Normative economic theory provides justification for at least partially centralized renewable energy provision due to the large, positive externalities associated with renewable energy production. However, the United States is one of the few countries without centralized renewable energy policy. Instead, the federal government actively chooses decentralized renewable energy provision by using fiscal transfers to support subnational renewable energy development. This dissertation explores why U.S. legislators choose decentralized renewable energy provision by asking two primary questions. First, what is the motivation for using federal fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy output considering what we know about positive spillovers and market failure associated with decentralized renewable energy production? Second, do fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy provision increase renewable energy production at the local level? The theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four posits why policymakers choose decentralized renewable energy provision. The chapter argues that the current political price associated with a specific policy issue affects legislators’ choices regarding good provision. I hypothesize that when the political price associated with vying for centralized good provision is high, legislators are incentivized to choose decentralized good provision. Chapter Five applies this theory to empirically evaluate the choice to decentralize renewable energy provision. The chapter examines whether the current political price of renewable energy policy affects the likelihood of a legislator proposing decentralized funding for renewable energy provision. I hypothesize that legislators will propose funding to support decentralized renewable energy development when the political price associated with renewable energy policies is high at a given time. The results show that when the political price of renewable energy policy is low, a policymaker is less likely to use grants to support renewable energy projects, finding support for the hypothesis. Chapter Six empirically evaluates the effectiveness of renewable energy grants at the local level to further understand the theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four. I hypothesize that receiving a renewable energy grant increases renewable energy output at the local level. The results support this hypothesis by showing that receiving a renewable energy grant is associated with significant and positive increases in solar energy production. These findings provide further insight into legislative decision-making and the role of renewable energy grants in renewable energy development in the U.S.

Whether the results of fiscal transfers have positive or negative implications depends upon the incentives that transfer systems create for both central and local governments. The complexity and ambiguity of the relationship between fiscal transfers and tax revenues of local governments is one of the main causes why research projects, even in the same country, come to different results. This investigation is seriously questioning the often stated substitution effect based only on an analysis of aggregated data and finally rejects in the qualitative part of this research (using survey techniques) a substitution effect in the majority of the assessed municipalities. While most theories are modeling governments as tax-maximizers (Leviathan) or as being prone to fiscal laziness, this investigation shows that mayors react to a whole set of incentives. Most mayors react rational and rather pragmatically in respect to the incentives and constraints which are established by the particular context of a municipality, the central government and their own personality/identity/interests. While the yield on property tax in Peru is low, there are no signs that increases in transfers have had, on average, a negative impact on their revenue generation. On an individual basis there exist mayors who are revenue maximizers, others who are substituting revenues and others who show apathy. Many engage in property tax. While rural or small municipalities have limited potential, property taxes are the main revenue sources for the Peruvian urban municipalities, rising on average 10% during the last five years. The property tax in Peru accounts for less than 0.2% of GDP, which compared to the Latin American average, is extremely low. In 2002, property tax was collecting nationwide about 10% of the overall budget of local governments. In 2006, the share was closer to 6% due to windfall transfers. The property tax can enhance accountability at the local level and has important impacts on urban spatial development. It is also important considering that most charges or transfers are earmarked such that property tax yields can cover discretionary finances. The intergovernmental fiscal transfers can be described as a patchwork of political