This dissertation examines local governments’ efforts to promote economic development in Latin America. The research uses a mixed method to explore how cities make decisions to innovate, develop, and finance economic development programs. First, this study provides a comparative analysis of decentralization policies in Argentina and Mexico as a means to gain a better understanding of the degree of autonomy exercised by local governments. Then, it analyzes three local governments each within the province of Santa Fe, Argentina and the State of Guanajuato, Mexico. The principal hypothesis of this dissertation is that if local governments collect more own-source tax revenue, they are more likely to promote economic development and thus, in turn, promote growth for their region. By examining six cities, three of which are in Santa Fe—Rosario, Santa Fe (capital) and Rafaela—and three in Guanajuato—Leon, Guanajuato (capital) and San Miguel de Allende, this dissertation provides a better understanding of public finances and tax collection efforts of local governments in Latin America. Specific attention is paid to each city’s budget authority to raise new revenue and efforts to promote economic development. The research also includes a large statistical dataset of Mexico’s 2,454 municipalities and a regression analysis that evaluates local tax efforts on economic growth, controlling for population, territorial size, and the professional development. In order to generalize these results, the research tests these discoveries by using statistical data gathered from a survey administered to Latin American municipal officials. The dissertation demonstrates that cities, which experience greater fiscal autonomy measured by the collection of more own-source revenue, are better able to stimulate effective economic development programs, and ultimately, create jobs within their communities. The results are bolstered by a large number of interviews, which were conducted with over 100 finance specialists, municipal presidents, and local authorities. The dissertation also includes an in-depth literature review on fiscal federalism, decentralization, debt financing and local development. It concludes with a discussion of the findings of the study and applications for the practice of public administration.

Les quatre articles de recherche qui composent cette thèse étudient le partage de ressources fiscales utilisées pour produire des biens publics communs ou des transferts pour améliorer la stabilisation macro-économique. Dans le premier chapitre, on considère un problème de centralisation optimale avec des juridictions qui ont des préférences hétérogènes pour les biens publics et une base mobile pour les financer. On adopte un modèle théorique avec une structure fédérale et un continuum de biens publics afin de porter plusieurs conclusions normatives sur le degré optimal de centralisation. La contribution du deuxième chapitre est de considérer un modèle de concurrence fiscale où les biens publics sont potentiellement caractérisés par des effets de déversement entre juridictions. On démontre que la coopération totale peut être atteinte si les effets de déversement dans la production de biens publics sont suffisamment grands pour l’emporter sur les incitations à demeurer un pays non-coopératif avec des taxes faibles. Dans le troisième chapitre, on construit un modèle DSGE de la zone euro (avec un cœur et une périphérie) avec des rigidités nominales, financières et sur le marché de l’emploi. Un modèle de référence où les politiques sont uniquement nationales, comme c’est le cas aujourd’hui, est établi pour le calibrage et celui-ci reproduit des observations empiriques pour la zone euro. Ensuite, on introduit une assurance chômage commune afin d’étudier ses propriétés stabilisatrices. Le quatrième chapitre analyse comment une capacité fiscale ciblant directement les ménages peut améliorer la stabilisation lorsque les taux d’intérêt sont au plancher égal à zéro. / The four research articles composing this PhD dissertation study the sharing of fiscal resources used to provide common public goods or transfers to contribute to macroeconomic stabilization. In the first chapter, we consider an optimal centralization problem with jurisdictions that have heterogeneous preferences for public goods and tax a mobile base to finance them. We adopt a theoretical model with a federal structure and a continuum of public goods to draw several normative conclusions from the study of the optimal degree of centralization. The contribution of this second chapter is to consider a tax competition model where public goods potentially exhibit cross-border spillovers. We show that full cooperation can be attained if spillovers in public good provision are high enough to remove the incentives to remain a low-tax non-cooperative player. In the third chapter, we build a DSGE model of the euro area (with a core and a periphery) with nominal, labor and financial rigidities. A baseline model where policies are only national, as it is the case now, is set as the reference for calibration which reproduces key empirical observations for the euro area. Then, we implement a common unemployment insurance and study its stabilization properties. The fourth chapter focuses on how a fiscal capacity targeting directly households can improve stabilization at the zero lower bound.

