Tax shape, debt and electoral opportunism at the municipal level: French empirical evidence and a model (?)

Firstly, this paper aims at building a theoretical framework in order to explain opportunistic local public behaviors on the eve of elections. The resulting electoral cycle depends on the tax shape, the avalability to contract loans, and the shape of the demand for public goods. In particular, the model predicts a tax cut during the election period in French municipalities. Indebtedness may lead to an electoral cycle on public spending provided that the public good demand is elastic enough. Secondly, empirical investigation relying on a dynamic panel data model confirms theoretical predictions.

A water-table dependent reservoir model to investigate the effect of drought and vascular plant invasion on peatland hydrology.

International audienceThis paper investigates the water table dynamics in a peatland showing a wide range of water table fluctuations. A reservoir model of water table fluctuations in a double-porosity peat is proposed, by calculating the stored water in effective porosity of the peat from precipitation and evapotranspiration datasets. Calculations conceptualize vascular plant consumption through a crop coefficient. Changes in water storage, located in the effective porosity of the peat, are described through a maximum infiltration rate and a maximum storage capacity. Water discharges take place in runoff and percolation reservoirs. The runoff coefficient is considered to be water table dependent. This model was tested on a peatland that has experienced strong water table fluctuations caused by summer drought and/or by vascular plant water consumption. A water table dependent runoff model appeared to be adequate to describe the water table fluctuations in peatland. From this model, vascular plants were found to increase the crop coefficient and to limit percolation through the peat. The high water table depth in winter was found to change with the year and is related to an equilibrium between slow infiltration in peat versus percolation plus evapotranspiration. In this disturbed peatland, even if overland flows occurred after a drought, the re-saturation of effective porosity was slow with about 30% of air trapped in the porosity 6 months after the drought period. The effects of drought on peat saturation were observed over more than a single hydrological cycle. This can affect the biogeochemical processes controlling the C cycle in peatland

Environnement logiciel et étalonnage de l'échelle en énergie des jets dans l'expérience ATLAS

CLERMONT FD-BCIU Sci.et Tech. (630142101) / SudocSTRASBOURG-Bib.Central Recherche (674822133) / SudocSudocFranceF

Tax shape and the electoram budget cycle: a model

An original model is proposed to give new insights about the political budget cycle. Given income inequalities among citizens, we stress the role played by the shape of a property tax system (regressive or progressive) and by public debt on the incumbent's incentives to cut taxes and/or to raise public expenditures in order to be re-elected. Furthermore, we discuss ways of mitigating the political budget cycle

Structure de l'impôt et cycle électoral au plan municipal

This article addresses an issue of public-policy choice. We analyze the behavior of local elected officials during their terms of office, with a distinction between election and non-election periods. Accordingly, we examine the conditions of occurrence and the properties of the political business cycle at the municipal level. First, we offer an original theoretical framework to shed light on the link between local tax structure and public-policy behavior observed at the municipal level in France. We then use a dynamic panel-data model to conduct a study of all of France‘s larger communes i.e., municipalities. As forecast by the theoretical model , our results show that elected officials avail themselves of fiscal instruments in the run-up to elections.Cet article s'inscrit dans le champ des choix publics. On y analyse le comportement des élus locaux pendant la durée de leur mandat, en distinguant les périodes électorale et non électorale. Les conditions d’occurrence et les propriétés du cycle budgétaire électoral sont ainsi étudiées au plan municipal. D’abord , un cadre théorique original permet d’éclairer le lien entre la structure de la fiscalité locale et les comportements publics observés à l’échelle communale en France. Une étude empirique est ensuite menée sur l’ensemble des grandes communes françaises à partir d’un modèle dynamique de panel. Les résultats attestent de la manipulation des instruments budgétaires par les élus à l’approche des élections, conformément aux prédictions du modèle théorique.Pentecôte Jean-Sébastien, Binet Marie-Estelle. Structure de l'impôt et cycle électoral au plan municipal. In: Économie & prévision, n°174, 2006-3. pp. 113-127

Tax degression and the French municipal cycle

International audienc

Macroeconomic idiosyncrasies and European monetary unification: A sceptical long run view