liabilities of the past rather than connected with thorough compensation or service improvement functions. The fiscal base of local governments in Peru remains small for the municipalities and the incentive structure to enhance property tax revenues is far from optimal. The central government and sector institutions, which are in the Peruvian institutional design of the property tax responsible for the enablement environment, can reinforce local tax efforts. In the past the central government permanently changed the rules of the game, giving municipalities reduced predictability of policy choices. There are no relevant signs that a stronger property tax is captured by Peruvian interest groups. Since the central government has responsibility for tax regulation and partly valuation there has been little debate about financial issues on the local political agenda. Most council members are therefore not familiar with tax issues. If the central government did not set the tax rate and valuation then there would probably be a more vigorous public debate and an electorate that was better informed about local politics. Elected mayors (as political and administrative leaders) are not counterbalanced and held in check by an active council and/or by vigorous local political parties. Local politics are concentrated on the mayor, electoral rules, the institutional design and political culture – all of which are not helpful in increasing the degree of influence that citizens and associations have upon collective decision-making at the local level. The many alternations between democracy and autocracy have not been helpful in building strong institutions at the local level. Property tax revenues react slowly and the institutional context matters because an effective tax system as a public good can only be created if actors have long time horizons. The property tax has a substantial revenue potential, however, since municipalities are going through a transfer bonanza, it is especially difficult to make a plea for increasing their own revenue base. Local governments should be the proponents of property tax reform, but they have, in Peru, little policy clout because the municipal associations are dispersed and there exists little relevant information concerning important local policy issues. / Ob die Auswirkungen von Fiskaltransfers auf die Generierung von lokalen Steuereinnahmen positiv oder negativ sind, wird in der akademischen Literatur weiterhin offen diskutiert. Die Komplexität und Ambivalenz der Fiskalbeziehungen zwischen Gebietsköperschaften und Zentralregierung führt manchmal selbst innerhalb eines gleichen Landes zu unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen. Die hier vorliegende Untersuchung hinterfragt kritisch den oft postulierten Effekt in dem Eigeneinahmen durch Transferzahlungen substituiert werden. Während die meisten wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten Regierungen entweder als tax-maximizers (Leviathan) oder als fiscal lazy darstellen, zeigt diese Untersuchung, dass die meisten Bürgermeister spezifisch auf eine Vielzahl von Anreizen rational und pragmatisch reagieren. Obwohl die Eigeneinnahmen der Lokalregierungen in Peru generell niedrig sind, kann ein direkter Zusammenhang zwischen kontinuierlich ansteigenden Grundsteuereinnahmen und Fiskalzuweisungen eher verneint werden. Die Anreizstruktur in Peru zur Generierung von lokalen Steuereinnahmen ist hinderlich und teilweise sogar kontraproduktiv. Die Zentralregierung und gewisse Spezialinstitutionen spielen in Peru wichtige Funktionen hinsichtlich lokaler Steuergenerierung und sind mitverantwortlich für die positive Gestaltung der Anreizstruktur.

This work proposes a new theory of authoritarian regimes: responsive authoritarianism. Most existing theories of autocracies take as their point of departure elite politics or the state’s repressive apparatus to explain the rise and fall of regimes. I argue that, for many states, regimes also have to consider the consent of the governed when designing policies. Specifically, when regime legitimacy is low but the central leadership maintains a long time horizon, autocratic regimes are predicted to become more responsive to the needs of citizens. This theory is tested against a number of aspects of the Chinese fiscal system dealing with public goods provision during the period of 2002-2011 and generally finds in favor of the theory. Chapter 4 tests the fiscal transfer system, Chapter 5 tests the fiscal expenditure data, and Chapter 6 tests data on the results of the transfer and expenditure data: actual public goods provision. This theory has a number of implications that suggest that scholars begin to rethink how they conceptualize power dynamics within an authoritarian regime, in particular paying closer attention to the relationship between the ruler(s) and the ruled. It suggests that, at least in the political science literature, power be returned to the people.