China's key forested region is located in the northeast. This region consists of state forest enterprises which manage harvesting and reforestation and have represented the most important source of wood supplies since the 1950s. Deforestation is a major problem there, however, and has resulted in several central government reforms. We develop a framework for assessing the social cost of state forest enterprise deforestation. We first develop a two-principal, one-agent model that fits the federalistic organization state forests, in that state forest managers make (potentially hidden) decisions under influence of provincial and central government policies and quotas meant to direct manager behavior. This model is used to derive an expression of the social cost of these hidden actions as well as a comparison of first and second best government policies. We then use panel data from a survey conducted by the Environmental Economics Program in China (EEPC) to compute social welfare losses and use a regression approach to confirm the main factors in these costs in practice. A sensitivity analysis shows that lower harvesting limits and a more accurate monitoring system are the keys to lowering social welfare loss. These are more important than conventional instruments used by the governments such as wages for managers that achieve certain targets. Through regression analysis we find that the remote areas with a higher percentage of mature natural forests are the ones that will always have the highest social welfare loss. These areas are the hardest to monitor, but our results show they must be a critical focus moving forward. / M.S. / China's key forested region is located in the northeast. This region consists of state forest enterprises which manage harvesting and reforestation and have represented the most important source of wood supplies since the 1950s. Deforestation is a major problem there. We develop a framework for assessing the damage to the society because of deforestation. We develop a theoretical model to describe the forest management structure, in which state forest managers make (potentially hidden) decisions under influence of provincial and central government policies. This model is used to derive an expression of the damage. We then use data from a survey conducted by the Environmental Economics Program in China (EEPC) to compute the damage and confirm the main factors in these damages in practice. We find that lower harvesting limits and a more accurate monitoring system are the keys to lowering the damage. These are more important than conventional instruments used by the governments such as wages for managers that achieve certain targets. We also find that the remote areas with a higher percentage of mature natural forests are the ones that will always have the largest damage. These areas are the hardest to monitor, but our results show they must be a critical focus moving forward.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

O Governo federal prioriza seus aliados locais na provisão de recursos públicos? Utilizando dados do Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil - programa do Ministério da Saúde que visa a provisão de saúde básica e o aumento da densidade médica nos municípios brasileiros -, esta dissertação estima o impacto do alinhamento partidário entre governos federal e municipal sobre os indicadores de médicos transferidos e de probabilidade de participação dos municípios no programa. São testadas ainda a existência de punição a municípios governados por partidos de oposição e efeitos diferenciados do alinhamento partidário para subamostras de municípios. Os resultados sugerem que não há privilégio aos municípios governados pelo partido do Governo Federal nem punição aos governados pela oposição. As evidências sinalizam também uma má focalização do programa e a existência de efeito do alinhamento partidário sobre a participação municipal no programa entre municípios governados por prefeitos em segundo mandato. / Does the federal government prioritize its local\'s allies on the provision of public resources? Using data of the Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil - an ongoing program from the Brazilian Ministry of Health that targets the provision of basic health services and the increase of the physicians per capita rate by transferring professionals to the Brazilian municipalities -, this dissertation assesses the impact of the political alignment between federal and local governments on the number of physicians transferred to municipalities and the municipalities\' probability of participation. The results suggest that the current federal government does not prioritize same-party municipalities nor penalizes the ones governed by the opposition parties. Evidence also indicate poor targeting of the program and the existence of party alignment effect on municipal participation among municipalities governed by second term mayors.