International audienceThis study questions the empirical assessment of asymmetries in currency areas based on structural vector auto-regressions that describe the price–output dynamics in reference to the Aggregate Supply–Aggregate Demand (AS–AD) diagram. Our contribution is both methodological and empirical. First, we propose a way to rotate the innovations resulting from the Bayoumi–Eichengreen (1992) decomposition of the VAR residuals to ensure that their properties remain identical to the properties of the well-known Blanchard–Quah (1989) factorization. In addition, we derive the slope coefficients of the AS–AD curves from the impulse responses to demand shocks and thereby reveal structural heterogeneities across countries. Second, we study fifteen euro and non-euro countries using quarterly data over 1960–2012. Bootstrap simulations reveal that: 1) the Bayoumi–Eichengreen decomposition yields the same conclusions as the Blanchard–Quah one in terms of shock sizes and asymmetry; 2) the long-run neutrality of demand shocks on output is often not decisive in assessing shock asymmetry; and 3) the estimated structural and stochastic asymmetries are imprecise, which has been often disregarded in the literature. Thus, one should be cautious about the empirical relevance of macroeconomic idiosyncrasies with regard to the suitability of a currency area

Education , fiscalité et inégalités de revenu : quels choix par l'électeur médian ?

International audienceThis study is following Meltzer and Richard (1981) on the link between inequality and redistribution studied within the median voter model. We propose an original theoretical framework with heterogeneous choices of qualification by active voters, following the idea put forward by Razin et alii (2002, 2004). We first show how the choice of qualification by the decisive voter directly influences his preferences in terms of income taxation, and vice versa. While a decrease in education costs increases the share of the educated population, its effect on redistribution is contrasted. Economies with similar education costs may choose high or low redistribution rates, despite high inequality. This partly invalidates Meltzer and Richard's result.Cette étude s ' inscrit dans la continuité des travaux de Meltzer and Richard (1981) quant au lien entre inégalités et redistribution étudié au sein du modèle de l ' électeur médian. Nous proposons un cadre théorique original avec choix hétérogènes de qualification par les actifs-électeurs, suivant l ' idée avancée par Razin, Sadka et Swagel (2002) et Razin et Sadka (2004). Nous montrons d ' abord comment le choix de qualification par l ' électeur décisif influe directement sur ses préférences en matière de taxation des revenus, et réciproquement. Si une baisse des coûts d ' éducation accroît la part de la population éduquée, son effet sur la redistribution est contrasté. Des économies aux coûts d ' éducation proches peuvent choisir des taux de redistribution élevés ou faibles, en dépit de fortes inégalités. Cela invalide en partie le résultat de Meltzer et Richard

Education , fiscalité et inégalités de revenu : quels choix par l'électeur médian ?

International audienceThis study is following Meltzer and Richard (1981) on the link between inequality and redistribution studied within the median voter model. We propose an original theoretical framework with heterogeneous choices of qualification by active voters, following the idea put forward by Razin et alii (2002, 2004). We first show how the choice of qualification by the decisive voter directly influences his preferences in terms of income taxation, and vice versa. While a decrease in education costs increases the share of the educated population, its effect on redistribution is contrasted. Economies with similar education costs may choose high or low redistribution rates, despite high inequality. This partly invalidates Meltzer and Richard's result.Cette étude s ' inscrit dans la continuité des travaux de Meltzer and Richard (1981) quant au lien entre inégalités et redistribution étudié au sein du modèle de l ' électeur médian. Nous proposons un cadre théorique original avec choix hétérogènes de qualification par les actifs-électeurs, suivant l ' idée avancée par Razin, Sadka et Swagel (2002) et Razin et Sadka (2004). Nous montrons d ' abord comment le choix de qualification par l ' électeur décisif influe directement sur ses préférences en matière de taxation des revenus, et réciproquement. Si une baisse des coûts d ' éducation accroît la part de la population éduquée, son effet sur la redistribution est contrasté. Des économies aux coûts d ' éducation proches peuvent choisir des taux de redistribution élevés ou faibles, en dépit de fortes inégalités. Cela invalide en partie le résultat de Meltzer et Richard