Research on the Strategies That Can Improve the Financial Autonomy of Kaohsiung County Abstract Local autonomy is the foundation of democracy, and finance is the basis of government administration. Before local autonomy can be put into practice, a local government must have the legal right to finance. In order to improve the autonomy of local finance, the central government has enacted ¡§General Guideline for Local Taxation¡¨ and ¡§Law on Imposed Fees,¡¨ and the revised draft of the Financial Separation of Revenues and Expenditures Law was submitted to the Legislature for review and discussion. In other words, in the future, the central government will guarantee the basic financial needs of local governments, but local governments must resort to themselves to respond to their respective development and needs in other aspects. This will pose very harsh challenges and burdens to any local government. This is especially true when the financial sources for administrative districts are usually not sufficient. So how to improve the financial autonomy of local governments will be a major topic we will have to deal with. Literature review, analysis of secondary data, and in-depth interviews were conducted to collect financial statistics of government agencies, pertinent to the financial conditions of Kaohsiung County. Interviews of financial chiefs were also conducted to analyze and investigate issues on the system dimension and on the practical dimension. It was found that the central and the local government must work closely before the financial problems of Kaohsiung County can be solved. The things that the central government should do include: canceling the fixed-proportions distribution of over-the-board allocated tax money, revising the calculation of basic financial revenues, canceling inappropriate measures of tax deductions, and establishing statutory subsidy systems. The local government should work to increase the sources of finance, including making good use of ¡§General Guideline for Local Taxation¡¨ and ¡§Law on Imposed Fees,¡¨ improving management of public properties, adjusting tax base of property, setting into motion public facilities, and implementing land re-divisions and sectional buy-up. With regard to saving, the local government should downsize the personnel expenditures, make good use of resources of the private sector, encourage private sector¡¦s participation in investment, and privatize public services. The implementation of local autonomy depends on sound local finances. In the wake of the present difficult public financial conditions, local governments should follow the spirit of ¡§Help oneself before others come to help¡¨ so as to elevate their responsibility and financial autonomy in the future. Only through this method can financial problems be solved effectively.

Abstract Democratic politics is founded on local self-government, while promotion and advancement of local self-government rely on abundant local finance. There is a Chinese saying, ¡§finance is the mother of general affairs,¡¨ which refers to finance as the foundation for performing general affairs. As far as our country is concerned, local financial shortage has become a long-term issue. All the city and county governments do not have enough revenues to afford various expenditures. The unbalance between revenues and expenditures results in a wider and wider financial gap. Local governments cannot afford various expenditures or proceed with local infrastructure without debts or subsidies. Kaohsiung City has been in a difficult position of financial shortage in recent years as well, despite being a municipality. The growth rate of annual revenues is far lower than the increase rate of annual expenditures; on the other hand, the government becomes more and more dependent on subsidies every year. As a result, the financial autonomy is lowered, and the financial gap becomes wider as the government still has to owe debts to correspond to the expenditures. A comprehensive review is thus urgently needed, in order to come up with a set of complete and effective plans to improve financial balance and gradually restore sound and stable financial systems. This study investigated and analyzed the financial issues of Kaohsiung City through literature review, secondary data analysis, and empirical analysis, in order to have a solid understanding of the problems concerning the financial status, revenues and expenditures of Kaohsiung City, and to further probe into the influential factors that cause the difference between the revenues and expenditures of Kaohsiung City. It is hoped that this study can help understand the current local financial problems, find strategies to resolve the unbalance between revenues and expenditures, and draw up adequate solution plans, in order to solve the financial problems that Kaohsiung City is facing. Therefore, this study provides the following suggestions: strengthen collection of various taxes to increase treasury income; actively seek new financial resources to enhance self-governing financial power; encourage industries to make investment in Kaohsiung; strive to explore tourism resources to create a solid foundation for growth of tax revenues with prosperous economy; review organization functions and merge agencies with overlapping functions to cut financial expenditures; and encourage public participation in public infrastructure and revive economic activities of private enterprises.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20653号 / 経博第553号 / 新制||経||282(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 矢野 剛, 教授 劉 徳強, 教授 三重野 文晴, 准教授 高野 久紀 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DFAM