O objetivo desta dissertação é investigar a sustentabilidade fiscal dos estados brasileiros durante o período entre 2001 e 2015 e verificar como esta é afetada pelo sistema de transferências intergovernamentais. Para tanto, foram apresentadas as configurações institucionais da política fiscal das Unidades Federativas e definidas duas medidas diferentes de saldo primário, uma delas incluindo e outra excluindo as receitas e despesas com transferências intergovernamentais. Através das referidas medidas foram aplicadas técnicas de dados em painel para avaliar se a relação Dívida/PIB influenciou positivamente o Saldo Primário (Modelo de Bohn: 1998, 2008). Os resultados indicam que a dívida pública não é sustentável e que a evidência de não sustentabilidade independe da inclusão/exclusão das transferências intergovernamentais. Os efeitos, contudo, são heterogêneos. Os estados das regiões Sul e Sudeste, pagadores líquidos de transferências, não atendem a condição de sustentabilidade quando é usado o saldo primário usual, passando a atendê-la quando as transferências intergovernamentais são desconsideradas. Já os demais estados demonstram grande fragilidade fiscal, não atendendo a condição de sustentabilidade sob nenhuma circunstância. Palavras / The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate Brazilian states\' fiscal sustainability during the period 2001 to 2015 and verify how the system of intergovernmental transfers affects it. Therefore, we estimate fiscal reaction functions using two measures of primary balance, one including and other excluding the revenues and expenditures of transfers. The results indicate that the public debt is not sustainable, regardless the inclusion/exclusion of intergovernmental grants. The effects are, however, heterogeneous. States in the South and Southeast, which are liquid donors of grants, do not attend the sustainability condition for the usual primary balance, the reverse occurring when the primary balance exclude the intergovernmental transfers. The remaining states, however, show great fiscal fragility, since they do not attend the sustainability condition under no circumstance.

O objetivo desta dissertação é investigar a sustentabilidade fiscal dos estados brasileiros durante o período entre 2001 e 2015 e verificar como esta é afetada pelo sistema de transferências intergovernamentais. Para tanto, foram apresentadas as configurações institucionais da política fiscal das Unidades Federativas e definidas duas medidas diferentes de saldo primário, uma delas incluindo e outra excluindo as receitas e despesas com transferências intergovernamentais. Através das referidas medidas foram aplicadas técnicas de dados em painel para avaliar se a relação Dívida/PIB influenciou positivamente o Saldo Primário (Modelo de Bohn: 1998, 2008). Os resultados indicam que a dívida pública não é sustentável e que a evidência de não sustentabilidade independe da inclusão/exclusão das transferências intergovernamentais. Os efeitos, contudo, são heterogêneos. Os estados das regiões Sul e Sudeste, pagadores líquidos de transferências, não atendem a condição de sustentabilidade quando é usado o saldo primário usual, passando a atendê-la quando as transferências intergovernamentais são desconsideradas. Já os demais estados demonstram grande fragilidade fiscal, não atendendo a condição de sustentabilidade sob nenhuma circunstância. Palavras / The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate Brazilian states\' fiscal sustainability during the period 2001 to 2015 and verify how the system of intergovernmental transfers affects it. Therefore, we estimate fiscal reaction functions using two measures of primary balance, one including and other excluding the revenues and expenditures of transfers. The results indicate that the public debt is not sustainable, regardless the inclusion/exclusion of intergovernmental grants. The effects are, however, heterogeneous. States in the South and Southeast, which are liquid donors of grants, do not attend the sustainability condition for the usual primary balance, the reverse occurring when the primary balance exclude the intergovernmental transfers. The remaining states, however, show great fiscal fragility, since they do not attend the sustainability condition under no circumstance.

