The City of Buffalo Budget Fiscal Year 2008-2009

The City asserts that it has the ability to: afford three successive property tax cuts”, thereby reducing the overall property tax rate on residential properties by nearly 12%; maintain an unprecedented unreserved fund balance of $105 million with$76 million undesignated; set aside $30 million in City surplus funds and up to$15 million in a separate capital reserve to ensure the City never again faces a fiscal crisis; move the City from a fiscal control period to an advisory one; benefit from two successive credit upgrades from Wall Street; and increase the margin for use from a low of 8% in 2005-06 to just over 25% projected for 2008-09

A Comparative Analysis of Debt Equity Swap Programs in Five Major Debtor Countries

Since the onset of the debt crisis, developing countries have resorted to several debt reduction and debt management techniques in order to sustain their debt servicing. One of the most popular of such techniques is debt-equity swaps. Its popularity is illustrated by the fact that several countries have either implemented formal debt-equity swap programs or are contemplating doing so. Despite the popularity of this technique, it is important to note that the features of each program are designed to suit the needs of each debtor country. Accordingly, the modalities for converting foreign debt to equity vary from country to country. This Article examines the different modalities for converting foreign debt into equity in five major debtor countries: namely, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and the Philippines. Using the common features of the various debt conversion programs, it analyzes the impact of such debt conversion programs on the debt reduction efforts of these countries and on their economies at large

Chinese Influence on the African “Resource Curse”

This thesis explores the impact that Chinese aid and investment has on the political economy of resource-rich African countries. In particular, it examines the effects of Chinese resource-for-infrastructure agreements on the political economy of the resource curse. Using Ghana as a case study, this thesis highlights the peculiar obstacles that countries face with regard to managing their resources. In turn, it argues that general prescriptions against the resource curse, such as resource revenue transparency initiatives, like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, are insufficient. As a result, African recipients of Chinese aid require specific institutional arrangements that accurately reflect the specific “rules of the game” that exist under their respective political economies. In the case of Ghana, this thesis argues that vetting Chinese resource-for-infrastructure agreements through the Public Procurement Act serves that need.MAS

Central banks and the doctrine of sovereign immunity

Central banks engage in a multiplicity of activities. Their current roles are historically determined, in that each central bank came into being at a certain stage of its country\u27s development and has exercised its functions consistently with its nation\u27s development objectives. Consequently, central bank functions vary in degree and from place to place. However, despite the different conditions under which they operate, most central banks exhibit a tendency to conform to an almost identical pattern, particularly in respect of those practices and principles developed by the Bank of England, which came to be accepted as traditional central bank functions. This thesis takes up the traditional central bank functions and compares them with the new and expanding roles of central banks in the developing world. The tool for illuminating this review is the important issue of government immunity. As agents of their governments, central banks sometimes breach their contractual obligations and then the issue of immunity comes up. In determining the immunity of foreign states, their agents and instrumentalities, the courts characterize their activities as either private or public acts. This process of characterization has proved difficult in its application to central bank activities. This is because there is no uniform central bank function. Consequently, it is difficult to determine when a central bank is performing a central bank function. The restrictive immunity approach presupposes that central bank functions could easily be characterized as either commercial or central bank functions. However, a contrary view is presented in this thesis. This thesis takes the position that central bank activities are not uniform and therefore cannot be subject to a general theory of restrictive immunity. A comparative approach is adopted in analysing the different evolutionary patterns of central bank development, the scope of protection that central banks enjoy under the current law in sovereign immunity in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other international conventions. The study ends with an appraisal of the scope of central bank immunity and the problems associated with the characterization process and concludes that in the absence of uniform central bank functions, and an agreement on the proper sphere of governmental activity, the restrictive immunity approach is inadequate for the resolution of central bank immunity issues. Consequently a programme of bilateral treaties is suggested as a better alternative