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La dynamique actuelle encadrée par la constitution de 2011 et les lois organiques de 2015 interpelle notre réflexion autour d'un nouveau cadre des relations financières entre l'État et les collectivités territoriales, dans le cadre d'une cohérence globale de notre système financier public. Cette dynamique réformatrice, ambitionne une nouvelle appréhension de l'organisation territoriale de notre pays, un nouvel encadrement des rapports entretenus entre le pouvoir central et les acteurs territoriaux et un basculement de la gestion locale vers une culture de performance des politiques publiques territoriales. Au travers ces diverses configurations, le pouvoir financier des collectivités territoriales, représente un pilier central de la réforme territoriale, du fait qu'il participe au renforcement des ressources financières des acteurs territoriaux, à l'amélioration de leurs compétences financières et à la modernisation du cadre financier et comptable local, et partant, à la modernisation de la gestion publique locale en générale. Notre recherche se propose d'apporter des propositions autour d'un nouveau modèle financier territoriale, en faveur d'une gestion performante des deniers publics, d'une meilleure harmonie de la décision politique territoriale et d'une convergence des politiques publiques territoriales au service des territoires et des citoyens. Cette démarche doit porter sur une meilleure articulation entre les compétences locales et les ressources financières, une répartition des charges entre l'État et les collectivités territoriales, un renforcement du pouvoir financier local et partant un repositionnement des compétences financières locales. / The current dynamics framed by the 2011 constitution and the organic laws of 2015 challenge our thinking around a new framework of financial relations between the state and local authorities, within the framework of a global coherence of our public financial system. This reformist dynamic aims at a new apprehension of the territorial organization of our country, a new framework of the relations maintained between the central power and the territorial actors and a shift from the local management towards a culture of performance of the territorial public policies. Through these various configurations, the financial skills of the local authorities, represent a central pillar of the territorial reform, because it participates in the reinforcement of the financial resources of the territorial actors, the improvement of their financial competences and the modernization of the local financial and accounting framework, and hence the modernization of local public management in general. Our research proposes to develop a new territorial financial model, in favor of an efficient management of the public funds, a better harmony of the territorial political decision and a convergence of the territorial public policies in the service territories and citizens. This approach should focus on a better link between local skills and financial resources, a division of responsibilities between the state and local authorities, a strengthening of local financial power and thus a repositioning of local financial skills.

Cette thèse porte sur « les contrôles des Cours régionales des comptes sur la gestion financière locale au Maroc ». L'enjeu est d'étudier la performance des différents contrôles confiés au CRC et surtout celle du contrôle de la gestion qui constitue la mission principale des juridictions financières. Les Cours régionales des comptes sont chargées d'effectuer le contrôle des comptes et le contrôle de la gestion des collectivités territoriales et de leurs groupements conformément à l'article 98 de la constitution. Toute la difficulté réside dans l'articulation entre le contrôle de régularité et le contrôle de la gestion ainsi que l'efficacité de ce dernier à réguler la gestion des finances locales au Maroc. Le dilemme s'accentue lors de la non-conformité des règles juridiques qui relatent la relation existante entre État et collectivité locales et l'objectif d'efficacité optimale dicté par les règles de bonne gestion des collectivités territoriales. [...] Toutefois, le constat est que la gestion communale se fait sans développement remarquable. Ainsi pour gérer les collectivités territoriales il revient aux conseils de mettre en place les moyens nécessaires pour optimiser leurs dépenses courantes de fonctionnement et de dégager des ressources pour l'investissement. Une réflexion poussé nous conduit à poser la question du comment combiner le contrôle vérification adaptée pour un objectif juridique et politique et le contrôle régulation adapté pour un objectif de gestion? Le contrôle des finances locales occupe une position privilégié au sein du modèle de développement économique et social du Maroc. Sur toute la chaîne du contrôle pratiqué sur les collectivités locales, le contrôle de la gestion exercé par les Cours régionales des comptes constitue un outil de pilotage et de redressement du management public local dont l'objectif est celui de comparer les résultats aux objectifs préalablement fixés afin de corriger les actions et de rapprocher les résultats aux objectifs. C'est ainsi que le contrôle de la gestion ne serait se réaliser sans une refonte approfondie de l'organisation des Cours régionales des comptes et de leur mode de fonctionnement ainsi que le développement de l'environnement interne et externe des collectivités territoriales. Tout en partant des constats, l'objectif du travail est de mener une réflexion sur la mise en place d'une nouvelle gouvernance financière locale et sur l'amélioration de la qualité et de la performance des interventions des Cours régionales des comptes en matière de contrôle de la gestion. Ainsi nous faisons allusion à l'efficacité interne et à l'efficacité externe. La première est relative à la qualité des interventions des Cours régionales des comptes quant à la deuxième elle est afférente à l'environnement externe dans lequel interviennent ces hautes institutions de contrôle. Ainsi après avoir passé en revue la pratique du contrôle de la gestion comme il est appliqué actuellement et décortiquer minutieusement les autres types de contrôle avoisinants afin de lever l'amphibologie et analyser les points forts et les limites de