O trabalho concentra-se sobre o critério do valor adicionado fiscal na repartição do ICMS, com o objetivo de verificar sua adequação como mecanismo de provisão de recursos financeiros a Municípios, no contexto do federalismo fiscal brasileiro. Mediante análise teórica, de dados de distribuição e legislação referente à repartição e ao ICMS, identificamos que o valor adicionado fiscal é gerador de enormes desigualdades de tratamento entre Municípios de porte equivalente e de oscilações brutais de valores de transferência de um para outro ano, mas, sobretudo, que é juridicamente inadequado à multiplicidade de locais de ocorrência de fatos geradores e a heterogeneidade do imposto que pretende repartir. Não atinge, assim, o propósito de medir a adição de valor em um território, nem o de conferir aos Municípios receitas em montante similar ao potencial de arrecadação de um imposto sobre valor adicionado municipal depurado dos efeitos de imunidades, isenções, diferimentos e substituições tributárias, que justificou sua criação. A permanência da utilização do critério do valor adicionado por décadas é apontada no trabalho como resultante de acomodações e ajustes institucionais, característicos de dependência de trajetória (path dependence), que, desrespeitando os limites jurídicos de regulamentação, disfarçam a inadequação do critério e perpetuam as desigualdades e instabilidades dele advindas. Justifica-se, assim, que atenções sejam voltadas à análise de alternativas à repartição do ICMS por outros meios que não o VAF e o aperfeiçoamento de seus mecanismos de regulação, caso permaneça sendo utilizado. / The Added Value Criteria (VAF) is used in Brazil for purposes of ICMS (A State tax on circulation of goods, communication and interstate and intercity transportation services) revenue sharing to cities. The data on how the VAT based tax sharing occurs shows that VAT is a source of inequalities in resource distribution to cities of equivalent population and oscillations in the amounts received by a given city along the years. Moreover and as the central hypothesis of this thesis, VAF, as defined in Brazilian legislation, is not suitable to the complexity of situations and places of occurrence of ICMS taxable events nor to the effects of ICMS on prices, being, thus, unable to measure the value added in each city territory and to protect the revenue sharing from the effects of ICMS exemptions, constitutional immunities, deferrals and tax substitutions. Being so, the VAT regulations, do not recreate the potential of a municipal VAT, falling short in accomplishing the purposes it was created for. In spite of its defects, VAT remains in use decades after its creation as a result of accommodations and institutional adjustments that can be explained by a path dependence trajectory that was, and still, is able to disguise its chronic inadequacies and to perpetuate the inequalities and instabilities arising out of such distribution criteria. Our conclusions on VAF justify the study of other alternatives for the ICMS revenue sharing, as well as attempts to improve the quality of VAT regulations.

O trabalho concentra-se sobre o critério do valor adicionado fiscal na repartição do ICMS, com o objetivo de verificar sua adequação como mecanismo de provisão de recursos financeiros a Municípios, no contexto do federalismo fiscal brasileiro. Mediante análise teórica, de dados de distribuição e legislação referente à repartição e ao ICMS, identificamos que o valor adicionado fiscal é gerador de enormes desigualdades de tratamento entre Municípios de porte equivalente e de oscilações brutais de valores de transferência de um para outro ano, mas, sobretudo, que é juridicamente inadequado à multiplicidade de locais de ocorrência de fatos geradores e a heterogeneidade do imposto que pretende repartir. Não atinge, assim, o propósito de medir a adição de valor em um território, nem o de conferir aos Municípios receitas em montante similar ao potencial de arrecadação de um imposto sobre valor adicionado municipal depurado dos efeitos de imunidades, isenções, diferimentos e substituições tributárias, que justificou sua criação. A permanência da utilização do critério do valor adicionado por décadas é apontada no trabalho como resultante de acomodações e ajustes institucionais, característicos de dependência de trajetória (path dependence), que, desrespeitando os limites jurídicos de regulamentação, disfarçam a inadequação do critério e perpetuam as desigualdades e instabilidades dele advindas. Justifica-se, assim, que atenções sejam voltadas à análise de alternativas à repartição do ICMS por outros meios que não o VAF e o aperfeiçoamento de seus mecanismos de regulação, caso permaneça sendo utilizado. / The Added Value Criteria (VAF) is used in Brazil for purposes of ICMS (A State tax on circulation of goods, communication and interstate and intercity transportation services) revenue sharing to cities. The data on how the VAT based tax sharing occurs shows that VAT is a source of inequalities in resource distribution to cities of equivalent population and oscillations in the amounts received by a given city along the years. Moreover and as the central hypothesis of this thesis, VAF, as defined in Brazilian legislation, is not suitable to the complexity of situations and places of occurrence of ICMS taxable events nor to the effects of ICMS on prices, being, thus, unable to measure the value added in each city territory and to protect the revenue sharing from the effects of ICMS exemptions, constitutional immunities, deferrals and tax substitutions. Being so, the VAT regulations, do not recreate the potential of a municipal VAT, falling short in accomplishing the purposes it was created for. In spite of its defects, VAT remains in use decades after its creation as a result of accommodations and institutional adjustments that can be explained by a path dependence trajectory that was, and still, is able to disguise its chronic inadequacies and to perpetuate the inequalities and instabilities arising out of such distribution criteria. Our conclusions on VAF justify the study of other alternatives for the ICMS revenue sharing, as well as attempts to improve the quality of VAT regulations.

