Fiscal decentralization, macrostability and growth

This paper examines how fiscal decentralization may influence economic growth. Previous research on this question has primarily focused on the potential direct relationship between decentralization and growth. In this paper, we also examine the potential indirect influence of decentralization on growth through its impact on macroeconomic stability. We find that decentralization may positively influence price stability in developed countries, though this impact is much less clear in developing and transitional countries. We also find some evidence suggesting that decentralization may directly and negatively affect economic growth in higher-income countries but that this effect is reduced through the indirect positive impact of decentralization on growth through macroeconomic stability.Fiscal Decentralization, Economic Growth, and Macroeconomic Stability.

Fiscal Decentralization and Interregional Capital Misallocation: Evidence from China

Misallocation of factors of production has been recently viewed as a promising explanation accounting for the large difference in total factor productivity (TFP) across countries. This paper differs from previous studies by concentrating on interregional capital misallocation and by focusing on the role of fiscal decentralization in shaping misallocation. Using a city-level panel data set, we measure intra-provincial and inter-municipal capital misallocation in China over 2003-18. The empirical results based on provincial-level panel data suggest that fiscal decentralization can lower inter-municipal capital misallocation while revenue decentralization performs better than expenditure decentralization. We further find that this positive effect is more significant and much larger when the market rather than government intervention is driving the flow of capital. The results are robust to subsample regressions, IV estimations, spatial autoregressions and alternative measurement of interregional misallocation. Our study complements the literature on the causes of misallocation and enriches the understanding of the consequences of fiscal decentralization, especially in terms of economic growth and interregional inequality

La descentralización tributaria en las Comunidades Autónomas de régimen común: un proceso inacabado.

Even though fiscal decentralization in Spain has advanced in several fronts over the last three decades, important issues remain and the decentralization of tax capacity to regions is among the most important unfinished items. This review paper focuses on what has gone wrong and the causes for it, at the same time that proposes several avenues for reform in the future. The paper is divided in two parts. First, we quickly review the theoretical foundations of revenue assignments and the most relevant international experience in this area. Second, we critically assess the Spanish experience to date and outline what needs to be done in the future to strengthen fiscal autonomy, responsibility and accountability of sub-national governmentsFiscal federalism, tax decentralization, regional taxation

Achievements and unfinished agenda of the fiscal equalization system in Croatia

Revenue sharing arrangements and the fiscal equalization system in Croatia have long been perceived as inadequate and ineffective. The reform of personal income tax sharing implemented in 2018 was accompanied by a new fiscal capacity equalization system. To date the effects of these reforms have not been empirically analyzed. In addition, the impact of the omission of differences in expenditure needs in the new formula has not been adequately analyzed either. This paper aims to fill those gaps by analyzing the existing disparities in fiscal capacity and expenditure needs across subnational governments in Croatia, testing the effectiveness of the current fiscal equalization mechanisms. Using Gini coefficients and other inequality measures we confirm that the new fiscal equalization does reduce disparities in per capita fiscal capacity. However, its equalizing effectiveness regarding expenditure needs arising from decentralized functional responsibilities remains overall rather weak

Early forest fire detection by vision-enabled wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks constitute a powerful technology particularly suitable for environmental monitoring. With regard to wildfires, they enable low-cost fine-grained surveillance of hazardous locations like wildland-urban interfaces. This paper presents work developed during the last 4 years targeting a vision-enabled wireless sensor network node for the reliable, early on-site detection of forest fires. The tasks carried out ranged from devising a robust vision algorithm for smoke detection to the design and physical implementation of a power-efficient smart imager tailored to the characteristics of such an algorithm. By integrating this smart imager with a commercial wireless platform, we endowed the resulting system with vision capabilities and radio communication. Numerous tests were arranged in different natural scenarios in order to progressively tune all the parameters involved in the autonomous operation of this prototype node. The last test carried out, involving the prescribed burning of a 95 x 20-m shrub plot, confirmed the high degree of reliability of our approach in terms of both successful early detection and a very low false-alarm rate. Journal compilationMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-11812, IPT-2011-1625-430000Office of Naval Research (USA) N000141110312Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial IPC-2011100