chacun, l'étude consiste à pencher à expliquer le comment d'un contrôle plus adapté au contexte évolutif des collectivités territoriales. / This thesis focuses on "controls of Regional Courts of account on local financial management in Morocco." The challenge is to study the performance of different control exerced by CRC and especially that of management contrai, which is the main mission of the financial jurisdictions. The Regional Audit is responsible for carrying out the audit and control of the management of local authorities and their groupings in accordance with Article 98 of the constitution. The difficulty lies in the link between contrai of regularity and control of the management and the effectiveness of the latter to regulate the management of local finances in Morocco. The dilemma is accentuated when the non-compliance of legal rules which tell the relationship between state and local communities and the goal of optimal efficiency dictated by the rules of good management of local authorities. Indeed, all contrai is effective only through its ability to adapt to the environment in which it operates. Such an environment is inevitably a changing component over time influences the way to involve local authorities. Indeed, the decentralization and deconcentration that knows the Morocco was accompanied by the reduction of guardianship and the adoption of the proposed advanced regionalization. Such a movement has erected local authorities in an integrated space in which local elected officiais, regulators, businesses, civil society, the Regional Courts of accounts and all the partners should seek to make contributions to improve the experienGe of citizens. However, the fact is that community management is without remarkable development. And to manage the local authorities it is for councils to implement the necessary means to optimize their current operating expenses and free up resources for investment. A reflection pushed leads us to the question of how to combine the audit adapted to control a legal and policy objective and regulatory control adapted to a management objective ?Local finance control occupies a privileged position in the economic and social development model of Morocco. The whole chain of control practiced on local communities, the management control exercised by the Regional Courts of accounts is a management- tool and recovery of local public management whose objective is to compare the results with agreed targets to correct actions and bring the results to the objectives. Thus the management control would be achieved without a thorough overhaul of the organization of the Regional Courts of accounts and their mode of operation and the development of the internai and extemal environment of local authorities. While starting the findings, the work aims to reflect on the creation of a new local financial govemance and improving the quality and performance of the interventions of Regional Court of account. So we're referring to the internai efficiency and extemal effectiveness. The first relates to the quality of interventions Regional Audit regarding the second is related to the extemal environment in which operate these high control institutions. So after reviewing the practice of management control as currently applied and thoroughly dissect other neighboring control types in order to lift the ambiguity and analyze the strengths and limitations of each study is to look to explain how a more sui table control to the evolving context of local authorities.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The prime aim of this thesis is to examine the link between fiscal decentralization and local financial governance in fiscally empowered woreda administrations (districts) of the Amhara region in Ethiopia. Local financial governance has been one of the reasons and arguably the crucial one that drives many countries to subscribe to fiscal decentralization. The presumption is that public finance mobilization and spending can be implemented in a more efficient, responsive, transparent and accountable manner at the local government level than at the centre. Nonetheless, empirical studies show that the linkage between fiscal decentralization and these local financial governance benefits is not automatic. Several developing countries that have tried to implement fiscal decentralization have failed to realise the promised financial governance gains largely due to design and implementation flaws. A review of the various theoretical perspectives suggest that local financial governance is not a factor of just devolution of fiscal power but also other intervening forces such as financial management system, citizen voicing mechanisms and the social and political context. It is within the framework of this theoretical argument that this study sought to investigate how the mixed and incomplete efforts of the district level fiscal decentralization program in the Amhara region has impacted on financial governance of woreda administrations. The study assesses the efficacy and role of various initiatives of the district level decentralization program of the Amhara region, such as the fiscal empowerment of woredas; financial management system reforms; citizen voicing mechanisms and political party structures and system in influencing woreda financial governance. To this end, the investigation process largely took the form of an interpretative approach employing a combination of various methods of gathering the required qualitative and quantitative data from respondents and documents in the selected four case woredas or districts. Findings on the assessment of the intergovernmental relations to measure the adequacy of devolution of fiscal power indicate that, despite the constitutional provision that affords the woredas the power to mobilize and spend public finance for the provision of various local public services, several design and implementation shortcomings have constrained woreda administrations from exercising such power effectively. As