This habilitation thesis consists of seven published journal articles and one published book chapter. Part I, consisting of chapter 1, introduces the overarching theme of environmental policy instruments and discusses the current use of and prospects for economic instruments in conservation policies. A number of research gaps are identified which are addressed in the subsequent chapters. Part II, consisting of chapters 2–5, encompasses four papers focused on a single type of policy instrument: intergovernmental fiscal transfers. Although well documented in public finance literature, intergovernmental fiscal transfers remain a somewhat neglected instrument in environmental policy. Despite being well suited to address the spillover benefits that often accrue with conservation policies, there is scant research literature on ecological fiscal transfers compared to other economic instruments such as environmental taxes or tradable permits. In fact, very few countries make practical use of them to achieve conservation objectives. Thus intergovernmental fiscal transfers are an innovative instrument in conservation policies in particular, so that advances in both theory and applied research may prove especially beneficial here. Part III, consisting of chapters 6–9, combines a number of articles in integrative biodiversity research and applied biodiversity governance, themes that are often neglected in the economic analysis of environmental policy instruments. However, when implementing policy instruments in societal settings, interdisciplinary research bridging the natural and social sciences is as much a prerequisite as policy-relevant research that responds to the needs of decision makers and other stakeholders. Both policy design and policy evaluation yield the best outcomes when they involve ecologists, economists, legal and other social scientists, as this ensures that consideration is given to ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency, administrative feasibility, social acceptance, and perception by stakeholders. Policy-relevant research also responds to current societal developments and prospective changes in legislation which may provide windows of opportunity to propose new instruments. Meanwhile, sound empirical research and case study design are indispensable in making concrete policy recommendations, taking into account existing formal and informal institutions.

Submitted by Pedro Santos (pcostasantos@gmail.com) on 2015-09-14T19:50:58Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Um modelo de correção da distribuição de população para municípios brasileiros - Pedro João Costa Santos, 2015.pdf: 1974775 bytes, checksum: 0911e2715fa61fdd7bdfcbd4c1dd5250 (MD5) SANTOS, 2015.zip: 1966660 bytes, checksum: 89c5e062d1015b9a26d49eeca1171f2a (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: Pedro, Será necessário alguns ajustes na formatação das primeiras páginas, conforme as normas da ABNT. Segue abaixo: CAPA: Retirar a acentuação do nome GETULIO. CAPA e CONTRA CAPA: São Paulo deve estar em letras maiúsculas. Centralizar o título Agradecimentos e retirar os espaços entre os parágrafos. Centralizar os títulos RESUMO e ABSTRACT e retirar os dois pontos. O texto deve estar abaixo do título. Após alterações, realize uma nova submissão. Att. on 2015-09-14T21:18:30Z (GMT) / Submitted by Pedro Santos (pcostasantos@gmail.com) on 2015-09-14T21:33:15Z No. of bitstreams: 2 SANTOS, 2015.zip: 1966660 bytes, checksum: 89c5e062d1015b9a26d49eeca1171f2a (MD5) Um modelo de correção da distribuição de população para municípios brasileiros - Pedro João Costa Santos, 2015.pdf: 1974743 bytes, checksum: 556fbae388c4f56704a2295832f301ea (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br) on 2015-09-14T21:38:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 SANTOS, 2015.zip: 1966660 bytes, checksum: 89c5e062d1015b9a26d49eeca1171f2a (MD5) Um modelo de correção da distribuição de população para municípios brasileiros - Pedro João Costa Santos, 2015.pdf: 1974743 bytes, checksum: 556fbae388c4f56704a2295832f301ea (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-14T22:36:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 SANTOS, 2015.zip: 1966660 bytes, checksum: 89c5e062d1015b9a26d49eeca1171f2a (MD5) Um modelo de correção da distribuição de população para municípios brasileiros - Pedro João Costa Santos, 2015.pdf: 1974743 bytes, checksum: 556fbae388c4f56704a2295832f301ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-12 / Este trabalho propõe um método para corrigir a distorção observada na distribuição de população dos municípios brasileiros presente