The paper considers a climate change growth model with three R&D sectors dedicated to energy, backstop and CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) efficiency. First, we characterize the set of decentralized equilibria: A particular equilibrium is associated to each vector of public tools which includes a carbon tax and a subsidy to each R&D sector. Moreover, we show that it is possible to compute any equilibrium as the solution of a maximization program. Second, we solve the first-best optimum problem and we implement it by computing the vector of optimal tools. Finally, we illustrate the theoretical model using some calibrated functional specifications. In particular, we investigate the effects of various combinations of public policies (including the optimal ones) by determining the deviation of each corresponding equilibrium from the "laisser-faire" benchmark.
Alain de Janvry, Frederico Finan, Elisabeth Sadoulet
This paper analyzes how electoral incentives affected the performance of a major decentralized conditional cash transfer program intended on reducing school dropout rates among children of poor households in Brazil. We show that while this federal program successfully reduced school dropout by 8 percentage points, the program's impact was 36 percent larger in municipalities governed by mayors who faced reelection possibilities compared to those with lame-duck mayors. First term mayors with good program performance were much more likely to get re-elected. These mayors adopted program implementation practices that were not only more transparent but also associated with better program outcomes.
This paper points to the important role which the elasticity of aggregate capital supply with respect to the net rate of return to capital plays for the efficiency of policymaking in a decentralized economy with mobile capital and spillovers among jurisdictions. In accordance with previous studies, we show that under the assumption of a fixed capital supply (zero capital supply elasticity) the decentralized policy choice is optimal. If the capital supply elasticity is strictly positive, however, capital tax rates are inefficiently low in the decentralized equilibrium.
Goker Aydin, Volodymyr Babich, Damian R. Beil, Zhibin Yang
In a 2008 survey of 138 companies, 58% reported that they suffered financial losses within the last year due to a supply disruption. This article emphasizes the challenges and opportunities in supply risk management arising from the decentralized nature of supply chains and highlight how supply risks influence the interactions among firms in supply networks, review insights into decentralized supply risk management from the extant academic research and point out important future research directions.
We consider a game between jurisdictions within a national economy. Capital migrates between jurisdictions to satisfy an equal return condition. The total supply of capital to the economy is a non-decreasing function of the national return. This allows us to cater for the case where capital has some home bias and jurisdictions have an incentive to engage in tax competition and set non-zero capital taxes in equilibrium. We then show that this competition does not distort emissions standards and that decentralized provision of environmental policy is locally efficient. Thus, we find no evidence of a race to the bottom or top in emissions standards as a result of tax competition.
The recognition that contracts have a time dimension has given rise to a very abundant literature since the end of the 1980s. In such a dynamic context, the contract may take place over several periods and develop repeated interactions. Then, the principal topics of the analysis are commitment, reputation, memory and the renegotiation of the contract. Few papers have tried to apply the predictions of dynamic contract theory to data. The examples of applications introduced in this article show the relevance of the change from a static contractual framework to a dynamic one. In a dynamic context, contracts are more sophisticated and can include commitment or a better revelation of the type of agent (insurance contract); contracts are more flexible (franchise contract) or offer a better measurement of information asymmetry and effort level (insurance or work contract).
Property law is rooted in many institutions. The assumption of this paper is that the rules of property laws are determined by deep cultural structures. The thesis is that in ancient times property laws were determined by the moral contract and that contemporary property laws are determined by the social contract. The paper proposes that in the future property laws be determined by the legal contract. The distinguishing features of the three contracts are these: In the moral contract the rules of property laws are determined by stewardship over land, labor, and money; in the social contract they are determined by privilege; and in the legal contract they are determined by economic rights, which stem from economic responsibilities.
The aim of the present work consists in the methodological study of the instruments for the equalization of the local public incomes in the administrative-territorial structures for the elaboration of some measures for the effectiveness increase of the local public expenditures modality and for the improvement of the public services quality. The research theme is important for the local economy and financial literature on local public finance. It is known that the tax base of the territories is quite uneven and providing quality public services is impossible based on their own sources. Financial equalization is a group of financial actions made in order to overcome economic and fiscal disparities between territories. The applicative value of work consists in the research of the public services financing modality for the improvement of their quality, scientific argumentation of the necessity of the incomes equalization at the territories. As for findings, I consider that the support for less developed local public administration from the financial point of view requires fiscal decentralization and involves financial equalization procedures or other similar measures aimed at eliminating the effect of unequal distribution for potential funding sources. The purpose of financial equalization is the additional funding of less developed territories in order to reduce regional disparities, and in this lies the value of the hereby study.
