Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study investigated the effectiveness of intergovernmental relations in improving service delivery in the Thabazimbi Local Municipality. Literature argue that despite the relationship between the three spheres of government, Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) does not always promote the constitutional objectives of cooperative governance which impacts on how socio-economic rights such as the provision of adequate housing are implemented. The study was conducted under the premise of quantitative methodology. A purposive sample of 42 respondents was used representing different department/sections/subsections of the Municipality, namely; Office of the Mayor, Office of the Municipal Manager, Chief Financial Officer, Town Planning and Economic Planning, and Cooperate Office. The outcome pointed out that the majority of participants agreed that the IGR framework and other legislation governing the IGR process to enhance service delivery were not fully known and understood to them. The results of the study revealed that there are no structures or forums in place to promote and facilitate intergovernmental relations and provide for appropriate mechanisms to ensure an improved service delivery. Some of the recommendations of the study include appointment of the IGR practitioner, that the TLM should embark on community programmes to inform people on the importance of IGR in developing the Municipality.

In December 2015, the world leaders gathered in Paris trying to address the urging challenges with climate change. The product of this meeting is called the Paris Agreement. Beforehand, many argued that another failure could not be accepted and the policymakers must let science influence the policy process. The aim of this study was to explore, through the epistemic community approach, in what way IPCC where able to influence the Paris Agreement. The results shows that the Paris Agreement was highly influenced under the topic sustainable development, while IPCCs assessments for mitigation and adaption was partly implemented.

published_or_final_version / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts

American cities have proliferated in the post-War era. More than 2,000 new cities were founded between 1950 and 2000. While the history of the local government boom has been documented, research into urban fragmentation has explored why there is no consolidation of metropolitan areas rather than exploring why Americans chose fragmentation initially. This dissertation proposes that individuals create new jurisdictions because individuals prefer to have governments which give them the services individuals desire, even if they could have similar (but not perfect) services cheaper in a larger jurisdiction. Individuals, however, must balance the benefit they get from better fitting cities with the price they must pay to live within the small cities. In the first part of the dissertation, I synthesize the literatures on urban governance and fragmentation with the literature on interest groups. This synthesis builds the argument for conceiving cities as interest groups and contributes a theory of urban behavior as the behavior of organized interest groups. I argue that urban fragmentation should exist anywhere there are urban areas –not only metropolises –and that fragmentation is produced by diversity in the population and constrained by the resources available for the formation of cities. In the second part of the dissertation, I analyze the fragmentation of both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to determine what drives fragmentation. I use Poisson regression on 2-period panel data from 1992 and 2002 collected from various public sources. I find that there are differences in the forms of fragmentation in the metropolis and the non-metropolis. In both types of urban settlement, fragmentation is driven by political and population diversity and available resources for forming cities. Legal authority and intergovernmental revenue are particularly important. Finally, I turn my attention to cities’ interactions with each other. I use a survey of Kentucky mayors, fielded with the Kentucky League of Cities, to determine why mayors of different cities to communicate with each other. Using specialized network methods I find that mayor-to-mayor contact is not based on goal and interest similarities as expected, but rather depends on sharing an organization which encourages communication –an Area Development District.

This dissertation examines multiple state and local expenditure categories in the United States to expand understanding of fiscal federalism and spatial interactions among governments. First, the author investigates the relationship between police expenditures and crime rates from a spatial perspective. Both police expenditures and crime rates in one state are found to exhibit a similar pattern to that in neighboring states. Spatial correlation is also detected between police expenditures and crime rates. As police of neighbors in fact deter crime at home, there are positive externalities present among the states. Second, the author conducts new tests on the Leviathan hypothesis, i.e., more competition, smaller government. While cost efficiency is used in place of government size to capture the idea that fiscal decentralization reduces wasteful expenditures, spatial interaction is taken as another measure for decentralization. The hypothesis is supported by some evidence from total, police, highway, and welfare expenditures.

The Kantian Triangle of democratic institutions, IGOs, and economic interdependence has received a great deal of attention by international relations scholars. This project expands on liberal theory by arguing the pacific effects of the Kantian Triangle extend beyond dyadic context, and shapes state decision making on defense spending decisions. This project asserts that as states (1) build democratic institutions, (2) increase the number of memberships in international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and (3) exposes domestic markets to the global economy and subsequent interdependence on foreign markets for both imports and exports, they are less likely to allocate resources toward the military. To test this argument I employ both quantitative and qualitative methods. I first utilize a pooled time series data set of all states from 1960-2000. I then examine the case of Brazil and its relationship with the Kantian Triangle and subsequent military planning decisions. I conclude that there is mixed evidence to support the notion that the Kantian Triangle reduces military spending. I establish that while democracies reduce military spending, consolidated democracies enjoy no additional benefit in military spending. However, the longer states are democracies the more likely they are to reduce spending, and if they have electoral systems based on consensus designs. I find that IGO memberships reduce military spending, however, the bulk of influence IGOs have on military spending decisions are retained by security focused organizations. Lastly, I find that international trade and overall economic globalization increases military spending, while regional trade decreases it. In all the Kantian Triangle has a substantial influence on military spending, yet it is clear from this project that this influence is not universal among all elements of the Kantian Triangle, and that the liberal influences are not completely pacific.