nos dados de Censo Demográfico. Essa distorção se caracteriza por uma concentração elevada de municípios com valores de população próximos das mudanças de faixa do Fundo de Participação de Municípios (FPM). O método identifica os municípios candidatos a ajuste, ou seja, com maiores distorções obtidas através de um método Jackknife, e sugere uma correção para sua população de acordo com um modelo linear que segue a Lei de Zipf de distribuição de população de cidades (ZIPF, 1949). Após o ajuste o proposto, o teste de McCrary (2008) captura significativa redução nas descontinuidades na distribuição da população dos municípios para os anos de 2000, 2007 e 2010. / This paper proposes a correction method for the distortion observed in the Brazilian municipalities population distribution in the Demographic Census data. This distortion is defined by a heightened concentration of municipalities with population close to the values of the interchanging levels of the Municipal Participation Fund (Fundo de Participação de Municípios ­ FPM). This method identifies the candidate municipalities for adjustment by evaluating their distortion, obtained through a Jackknife method application, and suggests a corrected value for its population, according to a linear model which follows Zipf`s Law for cities (ZIPF, 1949). After the proposed adjustment, the McCrary test (2008) observes significative reduction of discontinuities in the municipalities population distribution for the years 2000, 2007 and 2010.

Cette thèse contribue aux travaux récents sur les effets de la politique budgétaire à court terme sur l'économie. Plus précisément, sont étudiés dans cette thèse trois principaux aspects de la politique budgétaire à court terme. Premièrement, un des messages principaux consiste à dire que l'impact de la politique budgétaire sur l'économie dépend fortement de l'instrument fiscal utilisé. Augmenter les transferts aux ménages, augmenter l'investissement public ou diminuer les cotisations patronales sur les salaires produisent des effets fort différents sur les variables macroéconomiques clefs et notamment sur le niveau d'activité. Deuxièmement, au delà des effets sur l'activité économique, une large partie de cette thèse analyse l'impact de chocs budgétaires sur le marché du travail. Un des principaux résultats est qu'il paraît délicat de traduire des multiplicateurs sur l'activité en multiplicateurs sur le chômage, notamment à cause de la réponse de l'offre de travail.Troisièmement, nous savons que de multiples facteurs influencent la taille du multiplicateur budgétaire. Deux de ces éléments sont abordés dans cette thèse : la position de l'économie sur le cycle économique et la réponse de la politique monétaire. Les deux premiers chapitres de la thèse analysent ces différents aspects dans un cadre d'économie fermée. Les deux derniers chapitres traitent de la politique budgétaire en union monétaire en analysant les effets de débordement entre États membres ainsi que les capacités stabilisatrices de mécanismes de transferts budgétaires entre États membres afin d'amortir les chocs conjoncturels. / This thesis aims at contributing to the recent studies which investigate the short-run effects of fiscal policy on economic activity. More precisely, three main aspects of fiscal policy in the short run are analyzed. First, one major message is that the impact of fiscal policy on the economy depends strongly on the fiscal instrument used by the government. Rising transfers to households, increasing public investment or cutting social protection tax trigger very different effects on key macroeconomic variables and especially on output. Second, one large part of this thesis is dedicated to the analysis of the effects of fiscal policy shocks on the labor market. One main result is that we cannot determine unemployment fiscal multipliers according to the value of the output fiscal multiplier, especially because of the response of the labor force participation to fiscal policy shocks. Third, this is well-known that many elements influence the size of the output fiscal multiplier. Two of these elements are considered throughout this thesis: the position of the economy over the business cycle and the behavior of the monetary policy. The two first chapters of this thesis analyze these different aspects in some closed economy models. The two last chapters extend this study at the case of a monetary union by investigating the spillover effects of fiscal policy between member states but also the stabilizing properties of fiscal transfer mechanisms between member states in order to soften cyclical shocks.