The Impact of Institutional Characteristics on the Use and Effectiveness of Rainy Day Funds: A Pilot Study of Municipal Governments in West Virginia

This research focuses on enhancing the understanding of the use of “rainy day funds” to deal with municipal fiscal shortfalls. It is a pilot study, examining the largest 15 cities in West Virginia. Analysis of data from state reports and interviews with finance directors are used to determine whether, how, and to the degree the cities studied use various reserve fund mechanisms. While almost every city was found to have fiscal reserves, there was great variation in the methods used and amounts in how it was done – some cities followed predictable patterns found elsewhere while others did not.Rainy day funds, municipal governments, West Virginia

Farmland Preservation Programs In West Virginia: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Merits of Purchase Development Rights

To prevent the loss of farmland in West Virginia, the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act (VFPA) was passed in 2000. This act gives counties and the State authority to develop and fund local farmland protection programs, which typically involve a voluntary sale by a landowner of the right to develop the farmland. Following the purchase, the purchaser (often a government or a land trust) would retire the property. Since the inception of the VFPA, 5,000 acres of farmland have been retired in West Virginia. The objective of the paper is to assess the merit of this legislation in terms of its contribution toward its objective of preserving open space. The analysis is carried out at three levels, including the state, county and operational level. The state level analysis is conducted to assess the overall risk of eroding farmland in West Virginia. Aggregate statewide data will be used to determine this risk, including data on population density and state economic growth rates. A similar assessment is conducted at the county level to determine if development rights are more common in high growth counties (i.e., a micro level assessment). Finally, an analysis is conducted at the operational level to determine the operational efficiency the programs carried out under this legislation. The focus will be on the risk of misappropriation. Issues related to transparency and accountability in the distribution of funds swill be analyzed (how are decisions made, and how is accountability achieved). It is concluded that there seem to be, at the minimum, significant inroads for critical examination of the VFPA

Spending by primary care practices-does it show what we expect?

Background Over recent years, a number of policies and financial incentives in primary care have been proposed to tackle issues such as deprivation and health outcomes. This article investigates the association between healthcare spending, deprivation and outcomes. It argues that individual practice data are analysed before blanket application and acceptance that one size fits all in a local area. Methods Financial data were analysed alongside key outcome data, including quality and outcomes framework (QOF) indicators for a large urban primary care trust (PCT) in the UK. The PCT had a large population and number of practices, including single-handed practices and an average list size in excess of 5000. The PCT will remain anonymous. Results There was no relationship between primary care investment and the practices' deprivation score. There was a strong statistically significant negative correlation between QOF payments and deprivation, (correlation = −0.46, p < 0.001). There were only weak links between primary care investment and health outcomes. There was no relationship between high emergency spending and health outcome. Conclusions The data presented suggest that one size does not necessarily fit all—in terms of providing the appropriate incentives in primary care, nor do national incentives and policies always have the desired effect

The Role of Institutions of Private Property Rights and Money in Entrepreneurial Discovery

This paper examines the influence of private property rights and monies on entrepreneurial discovery. A framework is presented and tested, which views these two institutions as key determinants of entrepreneurial discovery. Using several measures as proxies for their influence, two variables, minimum wage legislation and percentage government employment, support the idea that private property rights and monies are associated with entrepreneurial discovery as indicated by business starts, failures, patents and bankruptcy

Inconsistent Depreciation Practice and Public Policymaking: Local Government Reform in New South Wales

Public policy based on numerical indicators - a form of 'public management by numbers' - has become commonplace across the world. Whereas a good deal is known about the deleterious effects of this type of policymaking - including ratcheting, output distortion and 'gaming' - unfortunately little attention has focused on the adverse local government policy consequences of inconsistent depreciation accruals by local authorities. This paper seeks to address this gap in the empirical literature on local government performance. After examining the use of accounting data by local government policymakers, the paper reviews available empirical evidence of inconsistent depreciation practice both in Australia and abroad. We then consider the recent New South Wales (NSW) Independent Local Government Review Panel's use of accounting ratios as supporting evidence for boundary change in local government as a case study of the adverse impact of inconsistent depreciation practice. The NSW experience clearly demonstrates the distortionary effects of empirical evidence resulting from significant variation in depreciation accruals by individual local councils. The paper concludes with an assessment of the options available to local government policymakers wishing to obtain more accurate accounting accrual data for policy formulation purposes