The purpose of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act 13 of 2005 is to facilitate co-operation among the three spheres of government. The implementation of this Act has posed many challenges for departments in Provincial Governments. Provinces lack monitoring and support mechanisms for the supervision of local government. In this study intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are explored as tools to enhance service delivery in the Free State Province. The primary objective of this study was to analyse the views of managers, staff members in public participation units, Speakers and Whips of municipalities in order to determine their level of understanding of intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance, and how these can enhance service delivery in the Free State Province. To attain this primary objective, the concept of intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are explained. Structures that enhance service delivery in the Free State Provincial Government were analysed. Research on the successes and failures of Provincial Government and Free State Legislature in enhancing service delivery was conducted. Recommendations on how intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance can enhance service delivery are made. The research was conducted in Free State Provincial Government and Municipalities in the Free State Province. The research comprised of literature study and an empirical survey using questionnaires to obtain data from managers, staff members in public participation unit, Speakers and Whips of municipalities. Respondents were tested on their views regarding their understanding of intergovernmental relations, co-operative governance and effective service delivery. The findings of this research demonstrated that there is no frequent engagement of Provincial Government and Municipalities during IDP processes, there is no system of monitoring and oversight over municipalities, and that the Provincial Government does not work together with municipalities during public consultation processes. This, therefore, is an indication that intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are not implemented effectively to enhance service delivery in the Free State. The study ends with recommendations for political leadership and management to action on intergovernmental relations, co-operative governance and makes recommendations for further research. The findings of the research demonstrate that: •There is no regular or frequent communication among the Provincial Government and Local Municipalities during the process of public consultation on IDPs. •Intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are not implemented effectively. •Municipal Speakers and Whips do not understand effective service delivery. •There is no frequent monitoring and evaluation of service delivery by Provincial Government. •There is little, if not none, financial, human and technical support from the Free State Legislature to Local Municipalities. •There is no regular communication between the Free State Legislature and Municipalities during the processes of public consultation. •There is no sharing of resources between the Provincial Legislature and Municipalities during the process of public consultation. / M. Development and Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

La fiscalité environnementale repose sur un double fondement: économique (le double dividende) et juridique (le principe pollueur payeur). Elle doit s'inscrire dans une réforme fiscale verte alliant flexibilité de l'instrument fiscal et pérennité des objectifs environnementaux. Dès lors, la responsabilité environnementale et sociale apparaît comme un nouveau paradigme. Cependant, face à l'internationalisation des problèmes environnementaux et de la concurrence fiscale, l'échelon régional est particulièrement approprié. Au sein même de l'Union européenne, différents scénarios sont possibles. L'ajustement des taxes aux frontières est ainsi un mécanisme efficace de reconnaissance des préoccupations environnementales. L'analyse de la fiscalité environnementale dans différents États, y compris des États en développement, permet d'en apprécier toutes les potentialités. Sans oublier l'hypothèse d'une fiscalité mondiale, l'usage des conventions fiscales internationales ou la reconnaissance d'une coutume internationale sont des hypothèses. / Environmental taxation is based on a double economic (the double dividend) and legal (the polluter pays principle) foundation. It must be part of a green tax reform combining flexible instruments with sustainable environmental objectives. So, the environmental and social responsibility appears as a new paradigm. However, in front of the globalization of environmental problems and tax competition, the regional level is suitable. Even within the European Union, some options are possible. Hence, the border tax adjustment is an effective mechanism regarding environmental concerns. The analysis of environmental taxation in various countries, including developing countries, shows all potentialities. Not to mention global taxation, the use of tax treaties and the existence of an international custom are hypotheses

This dissertation focuses on how distributive politics influences the geographic allocation of federal grants to state and local governments. A secondary focus is the role of social trust in the growth of government. In the first essay, I test the degree to which the earmark ban of 2011 prevented legislators from directing federal competitive grants to their home congressional districts and whether earmarking distorted equality in the distribution of federal grants across demographic groups. I find that earmarking skewed the distribution of federal grants toward wealthy congressional districts and away from poor congressional districts. This is a groundbreaking finding, considering that no literature has addressed the impact of earmarking on economic inequality. In the second essay, I estimate the returns to lobbying for local governments in terms of federal earmarked grants, and I find that local governments in counties with higher levels of income per capita were more likely to engage in lobbying. I also find evidence of a causal link between lobbying and federal earmarks to local governments. Given that local governments in wealthy areas tend to have larger tax bases, which allows them to more easily fund public infrastructure projects, my findings imply that lobbying and earmarking hampered the ability of federal grant programs to promote equality in the distribution of federal funds. The third essay utilizes time series econometrics to examine the relationship between government regulation, spending, interest group activity, and social trust in government.

M.Com. (Taxation) / The transition of South Africa to a democracy signifies large-scale changes in the political and economic spheres. The public sector, one of the main participants in the economy, does not escape this transformation. A more democratic structure entails, inter alia, increased empowerment of sub-national levels of government. This means that various functions must be devolved to provinces along with certain revenue sources in a bid to increase their autonomy and efficiency in service delivery. The fundamental aim of this paper is to analyze the intended future constitutional order of South Africa according to theoretical principles of decentralisation and tax devolution, and to propose a suitable tax framework for the new order. A primary prerequisite for a new tax structure is that the economic return on the revenue absorbed by government should be maximised. The problem is that some taxes are suitable for devolution and some should remain in the control of the national government. Furthermore, existing tax structures have to be considered when devising new tax frameworks.