Central banks and the doctrine of sovereign immunity

Central banks engage in a multiplicity of activities. Their current roles are historically determined, in that each central bank came into being at a certain stage of its country\u27s development and has exercised its functions consistently with its nation\u27s development objectives. Consequently, central bank functions vary in degree and from place to place. However, despite the different conditions under which they operate, most central banks exhibit a tendency to conform to an almost identical pattern, particularly in respect of those practices and principles developed by the Bank of England, which came to be accepted as traditional central bank functions. This thesis takes up the traditional central bank functions and compares them with the new and expanding roles of central banks in the developing world. The tool for illuminating this review is the important issue of government immunity. As agents of their governments, central banks sometimes breach their contractual obligations and then the issue of immunity comes up. In determining the immunity of foreign states, their agents and instrumentalities, the courts characterize their activities as either private or public acts. This process of characterization has proved difficult in its application to central bank activities. This is because there is no uniform central bank function. Consequently, it is difficult to determine when a central bank is performing a central bank function. The restrictive immunity approach presupposes that central bank functions could easily be characterized as either commercial or central bank functions. However, a contrary view is presented in this thesis. This thesis takes the position that central bank activities are not uniform and therefore cannot be subject to a general theory of restrictive immunity. A comparative approach is adopted in analysing the different evolutionary patterns of central bank development, the scope of protection that central banks enjoy under the current law in sovereign immunity in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other international conventions. The study ends with an appraisal of the scope of central bank immunity and the problems associated with the characterization process and concludes that in the absence of uniform central bank functions, and an agreement on the proper sphere of governmental activity, the restrictive immunity approach is inadequate for the resolution of central bank immunity issues. Consequently a programme of bilateral treaties is suggested as a better alternative

The City of Buffalo Budget Fiscal Year 2008-2009

The City asserts that it has the ability to: afford three successive property tax cuts”, thereby reducing the overall property tax rate on residential properties by nearly 12%; maintain an unprecedented unreserved fund balance of $105 million with$76 million undesignated; set aside $30 million in City surplus funds and up to$15 million in a separate capital reserve to ensure the City never again faces a fiscal crisis; move the City from a fiscal control period to an advisory one; benefit from two successive credit upgrades from Wall Street; and increase the margin for use from a low of 8% in 2005-06 to just over 25% projected for 2008-09.Government__City_of_Buffalo_Budget.pdf: 16 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Central banks and the doctrine of sovereign immunity

Central banks engage in a multiplicity of activities. Their current roles are historically determined, in that each central bank came into being at a certain stage of its country's development and has exercised its functions consistently with its nation's development objectives. Consequently, central bank functions vary in degree and from place to place. However, despite the different conditions under which they operate, most central banks exhibit a tendency to conform to an almost identical pattern, particularly in respect of those practices and principles developed by the Bank of England, which came to be accepted as traditional central bank functions. This thesis takes up the traditional central bank functions and compares them with the new and expanding roles of central banks in the developing world. The tool for illuminating this review is the important issue of government immunity. As agents of their governments, central banks sometimes breach their contractual obligations and then the issue of immunity comes up. In determining the immunity of foreign states, their agents and instrumentalities, the courts characterize their activities as either private or public acts. This process of characterization has proved difficult in its application to central bank activities. This is because there is no uniform central bank function. Consequently, it is difficult to determine when a central bank is performing a central bank function. The restrictive immunity approach presupposes that central bank functions could easily be characterized as either commercial or central bank functions. However, a contrary view is presented in this thesis. This thesis takes the position that central bank activities are not uniform and therefore cannot be subject to a general theory of restrictive immunity. A comparative approach is adopted in analysing the different evolutionary patterns of central bank development, the scope of protection that central banks enjoy under the current law in sovereign immunity in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other international conventions. The study ends with an appraisal of the scope of central bank immunity and the problems associated with the characterization process and concludes that in the absence of uniform central bank functions, and an agreement on the proper sphere of governmental activity, the restrictive immunity approach is inadequate for the resolution of central bank immunity issues. Consequently a programme of bilateral treaties is suggested as a better alternative.Law, Peter A. Allard School ofGraduat