This paper presents the significance of the issues related to the activity of territorial self-government for the social and economic development of Ukraine. The efficient operation of self-government in any country is unfeasible without financial resources. Polish experience in the development of territorial self-government is particularly valuable in relation to the reform of Ukraine’s self-government. The paper outlines the differences in the structure and operation of territorial self-government in both countries. The paper is concluded with numerous observations on the direction of selected reforms of Ukrainian self-government. It shows the weaknesses of local self-government in Ukraine, which result from the lack of decentralization of finance and the small amount of state-collected taxes. The conclusions end with the observation that a consistent development of the Ukrainian state is required for Poland to develop well.
The social security system of transfer payments is not only an important measure to resolve the problem of the vertical and horizontal imbalances of social security finance among all levels of governments,but also an important component of the social security system and the financial transfer payment system.The theories of public goods and fiscal decentralization are the important theoretical fulcrum for the social security transfer payments system.The attribute of social security products should be analyzed concretely in view of the different items according to the characteristics of public goods.The Hierarchical theory of public goods is the foundation for the separation of the powers and responsibilities between governments as well as the premise for the implementation of the social security transfer payments system.The financial federalism theory has embodied the critical characteristics of decentralization,that is to say,in view of the efficiency and the governmental functions,to realize the matching of different levels between public goods and governments.Tiebout’s voting with feet hypothesis has brought forward the equality problem of the public goods supplies between different regions;only through the social security transfers payment system to adjust the welfare gap between different regions,can the central government ensure the roughly equal level of welfare between different regions,so as to avoid the adverse consequences of frequent population mobility.
The realization of basic rights need the government' protection,therefore public fund is needed too.However there are financial difficulties and financial crisis of many governments,which constitute the restrictive conditions for the protection of basic rights.Regional economy makes unbalanced development in China,and the overtaking-model strategy of economic development leads to the Matthew effect in public finance,which makes the problem of protection of basic rights equably become important subject of the protection of the basic rights,especially for the right of equality.The answering methods of China is to set up the mechanisms of controlling fiscal power,fiscal decentralization,and fiscal balance,so that the equalization in basic public service shall be advanced in nationwide scope at appropriate time.
This paper firstly introduces the NRCMS(New Rural Cooperative Medical System) and mainly analyses the problems of the financing system and compensation effect: the first problem is the instability of the reverse fundraising system which goes against stable fundraising system and sustainable development.The second problem,then,is the irrationality of the general allowance mode,such as capital decentralizing,the low single compensation and unsatisfactory effects.As a result,farmers are still likely to get poor again because of some serious diseases.This paper puts forward four measures to make the system more appealing,make the farmers more actively participate in social insurance and finally achieve sustainable development of the system.
This study firstly analyzes the strategy orientation of India's economic security strategy which is thought to be defensive,and its form which is believed to be in a decentralized and embedded style.Secondly,it considers the content of strategy which includes strategy background,objections,focuses and measures.The focuses of India's economic security strategy at the present stage include: food security,energy security,finance security,technologyinformation security and foreign investment security.Thirdly,it observes the operating process of India's economic security strategy,which is composed of formulating,implementing and evaluating.Finally,the research results may use as reference for constructing China's economy security strategy.
Елена Николаевна Смольянинова, Светлана Валерьевна Кривошапова
The development of education in Russia today is characterized by the search for new forms and methods of the system operation, increasing variability of educational institutions and educational programs. Positive processes in the development of national education result in the decentralization of educational institutions and providing them with significant autonomy and diversity, the network of educational institutions, new content and technology education, a choice of educational subjects for students and institutions, forming the market of educational services, opportunities and multi-layered financing educational institutions. These transformations are related to the changes in the approach to teaching students of correspondence courses in the condition of use of remote teaching techniques.
This diploma thesis analyzes the impact of the fiscal federalism policy on a municipality economy in the Czech Republic. The theoretical basics consist of a historical analysis of municipalities' legal status and mode of financing. That is followed by defining of a fiscal federalism model and a fiscal decentralization model, and by taxation and income analyses. Final part focuses on the income and expenditure analysis of municipalities in the period 2002-2010 and an overall evaluation.
