralisation.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Poverty

3972. A New Federal Contribution to the District of Columbia? The Need, Likely Impact, and Some Options

Author:
Ed Lazere and David Garrison
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
A 2003 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the District of Columbia faces a large structural budget imbalance—that is, a persistent gap between its ability to raise revenues and the cost of providing basic services. DC's imbalance stems largely from its being a "city without a state" and from revenue limitations caused by the federal presence. The most logical solution to this problem would be an annual contribution from the federal government to help address the challenges that arise from DC's unique status as the nation's capital.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Colombia

3973. Who Lives Downtown

Author:
Eugenie L. Birch
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Over the past few decades, public and private officials have tried to re-invent their downtowns with a variety of tactics. One of the most popular—and arguably most successful—strategies of recent years has been downtown residential development. In this effort, creating a vibrant, “24-hour” downtown has become the mantra for injecting life into struggling main streets and business districts.
Topic:
Civil Society, Demographics, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
New York, Asia, Los Angeles, and Chicago

3974. The Private Sector in the Fight Against Global Poverty

Author:
Lael Brainard
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In recent weeks, aging rockers have reclaimed young fans by joining movie stars, faith-based groups, and leaders of developing nations in a global campaign to "Make Poverty History." World leaders have taken note: the push is on for a massive boost in official assistance flows and the cancellation of official debt. But as preparations move forward for the first heads of state stocktaking of the Millennium Development Goals at the United Nations in September, scant attention is being directed at the most powerful engine of growth and poverty alleviation: the private sector. This despite the fact that the past two decades have witnessed an enormous shift in resources away from the public sector to private hands, and private flows to developing countries are now more than twice the level of public flows.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United Nations

3975. Resolving Nigeria's Paris Club Debt Problem: A Case of Non-Performing Creditors

Author:
Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Intense domestic pressure has convinced Nigeria's President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to consider a deal that would eliminate the country's $31 billion of debt owed to the governments of the United Kingdom, France, and other aid-giving countries.
Topic:
International Relations, Debt, and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Paris, France, and Nigeria

3976. Can Rich Countries Afford to Grow Old?

Author:
Gary Burtless
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Observers in many industrialized countries believe population aging represents a serious economic threat. Increases in the percentage of the population past retirement age may impose unsustainable burdens on future workers. Either taxes or government debt will have to rise substantially to pay for old-age income support. This paper considers the extent of these burdens and corrects the widespread impression that the burdens are unsupportable. Population aging means that contributions needed to support the retired elderly must rise. But this extra burden will be at least partly offset by a reduced need to support the dependent young, who will become relatively less numerous. The extra burden of an aging population would be smaller still if labor force participation rates among the working-age and elderly populations increased. Indeed, employment rates among the nonaged have risen in nearly all the industrialized countries as a growing percentage of women has entered the work force. Many countries, including the United States, have adopted policies to encourage work among people past the traditional retirement age.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Economics, Government, and Population
Political Geography:
United States

3977. Deficits, Interest Rates, and the User Cost of Capital: A Reconsideration of the Effects of Tax Policy on Investment

Author:
William G. Gale and Peter R. Orszag
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Under traditional formulations, lower capital income tax rates reduce the user cost of capital and stimulate investment. The traditional approach, however, implictly or explicitly considers a revenue-neutral reduction in capital income taxation. We extend the traditional approach by considering a reduction in taxes that generates an increase in the budget deficit; the expanded budget deficit raises interest rates and the opportunity cost of investment. This provides a mechanism through which tax cuts can raise the cost of capital. Representative calculations show that, even with relatively modest interest rate effects, the net effect of making the Administration's recent tax cuts permanent or a 10-percent reduction in individual income tax rates would be to raise the user cost of capital. Thus, sustained tax cuts can raise the cost of capital and reduce investment.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

3978. Articulating a Policy Framework for Long-Term Federal Entitlement Reform

Author:
James C. Capretta
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
President Bush's top first-term objectives—in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—were waging and winning the global war on terror, significantly enhancing our homeland security systems, and strengthening economic growth.1 With sluggish economic growth following the 2001 recession persisting in 2002 and 2003—due, in part, to the revelation of several corporate governance scandals and the aftermath of technology stock "bubble burst"—the President placed a high premium on tax relief proposals aimed at accelerating the pace of short and long-term economic growth. In this context, it is not at all surprising that large federal budget deficits emerged.
Topic:
Security, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

3979. The Millennium Challenge Account: Moving Toward Smarter Aid

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) proposed by President George W. Bush in March 2002 is an important step toward smarter US assistance to low-income countries. While it cannot yet be said to represent a revolution in development assistance, it is a welcome experiment and merits substantial funding by the Congress.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

3980. U.S. Trade Policy Toward China: Discrimination and its Implications

Author:
Rachel McCulloch and Chad P. Bown
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The bilateral relationship with China has become a major focus of U.S. trade policy. This paper examines recent U.S. policy toward imports from China, highlighting important explicitly and implicitly discriminatory elements. Discriminatory restrictions on U.S. trade with China protect competing domestic industries as well as non-Chinese foreign suppliers with an established presence in the U.S. market. Unlike discriminatory U.S. treatment of Japan in the 1980s, in which "gray-area" measures like voluntary export restraints were prominent, most U.S. actions toward China are fully consistent with current WTO rules, including the special terms of China's 2001 WTO accession. However, as with earlier discriminatory actions directed primarily at Japan, U.S. trade policy toward China is likely to have complex effects on global trade flows and may produce outcomes far different from those intended.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Asia