In this dissertation we analyze the role of parties’ electoral competition in aggregating voters’ preferences over policy and its impact on tax design. The representation of voters’ interests is central for the analysis of public finance since the issue of aggregation is closely linked to the tradeoff between efficiency and redistribution, and the size and composition of public spending. Parties’ aggregation of preferences is related to the mechanism in which policy makers (parties) weigh the relative merits of competing goals of the tax system (in our analysis, redistribution versus efficiency), and reveals the welfare calculus throughout parties identify groups of individuals who might be beneficiated (hurt) by policy changes. In the first essay we analyze the influence of voters in modifying tax policy through tax initiatives. In this essay we argue that the process of aggregation of preferences between the competition for votes in a representative democracy and the majority rule are different. This, in turn, might lead to the approval of a tax rate limit (TRL) initiative. We argue that the rationale for a TRL proposal is to substitute feasible tax structures rather than to constrain the government’s power to collect taxes. In addition, we provide a model that predicts the tax structure that would arise as a result of a TRL The second essay addresses the role of voters’ partisan attitudes in the determination of fiscal policies. We argue that partisan attitudes and its distribution across the electorate influence the proportion of the expected votes that different coalitions deliver in the election. We identify conditions in which voters’ partisan attitudes affect the provision of a public good and the redistributive properties of the tax structure. The third essay extends our previous analysis of the impact of voters’ partisan attitudes on tax design by incorporating parties that are policy motivated. In this setting, the relative merits of efficiency versus redistribution in designing the tax system are determined by the process of aggregation of voters’ preferences and parties’ preferences over policy. The conflict between parties and the electorate’s preferences over tax policy depends on voters’ partisan attitudes. In particular, voters’ party affiliation soft parties’ electoral constraints, allowing parties to advance the interests of their constituents. The model predicts that redistribution (efficiency) will play a more prominent role for a party that represents a coalition of low (high) income individuals with a high (low) taste for public goods.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "August, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-49). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Mémoire (M.E.S.R.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1993. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

This dissertation examines the effects of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) stringency and its interaction with revenue diversity and the council-manager form of government on municipal general fund expenditure. TELs are explicit rules that states impose to reduce local government spending. TELs stringency varies from state to state, leading to difficulties in assessing their impact across the nation. This dissertation proposes a new means for measuring the stringency of TELs imposed on local governments. Factor analysis is utilized, and then factor scores are calculated to identify degrees of TELs stringency. This study contends that higher levels of TELs stringency are associated with lower local government spending. However, the effectiveness of TELs is dependent on revenue diversity and the form of government. This study suggests that both revenue diversity and the council-manager form of government mitigate the impacts of TELs stringency on local government spending. Panel data from 2007 to 2011 from 1,508 municipalities are utilized. This study finds that higher levels of TELs stringency are associated with lower levels of municipal general fund expenditures per capita. However, TELs stringency is effective only when revenue diversity is low and when cities have a form of government other than council-manager. These results are generally consistent with the theory presented in this dissertation.

Mémoire (M.E.S.R.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1992. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis(M.Com. (Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The reality is that the South African GDP is not within the range of what is projected the previous years. As the proposed expenditure for 2017/18 totals R1.56 trillion according to the 2017 budget speech, the treasury also need to reduce spending by a total of R26 billion over the next two years. Economic growth continues to be below expected levels in South Africa and unemployment is very high. The relationship between inflation, economic growth and government expenditure is important in both developing and developed countries. Like in any other economy in the world, the South African government’s most important role is to promote economic growth, and also to sustain high economic growth with low inflation (Brand South Africa, 2015). The study is completely based on secondary data. The methodology is quantitative which includes econometrical tools. For this purpose, this study applied Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips Perron unit root tests, Choice of the lag length, Johansen-Juselius Co-integration analysis, VEC Granger Causality/Block exogeneity Wald test, Vector Error Correlation Model, Diagnostic tests, Stability tests, Impulse response and Choleski/Variance decomposition methodology. From the findings, the results derived by applying Johansen-Juselius Co-integration indicate that there is a longterm relationship between the rate of inflation, economic growth and government expenditure, and also that both government expenditure and inflation impact negatively on economic growth. The results indicate that government expenditure encourages inflation impacting negatively on investment and the country’s GDP. Granger causality runs jointly from all three variables inflation, government expenditure and investment to the dependent variable (economic growth)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Willoughby, Katherine; Committee Member: Eger, Robert; Committee Member: Kingsley, Gordon; Committee Member: Sjoquist, David; Committee Member: Wallace, Sally.

The problem of this study is to determine whether or not Texas public schools lost revenue when constitutionally mandated tax relief measures were implemented. The study also traces the evolution of tax relief legislation in Texas from 1969 to 1980. Superintendents from randomly selected school districts identified educational program adjustments required if revenues were reduced. Superintendents also identified educational and property tax issues of concern to district constituents.

Thesis (M.Com. (Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effects of budget deficit on fixed investment using annual data for the period 1990-2017 in selected African countries namely, Cameroon, Namibia, Ghana, Egypt, Seychelles, Mauritius, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. The study employed panel unit root tests including the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test, Philips Perron test and Levin Lin and chu test. The tests revealed that all the variables are integrated at 1st difference. The study further employed the Panel ARDL bounds test to examine the relationship between budget deficit, fixed investment, money supply and inflation. The empirical findings indicated that a long run relationship exists between the variables of interest. Furthermore, the results revealed that the budget deficit has a negative and statistically significant effect on fixed investment. A one percent increase in the budget deficit, ceteris paribus, leads to a reduction in fixed investment by 44 percent in the long run. The findings further postulated a bidirectional causal relationship between budget deficit and fixed investment, between money supply and fixed investment and between fixed investment and inflation. It was evident in the research that indeed the budget deficit is a problematic macroeconomic policy in African countries. Policy makers should limit high government expenditures as they contribute to increased and persistent budget deficits which crowd out private investment.

When Oregon voters passed the property tax limitation initiative, Measure 5, and the state legislature enacted school reform under the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century during the 1990-91 school year, the trajectory of public schooling in the state changed significantly. After Oregon's tax revolt, the state legislature also enacted legislation that equalized school funding throughout the state. The combination of equalization and the Measure 5 step-down to the $5 per $1000 tax limitation led to a decrease in statewide school funding over the decade. Many wealthy urban districts experienced years of budget cuts, while rural districts received additional funding. Despite differences in school funding, teachers emphasized the importance of student teacher relationships for teaching and learning. This thesis traces the history, passage, and implementation of these pieces of legislation and evaluates the impact of school funding and school reform, two simultaneous but uncoordinated movements, on the school system in the state. Through historical research and oral history interviews with teachers from the large urban district, Portland Public School, and the small rural district, Nyssa School District, this thesis demonstrates that teachers experienced school reform similarly. When school reform implementation relied upon teachers' collaboration to align, develop, and assess curriculum, teachers embraced change. However, when school reform shifted from outcome-based to standards-based, teachers disengaged from the reform process. They rejected reform when standardized testing drove the curriculum, was deemed irrelevant to the lives of their students, utilized inauthentic assessment, did not treat teachers as professionals, and disregarded teachers' knowledge and skills. Teachers viewed their profession as a craft and disagreed with a business model of schools. Taken together, however, school funding and school reform led to a more uniform school system centralized by the state.