Recent reforms of the National Health Service (NHS) financing system in Italy (D.Lgs. 446/97 and D.Lgs. 56/2000) have potentially given more responsibility for health care to Regions, increasing their power over this function. Starting from this normative process, the aim of the paper is to analyse the Italian health spending in the Ordinary Statute Regions (OSR), by proposing a model to verify empirically whether the financing mechanisms are actually defined at local level or if Regions act as agents of the central government. The empirical results do not support the evolution of fiscal federalism in the health sector, highlighting in fact that health financing decisions are mostly centralized in Italy, even if the institutional context has recently moved towards decentralization of health financing sources, extending the autonomy of sub-national governments.
By comparing the development of some typical nation's intergovernmental financial relationship,the decentralized states are on the way to centralization,while the centralized states are going to the opposite.The factors include the political system,the process of industrialization and the growth of market.China's intergovernmental financial relationship should be based on our political system,modest centralization and modest decentralization and asymmetric allocation of powers and responsibilities,to ensure the dominance status of the central finance and full exercise of the local governments.
This paper testified the privilege of SME cluster financing through an empirical study on the issues of financing situation of SME clusters.The empirical results show that the clustering is an innovation in SME's financing,which lays financing foundation for SME to solve the natural constraints.As a result,we must consider the risk sharing mechanism of symbiotic relationship,increasing the system utility and decentralizing systematic credit risk.An opinion has been put forward that the expanding the boundary of symbiotic relationship is an innovative mechanism of industrial clusters'financing.
In this thesis, we deal with the following questions: (1) How efficient a cryptographic algorithm can be while achieving a desired level of security? (2) Since mathematical conjectures like P ≠ NP are necessary for the possibility of secure cryptographic primitives in the standard models of computation: (a) Can we base cryptography solely based on the widely believed assumption of P ≠ NP, or do we need stronger assumptions? (b) Which alternative nonstandard models offer us provable security unconditionally, while being implementable in real life?
First we study the question of security vs. efficiency in public-key cryptography and prove tight bounds on the efficiency of black-box constructions of key-agreement and (public-key) digital signatures that achieve a desired level of security using “random-like” functions. Namely, we prove that any key-agreement protocol in the random oracle model where the parties ask at most n oracle queries can be broken by an adversary who asks at most O(n 2) oracle queries and finds the key with high probability. This improves upon the previous O(n6)-query attack of Impagliazzo and Rudich [98] and proves that a simple key-agreement protocol due to Merkle [118] is optimal. We also prove that any signature scheme in the random oracle model where the parties ask at most q oracle queries can be broken by an adversary who forges a signature by asking at most 2O( q) oracle queries. This implies that a simple (one-time secure) signature scheme of Lamport [112] is optimal.
Next, we study the possibility of basing the security of cryptographic tasks on the (necessary) assumption that NP ≠ BPP. We show that any (black-box) reduction for basing the security of a one-way function on (worst-case) hardness of NP implies that SAT is checkable. Whether SAT is checkable or not has been open for more than two decades since the notion of checkability was introduced by Blum and Kannan [23]. Then we study the possibility of basing the security of specific cryptographic tasks/primitive on the hardness of NP. We show that doing so for the tasks of collision resistant hashing (or other primitives such as constant-round statistical commitment) implies that co-NP has a (single-prover) proof system with prover complexity BPP NP (which implies the checkability of SAT).
Finally, we study the possibility of achieving statistical security (without relying on computational assumptions) through the alternative model of interaction in which parties can exchange tamper-proof hardware tokens. We focus on the case where the tokens only encapsulate efficient circuits (and does not need to keep any state). The stateless property of the tokens gives advantage to the protocol both from a security perspective and also at the implementation level. We show that using stateless tokens one can not perform statistically secure oblivious transfer, but it is possible to achieve statistically hiding and binding commitment schemes and statistically secure zero-knowledge proof systems for NP with an efficient prover. Our protocols are secure even against malicious parties who might use stateful tokens during the execution of the protocol.
