Ebook: The Welfare State, Public Investment, and Growth: Selected Papers from the 53rd Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance

This book presents fifteen papers selected from the papers read at the 53rd Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance held at Kyoto, Japan, in August 1997. Although organized under the general title of Public Finance and Public Investment, the Congress covered a wide range of topics in Public Finance. One of the highlights of the Congress was a historic and brilliant debate between two of the greatest living authorities in the area of public finance, Professors James M. Buchanan and Richard A. Musgrave, on the nature of the welfare state and its future. Part I of this book is concerned with this debate and its empirical counterpart. James M. Buchanan (Chapter 1) warns that the welfare state will be unsustainable unless it preserves generality or at least quasi generality in welfare programs. The introduction of overt discrimination in welfare programs through means testing and targeting can only diminish public support. He argues that a political version of the "tragedy of commons" will emerge if and when identifiable interest groups recognize the prospects of particularized gains as promised by discriminatory tax or transfer payments. Faced with mounting pressure from entitlement-like claims of special interest groups against public revenues on one hand and equally strong pressure against further tax burdens on the other, political leaders are attracted to solutions that single out the most vulnerable targets. Distributional disagreement among classes will then become a major source of political discourse and an impetus for class conflict.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages II-XIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
The Fiscal Crises in Welfare Democracies: With Some Implications for Public Investment....Pages 3-16
Comments on James M. Buchanan “The Fiscal Crisis in Welfare Democracies”....Pages 17-22
Social Security and Economic Growth—Implications for East Asia....Pages 23-38
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Corruption, Public Investment, and Growth....Pages 41-60
Modelling Government Investment and Economic Growth: A Review and Some New Evidence....Pages 61-83
Tax Evasion as a Disciplinary Mechanism for Fiscal Policy....Pages 85-111
Front Matter....Pages 113-113
Public Investment Issues and Efficient Climate Change Policy....Pages 115-127
Decentralized Government and Macroeconomic Control....Pages 129-149
Foreign Direct Investment : Rules Versus Discretion....Pages 151-165
Front Matter....Pages 167-167
Foreign Direct Investment and Tax Competition in Southeast Asia....Pages 169-197
Investment Distinctions: The Effect of Taxes on Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S.....Pages 199-217
Front Matter....Pages 219-219
Investment Crisis in Post-Soviet Russia....Pages 221-254
The Infrastructure Development and Foreign Direct Investment in China....Pages 255-266
Front Matter....Pages 267-267
An Equalization Transfer System in Japan....Pages 269-293
Fiscal Federalism in Australia....Pages 295-324
Back Matter....Pages 325-334

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages II-XIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
The Fiscal Crises in Welfare Democracies: With Some Implications for Public Investment....Pages 3-16
Comments on James M. Buchanan “The Fiscal Crisis in Welfare Democracies”....Pages 17-22
Social Security and Economic Growth—Implications for East Asia....Pages 23-38
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Corruption, Public Investment, and Growth....Pages 41-60
Modelling Government Investment and Economic Growth: A Review and Some New Evidence....Pages 61-83
Tax Evasion as a Disciplinary Mechanism for Fiscal Policy....Pages 85-111
Front Matter....Pages 113-113
Public Investment Issues and Efficient Climate Change Policy....Pages 115-127
Decentralized Government and Macroeconomic Control....Pages 129-149
Foreign Direct Investment : Rules Versus Discretion....Pages 151-165
Front Matter....Pages 167-167
Foreign Direct Investment and Tax Competition in Southeast Asia....Pages 169-197
Investment Distinctions: The Effect of Taxes on Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S.....Pages 199-217
Front Matter....Pages 219-219
Investment Crisis in Post-Soviet Russia....Pages 221-254
The Infrastructure Development and Foreign Direct Investment in China....Pages 255-266
Front Matter....Pages 267-267
An Equalization Transfer System in Japan....Pages 269-293
Fiscal Federalism in Australia....Pages 295-324
Back Matter....Pages 325-334
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