Government economic planning in the United Kingdom

The present system has its origins in the 1961. Plowden Report, which spawned both the Public Expenditure Survey and the Medium Term Assessment. The ramifications and requirements of the former provide the hard backbone of U.K. planning; formal indicative planning has not been attempted since the National Plan of 1965. Instead, the Medium Term Assessment provides a feasible range of scenarios for the next 5 years, circulated only within the Treasury but used as background for the main public expenditure and other economic policy decisions, for advice given to nationalized industries, and for information given to NEDO. However, the emphasis in Government relations with the private sector has shifted firmly away from indicative planning to the ‘bottom-up’ approach of the Industrial Strategy. This general framework appears likely to endure.     

公共支出能否促进经济增长:中国的经验分析

政府公共支出对经济增长的效应问题一直在理论界颇有争议,对各国政府公共支出政策效应的实际考察也众说纷纭。作者认为,在公共支出过程中存在着大量的“调整成本”,这既包括与大规模的公共支出相伴随的安装和调配成本,也包括由于公共支出过程中的寻租和“非生产性寻利”行为而造成的社会福利损失。为了考察调整成本对公共支出效应的影响,本文对中国公共支出与经济增长展开了时间序列和横截面的经验分析。自1980年以来,中国财政收入与支出占GDP的比重下降、中央的财权相对于地方政府逐步削减、预算外支出比重不断上升、预算外支出主要由地方所控制等种种现象都表明,围绕公共支出的调整成本上升了,对经济增长带来了不容忽视的负面影响。     

F?rdern aktienkursbasierte Vergütungsinstrumente langfristig orientierte Unternehmensentscheidungen? Lehren aus der Kreditkrise

The question whether stock-based management incentives encourage long-term oriented management decisions is the topic of a controversial public debate. Also, the existing academic literature provides no clear picture, mainly due to endogeneity problems. In this paper, we reexamine the issue in the context of the recent credit crises, which allows us to solve the endogeneity problem. In the empirical analysis we find that firms, which have awarded stock-based incentives to their executives prior or during the financial crises, face substantially lower cuts in investment spending. These firms also show higher levels of R&D investments during the financial crises. Overall, our results suggest that stock based long-term incentives promote long-term oriented management decisions.     

An Assessment of the Impact of Local Government Fragmentation in Ghana

In theory fragmentation: yields lower per capita service cost; decentralizes service delivery; promotes local democracy; and protects identity and community of interest. This article assessed whether prediction matched the Ghanaian fragmentation evidence. The paper’s findings are: poverty reduction is a more important performance indicator than the overemphasis on efficiency in public provision; procedures and opportunities for participation are inadequate and irregular; attention is on public expenditure assignments without due consideration for significant financial devolution; and the consequences of the politics of fragmentation have been ignored. The paper concludes that unless these minutiae are incorporated into fragmentation policy, achieving predicted outcomes will remain difficult.     

中国农村公共支出及其绩效分析——基于农民收入增长和城乡收入差距的经验研究

本文运用1978～2004年的数据,采用多变量回归和Granger因果检验方法对农村公共支出、农民收入增长以及城乡收入差距之间的关系进行实证研究。结果显示,国家财政的农村支出对农民收入增长起到了一定的促进作用,但由于公共支出的管理、运用效率低下,其作用在统计上并不十分显著;从支出结构看,与农业生产直接相关的生产性支出和基本建设支出占比过高,而农业科研和社会福利等方面的支出过低,而且,由于政府重视程度不够和目标偏差,使得政府公共支出在降低城乡收入差距上的作用不甚明显,从而限制了政府增进社会福利功能的发挥,进而不利于公平增长的实现。在此基础上,本文进一步讨论了如何改变农村公共支出结构以及如何将公共支出政策与农村金融政策相结合等问题。     

Designing a Decision-Making Process for a Network Administrative Organization: A Case Study of the National Quality Forum’s Consensus Development Process

In 1999 the health care industry created the National Quality Forum—a network administrative organization—to address issues of health care quality in a new way by bringing together organizations from the public and private sectors and providing them with a forum to discuss and debate measures of quality, and ultimately, to effect change. Little, however, is known about the decision making processes of network administrative organizations despite the fact that their decisions may have far-reaching impacts on public policy. Using a grounded theory approach, this paper examines the creation and development of the NQF’s Consensus Development Process and identifies and discusses five key principles that underlie the process. This paper argues that in order to create a decision-making process for a network administrative organization that is balanced and inclusive of diverse interests a leader must consider and incorporate principles that are representative of the larger environment.     