The Political Economy of Reform in Latin AmericaPolitics, Institutions, Ideas, and Context Pamela K. Starr (bio) The Politics of Labor Reform in Latin America: Between Flexibility and Rights. By Maria Lorena Cook. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007. Pp. xv + 231. $45.00 cloth. Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes: Social Policy, Informality, and Economic Growth in Mexico. By Santiago Levy. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2007. Pp. xiii + 357. $27.95 paper. The State of State Reform in Latin America. Edited by Eduardo Lora. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press; Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank, 2007. Pp. xxi + 446. $29.95 paper. Democracies in Development: Politics and Reform in Latin America. Revised edition. Edited by J. Mark Payne, Daniel Zovatto G., and Mercedes Mateo Diaz. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank; David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, 2007. Pp. xvi + 332. $27.95 paper. Bounded Rationality and Policy Diffusion: Social Sector Reform in Latin America. By Kurt Weyland. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. xii + 297. $24.95 paper. Research on the political economy of economic reform in Latin America has progressed quite tangibly in the past quarter century. The 1980s emphasized the relative success or failure of macroeconomic stabilization and market liberalization, a rather unsurprising fact given the economic crisis that enveloped the region at the time. These early studies emphasized the broad concepts of timing, sequencing, and political will to explain intraregional differences. Researchers were just beginning to think about the interplay between political and economic reform, and how this might affect policy outcomes, motivated in part by loudly expressed concerns about the compatibility between economic reform and the parallel rise of democratic governance. Analysis of the role played by democratic institutions in molding governance in Latin America’s new democracies [End Page 224] and their consequent capacity to implement needed reforms remained formative. Policy recommendations, meanwhile, were dominated by universal proposals—initially as emergency measures and later as accepted wisdom—for dealing with common challenges, despite obviously diverse policy environments. Yet the clear hypotheses driving many of these studies and the expanding body of evidence they created about Latin America’s varied experiences with reform established the foundation for what quickly became a rich field of study. As understanding of the reform process progressed, research almost naturally incorporated narrower questions about the nature and operation of specific political and/or economic drivers of reform, as well as more complex questions about the interaction among them. Analysis employed deeply detailed single-case studies, well-structured comparative case studies that looked at a small number of regional cases and compared Latin American with non–Latin American cases, and quantitative analyses of a broader universe of Latin American cases. As Latin America gradually surmounted the immediate crisis, reestablished market-based economies, and managed to sustain new democracies, analytic attention shifted away from stabilization, liberalization, and privatization to the longer-term ability of market economies and democratic governments to enhance the well-being of their citizens. Absent the enormous economic distortions created by hyperinflation, excessive protection, and overregulation, other sorts of equally pernicious but previously less obvious market and government failures became more evident, more problematic for growth and development, and more visible in studies on reform. Analysis turned to questions about property rights, information asymmetries, resource mobility, human and capital infrastructure, and the quality and consistency of economic policy, their market impact, and their ability to either promote or retard sustainable and equitable development. Research took on the roles played by social assistance, education, labor systems, regulatory structures, monopolies, and oligopolies, and by energy, finance, transport, and telecommunications infrastructure in building efficient markets. And it began aggressively to consider the factors—such as political decentralization, judicial reform, public administration, civil society, and institutional structures of government—that determine the quality and effectiveness of democratic governance, and Latin America’s consequent ability to implement needed policy reforms. This second wave of research on political economy also evinces a developing consensus about the sets of factors that matter most in explaining reform. Put simply: politics matter, institutions matter, and context matters. Although this may seem exceedingly broad and less than earth shattering now...