A tese analisa o problema da corrupção sob a perspectiva do direito econômico, buscando compreendê-la a partir da dicotomia público-privado e direito posto-pressuposto. Ambas as dicotomias são expostas e contextualizadas, voltando-se gradativamente ao contexto brasileiro. Por isso, em vez de conceber o objeto de estudo como universal e atemporal, a corrupção é localizada historicamente na formação do Estado brasileiro e nas relações patrimoniais deste com a sociedade: embora, com a importação de regras jurídicas do Estado moderno, tenha havido um verniz modernizante nos direitos penal, administrativo e político-constitucional, o substrato cultural atua de modo a condicionar sua aplicação e eficácia. No patrimonialismo brasileiro, o poder estatal é visto como um direito daquele investido da função pública, passível de ser exercido com pessoalidade, enquanto, de acordo com os princípios gerais de direito no Estado moderno, ao poder estatal corresponde um dever a ser exercido no cumprimento de uma função. Esse descompasso se encontra presente tanto nas formas mais explícitas de corrupção, claramente reprimidas pela regulamentação microjurídica, quanto em comportamentos mais sutis, muitos dos quais aceitos socialmente por parcelas significativas da população. Essas premissas informam a análise de variados aspectos do direito brasileiro, tais como os vários aspectos da discricionariedade, o corporativismo, o assimétrico federalismo fiscal e o orçamento público da União. Apesar de úteis e necessários, os mecanismos de combate à corrupção típicos da regulamentação microjurídica, expressos no direito posto, adotam uma lógica mercantilista no combate à corrupção, reduzindo-a ao mero jogo de alteração de incentivos e desincentivos. Logo, as propostas de reforma devem focar também os aspectos macrojurídicos do problema. / The thesis analysis the problem of corruption from the perspective of the economic law and tries to understand it with the support of the dichotomies between public-private spheres and positive-overpositive law. Both dichotomies are described and set within a context in order to gradually approach the Brazilian situation. For this reason, instead of conceiving of the subject matter as universal and timeless, the corruption has historically been found in the formation of the Brazilian state as well as in its patrimonial relationships with society; although a modernizing colour has been added following the importation of legal rules of the modern state in the criminal, administrative and political-constitutional laws, the underlying culture operates as a restraint on its application and efficiency. In the Brazilian patrimonialism, state power is deemed as a right of one individual vested with the public function, which can be used according to his or her private interests, whereas, according to the general principles of law in the modern state, state power consists of a duty to be fulfilled in order to perform a function. Such a mismatch is present both in gross corrupt behaviour, which is clearly banned by the microjuridical regulation, and in the more subtle practices, many of which are socially accepted by a significant number of people. These premises are used as guidelines for the analysis of several aspects of Brazilian law, such as the various facets of discretionary power, the corporativism, the asymmetric fiscal federalism and the federal budget. Even though the mechanisms for the fight against corruption used by the microjuridical regulation (positive law) are useful and necessary, they approach the problem using a mercantilistic logic which narrows down the debate on the dissuasion as to how to change the incentives and desincentives to corruption. In view of that, proposals for reform should also focus on the macrojuridical aspects of corruption.

Atualmente, nos sistemas constitucionais modernos, a dignidade da pessoa humana encontra papel central, verdadeiro embasamento axiológico do sistema jurídico e pedra angular do Estado. No sistema jurídico brasileiro, os direitos sociais são parte importante dos direitos fundamentas, pois garantem a dignidade humana materialmente considerada. Para assegurar os direitos sociais relacionados à Seguridade Social, a Constituição de 88 estabeleceu um meio de custeio específico, as contribuições sociais. O motivo constitucional dessa exação é assegurar financeiramente os direitos sociais relativos à Seguridade Social. O tema adquire relevo quando consideramos que tal modelo de tributação diretamente relacionado com uma atividade estatal específica não encontra efetividade prática. A arrecadação a título de contribuições sociais, na prática, é destinada a finalidade diversa. Isso significa que a União institui tributos para um propósito, mas utiliza o montante arrecadado para finalidade diversa. Ademais, o orçamento da Seguridade Social no Brasil não é utilizado como meio de planejamento de intervenção da União na seara social. Sua principal finalidade seria a de estimar a arrecadação das contribuições sociais e vinculá-las a programas e ações na área específica da Seguridade Social. Contudo isso não ocorre. Dessa forma, os efeitos da inércia da União podem ser notados na atual crise de subjetivação dos direitos sociais e também afetam a dinâmica do federalismo brasileiro. Esses fatores causam o que chamamos de crise da orçamentação fiscal, diretamente relacionado com a crise de efetividade dos direitos sociais. / Nowadays, in moderns constitutional systems, the human dignity is the axiological foundation of the whole legal system, justifying the States existence. In Brazilian legal system, the social rights are an import part of fundamental rights, since they enable the human dignity when materially considered. To assure these social rights, the Brazilian constitution establishes a specific social taxation, whose purpose is assuring the social rights related with Social Security. This subject is relevant, considering that the tribute has been linked to a definitive state activity, that however, does not absorb its collection to reach the end stated in its law of institution. That means that the federal government practices a purpose shunting line act, using the social taxation for objectives different from those that served as the reason for the approval of the law that created the tribute. Such perspective creates a state of perplexity in the society, since it is expected that the values collected by the Union revert to the activities that have justified them. Besides, the social budgeting in Brazil is not used as a way to plan the Unions intervention in social order. The fundamental paper of this budget should be collect the social taxation and plan the Unions intervention in social area, by programming actions and estimating financial possibilities. However, it does not happen. So, the effects of that non-intervention is notated in the difficulty in affirm social rights constitution assured. The result of the diverse use of social taxation can be notated in the actual format of fiscal federalism in Brazil, which is distinguished by the centralism and tension. These factors cause what we called social budgeting crisis, directly related with the social rights crisis.