a result, the district level fiscal decentralization framework of the Amhara region appears to have features of decentralization by de-concentration rather than by devolution. Despite the extensive financial management reforms that have been undertaken, the research findings indicate that the financial management system in woreda administrations faces a range of challenges triggered largely by important design and implementation shortcomings. It is observed that the ‘getting the basics right first’ reforms in various financial management processes of woreda administrations are not only incomplete but also found to be inconsistent with each other and therefore could not serve their purpose. Furthermore, there has not been any other change in the last two decades since the initial implementation of these reforms despite such serious shortcomings. Most importantly, woreda administrations could not properly implement the techniques, methods, procedures and rules that constituted the reform process due to serious implementation problems such as the lack of manpower competency and problems associated with the lack of administrative accountability. The results of the study’s assessment regarding the practice of social accountability show that currently there is no arrangement for citizens to participate in public financial decisions and controls. In general, people have little interest in participating in the meetings organised by woreda government. Formal and informal community based organizations suffer from important capcity constraints, and the lack of strong civil society organizations to support these community based organizations makes such problems more difficult to resolve. However, local communities did indicate that they would be interested in participating in financial and budgeting processes if a number of conditions were satisfied. These included the availability of adequate and relevant information; the introduction of genuine forms of participation in which citizens were empowered; and evidence that popular participation was making a visible impact on financial decisions related to service delivery in their surroundings. The assessment of the ruling party structure and system suggests that the centralized system of the regional ruling party has created a dominant relationship between party organs at various levels so much sothat it has undermined the fiscal discretionary power of woreda administrations; blurred relationship between party and woreda financial management systems; and undermined direct voicing. Consequently, the genuine devolution of fiscal power, the effective implementation of the decentralised financial management systems, and direct participation of citizens are unlikely to be realised within the current ruling party system and structure. Moreover, the study shows that the intergovernmental relations, the implementation of financial management reforms and direct involvement of people influence each other. The evidence suggests that the effective implementation of the financial management reforms is not possible without genuine devolution of fiscal power and arrangements for the activeinvolvement of citizens. Despite these limitations and shortcomings, the research nevertheless reveals that the decentralization process has achieved some positive results, such as the expansion of access to basic services; the economic use of resources for such expansion; the mobilization of resources from local communities; and the streamlining of a number of bureaucratic processes. However, the prevalence of various financial governance challenges such as excessive budget transfers; low budget execution; uneconomical procurement; illicit spending; budget pressure; inadequate revenue collection; poor financial transparency; and compromised accountability in fiscally decentralized woreda administrations means the promised local financial governance benefits of fiscal decentralization are remain largely unrealized. The evidences in the study strongly suggest that the shortcomings in the design and implementation of intergovernmental relations, financial management system reforms, and direct voicing mechanisms areresponsible in combination with each other for these local financial governance challenges. Thus, the study concludes that local financial governance is a result of a complex network of interactions of intergovernmental relations, public financial management arrangements and social accountability mechanisms. The success of initiatives to improve local financial governance is dependent on contextual factors such as the capacity of civil society organizations and the ruling party system and structure. Therefore, while recommending further efforts of genuine devolution of power, in particular through the continuation of the financial management reform processes towards full-fledged reforms, the study contends that opening enough space for the proliferation of civil society organizations and alternative political parties will be the main priority.

不同金融體系結構，引導資金分配的過程也會有所差異，進而導致不同的經濟發展模式。本研究主要探討在不同地方金融制度中，地方政府與地方金融機構及地方企業之間的互動關係，如何影響中國大陸地方經濟發展模式。 本文認為，自中國政府推動金融改革以來，依據融資來源，各地區將會出現以銀行信貸為主、以中央資金為主及以民間金融為主的三種不同地方金融制度，這三種不同的地方金融制度對地方政府行為有不同的限制和影響。另一方面，各地方政府都是由不同的官僚部門所組成，存在不同部門之間的利益衝突，能否良好協調各部門之間的衝突將會影響地方資源的配置情形。在特定地方金融制度的影響下，加上各地方政府不同的官僚結構運作，本研究認為最終將會引導出五種不同的地區經濟發展路徑。 / The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how local political and economic institutions shape divergent paths of regional economic development among different localities in China. This research proposes five models of Chinese regional economic development. Through an analysis of Chinese different localities, this research states that under the constraints of local distinct financial structures, the ways in which local governments and businesses develop different strategies to interact and respond to market competition and difficulties influence capacities of local government for economic leadership, and result in various economic developmental patterns.