Software piracy is the major challenge to software providers, and most trade organizations today face problems with software piracy. As a result, there are several developed systems available in the market to deal with this problem. Unfortunately, the majority of these systems do not provide an appropriate solution and the problem has not been solved yet. After reviewing the nature of existing systems, the author found that these systems do not take in their consideration the international standard specifications to treat this problem. Therefore, it is difficult for these systems to prevent or stop piracy. Thus the purpose of this paper is to develop a new scheme carrying the characteristics of international standard specifications in order to be able to prevent piracy in any country by utilizing the Internet and Web services, by using one from the deterministic public key encryption scheme, namely ElGamal scheme, and by using zero knowledge proof of identity technique to grant the users access to a scheme correctly and also to use the international standard copy number, to ease many of these difficulties. Results are given from which the conclusion drawn is that developing a new scheme entitled “An Efficient Software Anti-Piracy Scheme” can help significantly in the work of trade organizations and software providers suffering from software piracy. Some recent patents are also discussed in this paper. Keywords: Static protection, dynamic protection, software piracy attacks, identification, authentication
Moving to a shared service method of operation entails a huge culture change for an organization. The entire business context must be changed. It takes time, effort and vast amounts of management energy to move from a mindset of purely decentralized management of support activities within each business unit or centralized management of support activities at the corporate level to a mindset of partnership between business units and the consolidated, shared service organization. \n \nTogether with this, shared service units, despite their importance, receive much less senior executive attention than business units in most companies. The logic for this is that business divisions generate profits, and that is where top management often focuses its time. There is therefore a risk that an organization can lose its focus on shared services if the method is not shown to result in tangible benefits. \n \nEast African Breweries Limited (EABL) has moved to a shared services environment but no studies have been conducted to show whether this has in any way contributed to the growth of the organization. This study addressed itself to this problem. The purpose of the study was to establish the extent to which shared services strategy affect Cost reduction efforts of East African Breweries Limited. \n \nThe objectives of the study were to establish whether there has been a reduction of transactional costs at EABL as a result of moving to a shared service environment; determine the extent to which the shared service strategy resulted in reduction in employee headcount and overheads; find out how shared service strategy led to improvement in inventory management; and establish how shared service strategy at EABL has impacted on procurement costs. \n \nThe study employed the case study design, targeting all the departmental heads working at EABL's shared services centre. Purposive sampling was used to select 10 respondents, among them nine departmental heads from IT, finance, procurement, HR, EABL Kenya Demand, EABL Kenya Supply, COl, EAML, and UDV; and one top management representative. Data was collected from the participants using a semi-structured questionnaire and an interview schedule. \n \nQualitative and quantitative techniques were employed in data analysis. Qualitative techniques involved giving a detailed account of the impact of moving to a shared services strategy on EABL's cost reduction efforts. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including percentages and frequency counts. \n \nThe study established that moving to a shared services environment has led to significant cost reduction efforts of East African Breweries Limited. Shared services led to reduction in procurement costs, reduction in employee headcount and overheads, improvement in inventory management, and reduction of transactional costs. As such, companies running their different functions as disparate competing entities should be encouraged to adopt shared services strategy to cut costs and operate more efficiently.
Regional planning is one of the functions most often affected by the dilemma of how to provide services and resolve conflicts that transcend municipal boundaries. Most existing solutions, while they accept the consensus that power should be decentralized, have limited applicability and the greatest need is for institutional innovations.-This report critically examines such an innovation — the regional districts introduced by British Columbia in 1965. The hew concept employs the identical institutional framework td provide regional services riot only in metropolitan alia non-metropolitan municipalities, but also in the unorganized areas which cover more than 98 percent of the province. A review of the literature led to the conclusion that before a province introduces regional institutions it should consider five key factors. These were: the selection of criteria to delimit administrative boundaries; participation by local governments and by citizens; coordination with other levels of government; the delegation of adequate powers; and the flexibility to adapt to different conditions. Regional districts were evaluated in this context. The inductive approach chosen to generate data documents the history of regional planning and regional districts in the province, then analyzes five of the districts in more detail, and finally solicits the views of the directors of the regional boards. The latter form a second tier or federation of local areas governed by locally elected representatives. The study concludes that the size or configuration of the districts is not always rational, that the provision for local participation is satisfactory but, with the exception of inter-municipal liason, the coordination of programs with provincial departments is not. Most of the power delegated to regional districts appears to be really a transfer of powers from local governments, with the exception of powers acquired by residents of unorganized areas. The flexibility of the new system was judged to be its outstanding feature. A conspicuous phenomenon was the speed with which regional districts were volutarily adopted. It was concluded the tactics employed by the province to "sell" the concept, together with the impetus provided by linking hospital financing to regional districts through complementary legislation were important contributing factors. The failure to provide any overall provincial planning policies with which the programs of the regional districts might have been integrated was perceived as a major weakness. A summary of legislation adopted by three other provinces is included to illustrate the diversity of potential solutions available within Canada's form of federation. The report does not consider regional economic planning, the property tax, the role of the planner, or liason between various levels of government are within its terms of reference, although brief comments on all of these are made on occasion.