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-07-09T18:11:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MauroSergiodeSouzaMoreiraDissertacao2017.pdf: 954732 bytes, checksum: f86e6c669063136cc898a4077cc18fb4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-07-09T18:12:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MauroSergiodeSouzaMoreiraDissertacao2017.pdf: 954732 bytes, checksum: f86e6c669063136cc898a4077cc18fb4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-09T18:12:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MauroSergiodeSouzaMoreiraDissertacao2017.pdf: 954732 bytes, checksum: f86e6c669063136cc898a4077cc18fb4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-11 / This study discusses, first, the possibilities and limits of the Fiscal Federalism and situational analysis of the problem affect the fiscal war; subsequently sets up basic concepts, elements as to the legal nature and form of incorporation of ICMS agreements in the legal and tax frameworks sites, highlight the proposal of the impact on the direction of state activities; and finally, check how the ICMS Agreements and amendments (proposed) laws can mitigate or not the effects of Tax War. / O presente estudo aborda, primeiramente, as possibilidades e limites do Federalismo Fiscal e a análise conjuntural do problema afeto à Guerra Fiscal; posteriormente, estabelece-se conceitos básicos, elementos quanto à natureza jurídica e forma de incorporação dos convênios de ICMS nos ordenamentos jurídico-tributários locais, a evidenciar as repercussões da proposta no direcionamento das atividades estatais; e, por fim, verificar de que forma os Convênios de ICMS e as alterações (propostas) legislativas podem mitigar ou não os efeitos da Guerra Fiscal. Faz-se necessário, assim, o estudo detido do Federalismo Fiscal, notadamente nos seus aspectos constitucionais, a partir de interpretação história, sistemática e teleológica. Além disso, compreender o problema da Guerra Fiscal, a partir de análise da Regra-Matriz de Incidência Tributária do ICMS. Nesse contexto, analisa-se a natureza jurídica dos Convênios de ICMS e forma de incorporação aos ordenamentos jurídicos locais. Por conseguinte, verificar de que forma os Convênios de ICMS e as alterações (propostas) legislativas podem mitigar os efeitos da Guerra Fiscal. Como o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, a hipótese se confirma, sendo certo que os Convênios de ICMS têm relevante papel na conformação do ordenamento jurídico tributário, sendo melhor conceituado como veículo introdutor de norma de harmonização do ordenamento jurídico-tributário e mitigação dos efeitos da “Guerra Fiscal”, considerando a estrutura e formas de incorporação dos Convênios, construiu-se arcabouço teórico sobre o tema a fim de concluir no sentido da existência de um Direito dos Convênios.

Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-05-24T19:12:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EdenCarmoSoares.pdf: 3133937 bytes, checksum: fbb5a4ec09882754fb527d148124f36c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-24T19:12:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EdenCarmoSoares.pdf: 3133937 bytes, checksum: fbb5a4ec09882754fb527d148124f36c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-30 / The Fiscal Liability Law (FLL) brought a set of measures intended to ensure a more responsible fiscal management in the country with an emphasis on achieving local revenues by subnational units. The study brings an economic data panel of the Maranhão State and its municipalities and demonstrates how it impacts on local public finances. For the theorical foundation, the formation of the Brazilian tax system is investigated as well as aspects related to the theory to taxes. The study also addresses the fical federalism, the distribution of tax sources by federal entities, and the verification of the units responsible for the public policies management. It presents the Brazilian economic scenario that gave rise to the implementation of the Real Plan in the 1990s and the reforms associated with it that resulted in the creation of the FLL. It stands out as a general objective of the research the examination of how Maranhão municipalities have adapted to the new standards of accountability brought by the FLL in fiscal management, and espcially if they have managed to raise their exclusive revenues. We used to instruments to achieve this goal: the Fiscal Management Firjan Index (FMFI) and the Tax Revenues Achievement Indicator (TRAI). In issues such as public investment, the state's municipalities are well placed when compared to others of the Federation. However, the evaluated city halls are at a lower level than the national average regarding the generation of the own revenue. Nevertheless, Maranhão municipalities managed to raise their private income after the introduction of the FLL, although this increase is concentrated in cities that received extraordinary invesments in particular sectors of the economy like Santo Antonio dos Lopes and Bacabeira. / A Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal (LRF) trouxe um conjunto de medidas que teve como intuito garantir uma gestão fiscal mais responsável no país, com ênfase na obtenção de receitas locais pelas unidades subnacionais. O estudo traz um painel de dados econômicos do Estado do Maranhão e de seus municípios e demonstra como ele impacta nas finanças públicas locais. Para a fundamentação teórica, é investigada a formação do Sistema Tributário Brasileiro, bem como, os aspectos relacionados à teoria dos tributos. Também são abordados o federalismo fiscal, a repartição das fontes tributárias pelos entes federativos e a verificação das unidades responsáveis pela gestão das políticas públicas. Apresenta-se o cenário que permeou a economia brasileira nos anos 1990, que deu ensejo à implantação do Plano Real e as reformas associadas a ele, e que redundaram na LRF. Destaca-se como objetivo geral da pesquisa examinar como os municípios maranhenses adaptaram-se aos novos padrões de responsabilidade na gestão fiscal trazidos pela LRF, e, especialmente, se esses conseguiram elevar suas receitas próprias. Para o alcance desse objetivo foram utilizados dois instrumentos: o Índice Firjan de Gestão Fiscal (IFGF) e o Indicador de Realização de Receita Tributária (IRRT). Constata-se que, em quesitos como investimentos públicos, os municípios do Estado estão bem situados, quando comparados aos demais da federação, mas em relação à geração de receitas próprias, as prefeituras avaliadas encontram-se em um patamar inferior à média nacional. Contudo, os municípios maranhenses conseguiram elevar suas receitas próprias após a instituição da LRF, não obstante esse incremento está concentrado em cidades que receberam aportes extraordinários de investimentos em setores específicos da economia, como exemplo, Santo Antônio dos Lopes e Bacabeira.

This dissertation seeks to develop the subject of local public finance in a manner consistent with the political economy of local governments. For ease of description, each essay will be discussed briefly. The first essay is titled "The Provision of Generalized Local Public Goods Financed by Distortionary Taxation." This essay models the provision of a local public good that is simultaneously utilized as a public consumption good and a public intermediate good. Since the public good can simultaneously enter both utility and production functions, it is considered a "generalized public good." This is done to model the provision of infrastructure by sub-federal governments, which is financed with taxes on local residents. A theoretical analysis provides a cost-benefit rule for public good provision by a rent-maximizing local government facing mobile households. Illustrative calculations of the marginal cost of public funds are provided. Calibrated to U.S. data, the role of intergovernmental transfers on the provision of infrastructure by rent-maximizing local governments is analyzed. Theoretical evidence of the higher responsiveness of local governments to matching grants relative to lump-sum grants is provided. The second essay is titled "The Impact of Local Households' Housing Tenure on Local Public Debt Levels." This essay investigates the relation between local housing tenure and local public debt. It does this by establishing housing tenure as a theoretical basis for the potential differences in how households view public debt. Homeowners capitalize the burden of local public debt into their home value, while renters do not. A hypothesis is generated that an increase in the renter share of households in a locality leads to higher levels of local public debt, all else equal. Using an instrumental variable approach, the empirical evaluation shows an increase in the proportion of renters leads to higher levels of public debt in a panel data set of U.S. local governments. Specifically, a one percentage point increase in the percent of renters increases unfunded public debt per household by $400, or about 7% of the average local debt level, and 24% of the county with the median debt level. This relationship is robust across multiple specifications. The third essay is titled "A Spatial Econometric Analysis of Local Households' Housing Tenure on Local Public Debt Levels: Implications for Federalism." This essay extends the model of the second essay by measuring the spatial spillovers using a spatial autoregressive model with autoregressive disturbances. The existence and magnitude of local government spillovers related to local public debt levels are used to inform policy makers at higher levels of government. The analysis identifies possible geographic segmentation of the municipal bond markets and the role of special district debt as a key component of the spatial distribution of local public debt. Additionally, a positive spatial disturbance is found.