130,395 research outputs found

    Explaining Tax Reform

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    Economic analysts generally have a more dispassionate attitude toward the subject. They are interested primarily in studying the effects of taxation on individual behavior and market prices, and in describing the distributional effects of tax policies. When the discussion turns to changes in the tax system, however, positive analysis may be replaced by advocacy of particular alternatives. This is illustrated by the frequent use of the word "reform" in the literature, a term usually employed to refer to changes designed to make the system better, where "better" is judged in relation to some ideal standard.Working Paper Number 04-48

    Difficult forms: critical practices of design and research

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    As a kind of 'criticism from within', conceptual and critical design inquire into what design is about – how the market operates, what is considered 'good design', and how the design and development of technology typically works. Tracing relations of conceptual and critical design to (post-)critical architecture and anti-design, we discuss a series of issues related to the operational and intellectual basis for 'critical practice', and how these might open up for a new kind of development of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of design. Rather than prescribing a practice on the basis of theoretical considerations, these critical practices seem to build an intellectual basis for design on the basis of its own modes of operation, a kind of theoretical development that happens through, and from within, design practice and not by means of external descriptions or analyses of its practices and products

    Nollywood in Diversity: New Dimensions for Behaviour Change and National Security in Nigeria

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    This paper sets out to demystify the nature of Nollywood movies existing in diversity and to propose new dimensions for using film to achieve behaviour change and a dependable national security in Nigeria. The paper views national security as the art of ensuring national safety of the government. Nollywood has naturally diversified along ethnic dimensions including the Hausa movies (Kannywood) in the North, the Yoruba movies in the West and the Ibo movies in the Eastern part of the Nigeria. Others include the Akwa-Cross movies from the Southern part and the Tiv movies from the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. The paper adopts observation and analytical research methods depending on secondary sources. The paper finds out and concludes that Nollywood’s diversity is an opportunity to ameliorate some security challenges of the country and recommends the use of behaviour change focused themes which should be featured by Nollywood movie producers in Nigerian films produced along cultural, ethnic and regional boundaries

    About the process of designing railway infrastructure

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    Nowadays the process of designing railway infrastructure is mostly seen as a sequential process. The sequential approach would appear to be obsolete, since it is lacking a consideration of customer needs. Therefore, it must be widened and parts of processes must be considered as what they are: sub-processes in a bigger picture. Since the sub-processes are dependent on each other they can be depicted as a cycle. This article presents the cycle of designing railway infrastructure. It has its focus on the German speaking area and aims to give an overview to the tasks and the relationships between sub-processes. It concludes seven subprocesses and eight relationships. It starts with the customer needs for transport which have only been considered indirectly and are generally not one of the primary concerns for designing railway infrastructure. After that a political process determines how to correspond with these customer needs. It includes several inputs like funding, general laws for railway, and the geographic constraints. From the complex political process originates a design target, which is translated into an operational concept. These operational concepts differ in Europe with different focuses on the primary target and an example is discussed as a guide for further development. The operational concepts are then further processed with common evaluation tools to create the bases of design for the infrastructure. There are feedback loops from the evaluation tools to reconsider certain constraints from former sub-processes. After the evaluation tools conclude that an infrastructure is feasible, the infrastructure will be constructed. Later, a specific t imetable is constructed on the basis of the infrastructure, which will then be used by customers to full-fill their needs

    Tanzania's Fiscal Arrangements: Obstacles to Fiscal Decentralization or Structures of Union-Preserving Federalism?

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    Abstract not available. Working Paper 10-0

    A practitioner's guide to intergovernmental fiscal transfers

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    Intergovernmental fiscal transfers are a dominant feature of subnational finance in most countries. They are used to ensure that revenues roughly match the expenditure needs of various orders (levels) of subnational governments. They are also used to advance national, regional, and local area objectives, such as fairness and equity, and creating a common economic union. The structure of these transfers creates incentives for national, regional, and local governments that have a bearing on fiscal management, macroeconomic stability, distributional equity, allocative efficiency, and public services delivery. This paper reviews the conceptual, empirical, and practice literature to distill lessons of policy interest in designing the fiscal transfers to create the right incentives for prudent fiscal management and competitive and innovative service delivery. It provides practical guidance on the design of performance-oriented transfers that emphasize bottom-up, client-focused, and results-based government accountability. It cites examples of simple but innovative grant designs that can satisfy grantors'objectives while preserving local autonomy and creating an enabling environment for responsive, responsible, equitable, and accountable public governance. The paper further provides guidance on the design and practice of equalizationtransfers for regional fiscal equity as well as the institutional arrangements for implementation of such transfer mechanisms. It concludes with negative (practices to avoid) and positive (practices to emulate) lessons from international practices.Public Sector Economics&Finance,Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Local Finance Management,Public Sector Management and Reform,Public&Municipal Finance,Urban Economics

    Fiscal policy instruments and the political economy of designing programs to reach the poorest:

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    Poverty reduction, Hunger, Pro-poor policies, Government policy, Safety nets, information for development planning,

    What is Power Sharing? Consociationalism, Centripetalism, and Hybrid Power Sharing

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    In this article, the author analyzes the term "power-sharing" in the context of power exercised within a state. He first examines the term in the very general sense, in which it can be applied to all types and dimensions of sharing of power between various groups and institutional entities. Second, the author examines the meaning of the term in the narrow sense, that is, the phenomenon of systemic sharing of power by groups (segments) whose membership is based on ascribed criteria such as common ancestors, relatives, or racial background, and/or cultural ones such as a common language, religion, or celebrations. The basic segmental units in this sense are nations (understood in the sociological sense), ethnic groups, or religious and denominational communities that form part of divided societies. Third, the article shows the differences between the principal models (types) of power-sharing in the narrow sense: consociationalism, centripetalism, and hybrid power-sharing
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