The Distributional Effects of Devolution in the U.S. Welfare Reform

The passage of the PRWORA in 1996 devolved responsibility for the design of welfare programs from the federal to state governments in the U.S. Some of the strategies implemented to achieve the main goals of the reform –promoting higher levels of labor participation and decreasing levels of welfare dependency– might have had the effects of reducing the protection received by the most vulnerable households and increasing differences in benefit levels across states. We estimate these effects using TANF data covering the two decades after the PRWORA\u27s enactment. We measure the contribution of each state to inequality in adequacy rates. We provide an interpretation of the decomposition of the change in inequality in adequacy rates in terms of progressivity and re-ranking components, and we analyze the convergence in TANF adequacy rates. We also estimate the conditional convergence of adequacy ratios with respect to the change in labor participation, poverty rates, and caseloads. We find that differences in adequacy rates increased and that a downward divergence path took place ensuing devolution of welfare reform in the U.S

La autonomía tributaria de las Comunidades Autónomas y su (des)uso: presencia de una restricción presupuestaria blanda

La reforma del modelo de financiación llevada a cabo en 2009, en plena recesión económica, no ha traído la estabilidad política ni financiera a las Comunidades Autónomas (CCAA) de régimen común. El modelo no ha resuelto sus principales problemas de captación de recursos ni ha conseguido ahogar las demandas políticas a favor de una nueva revisión del sistema. A su lado, la profunda reestructuración del sistema financiero ha cambiado por completo el mapa de cajas de ahorro, durante mucho tiempo prestamistas preferentes de los gobiernos autonómicos. Partiendo de este marco, caracterizado por el cierre de los mercados financieros, una fuerte caída de ingresos tributarios y una elevada rigidez de sus gastos, el trabajo repasa el concepto de restricción presupuestaria blanda para el caso de las CCAA, diferenciándolo claramente de la idea de rescate. Se introduce además como novedad la distinción entre rescate presupuestario (bailout) y rescate financiero. El primero no se ha dado hasta ahora en las CCAA (al menos, no de forma explícita ni general), pero sí el segundo, con diversas medidas de apoyo a la liquidez autonómica por parte de la Administración Central. La evidencia empírica disponible permite concluir con la necesidad de reforzar la restricción presupuestaria percibida por las CCAA, junto a un avance en su corresponsabilidad fiscal efectiva. La primera cuestión se está aplicando desde la reforma constitucional de 2011, pero la segunda parece mucho más lejana en estos momentos

Absorptive capacity from foreign direct investment in Spanish manufacturing firms

This paper deals with the determinants of absorptive capacity from foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers. We study how firm behavior, capabilities, and structure drive absorptive capacity such as research and development (R&D) activities and expenditures, R&D results, internal organization of innovation, external relationships of innovation, human-capital quality, family management, business complexity, and market concentration. Our results enhance and complement previous evidence of the determinants of absorptive capacity, particularly with different approaches to innovative activities as mediators of the capability

Devolution in the U.S. welfare reform: divergence and degradation in state benefits.

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 devolved responsibility for the design of welfare programs from the federal to state governments in the U.S. The strategies implemented to achieve some of the main goals of the reform might have had the effects of reducing the protection received by the most vulnerable households and increasing differences in benefit levels across states. We estimate these effects using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families data covering the two decades after the PRWORA’s enactment. We find that inequality levels across states increased and that a general process of degradation in the adequacy of these cash benefits took place ensuing devolution of welfare reform in the U.S.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature

Tribological Properties of Ti6Al4V Titanium Textured Surfaces Created by Laser: Effect of Dimple Density

The loss of energy due to friction is one of the major problems industries are facing nowadays. Friction and wear between sliding components reduce the mechanical efficiency of machines and have a negative impact on the environment. In recent years, surface texturing has shown tremendous ability to reduce friction and wear. Micro-features generated on surfaces act as a secondary reservoir for lubricants and wear debris receptacles to further reduce abrasion. In addition, surface texturing boosts hydrodynamic pressure, which increases the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication regime of the Stribeck curve, reducing friction and wear. Amongst all different techniques to texture surfaces, laser texturing is the most popular due to its advantages such as high accuracy, good consistency and celerity as compared to other techniques. This study investigated the effect of laser texturing on the tribological properties of Ti6Al4V in contact with a ceramic ball. The effect of varying the dimple density on friction and wear was studied using a ball-on-flat reciprocating tribometer under lubricated conditions. Results show that friction and wear were reduced for all the textured samples as compared to an untextured sample, with important friction and wear reductions for the samples with the highest dimple densities. For samples with intermediate dimple densities, the friction coefficient stayed low until the dimples wore out from the surface and then increased to a value similar to the friction coefficient of the untextured surface. The dimple wear-out time observed in these specimens was greatly influenced by the dimple density