Using Surveys in Public Participation Processes for Risk Decision Making: The Case of the 2003 British GM Nation? Public Debate

This article takes as its case study the “GM Nation?” public debate, a major participation process on the commercialization of agricultural biotechnology, which occurred in Britain during the summer of 2003. We investigate possible self‐selection biases in over 36,000 open questionnaire responses on the risks and benefits of genetically modified crops and food obtained during GM Nation? A comparison sample of equivalent responses from a statistically representative sample (n= 1,363) of the British general public obtained shortly after the conclusion of the debate is reported. This comparison shows that the GM Nation? open responses were indeed not fully representative of British “public opinion” regarding agricultural biotechnology. Rather, such opinion is not a unitary whole, but fragmented, with considerable ambivalence coexisting alongside outright opposition to GM agriculture. The methodological implications for multistage participation processes are discussed: in particular, the need to anticipate outcomes of complex design decisions, and to include representative public surveys as standard where measures of broader public attitudes to risk are an important objective.     

需求不确定情况下绿色产品消费过程中政府的最优补贴

从化解绿色技术创新的环境外部效应出发，对绿色产品消费过程中政府如何给购买者提供补贴问题进行了研究。假定绿色产品的市场需求存在不确定性，讨论了需求函数分别为加法形式与乘积形式时，企业如何确定产品的价格和销量，以及政府如何选择补贴方式的策略问题。研究认为：给定需求函数的具体形式，政府提供的最优补贴或者价格折扣、企业最优产量以及政府实际补贴支出随着政府期望实现销售目标的提高而增加，随着市场风险的增加而增加。从政府补贴支出最小化角度来看，固定额度补贴方式为政府的最优选择。给定政府补贴支出，从实现企业产量最大化角度来看，价格折扣方式为政府的最优选择。对消费者来讲，政府应用价格折扣方式能够降低消费者的购买支出，提高消费者获得的福利剩余。     

Tax Expenditure Limitations (TELs) and State Expenditure Structure in the USA

This paper analyzes the impact of TELs on different types of state expenditures. This study provides comparison analysis of different types of TELs on state level and aims to evaluate the effect of TEL policy on state expenditure structures. Using panel data analysis, this work finds that states with Tax Expenditure Limitations (TELs) - in addition to financial factors- are associated with higher level of state expenditures for corrections and lower levels of state expenditures for police, parks, natural resources, and highway expenditures. Looking at 50 states from 2006 to 2011, this relationship is both statistically and substantively significant.     

Managers' Perspectives on Making Major Investment Decisions: the Problem of Linking Strategic and Financial Appraisal

Major investment decisions are an important factor shaping strategic change in complex organisations. Traditionally, they have been primarily regarded as the domain of financial theory, with a few notable exceptions. This paper explores how the apparent gulf between strategic and financial appraisal of major investment decisions can be bridged. The approach taken in this research study was to explore linkages between strategic and financial appraisal from managers' own perspectives. These perspectives were examined through a learning process. This enabled managers to reflect and debate on their experiences and issues - upon both strategic and financial theory(s). Unlike many prior studies, this research took a qualitative approach to data analysis and interpretation. This yielded a range of insights - some of these amplified findings in earlier research studies; others suggested a more radical shift in thinking on strategic/financial appraisal linkages towards a closer fusion of the two disciplines.     

The Future of Labour Relations in the Public Service

Abstract. During the last decade, labour relations in the public service have been subject to pressures for change, less direct, given their protected character, than in the private sector, but not less strong. The main factors of change are (only) in part common to those operating in private sector labour relations: economic constraints and budgetary restrictions, coupled with a general reaction toward the ‘public’ in general have put pressure on employment whose costs represent the major part of public expenditures; the need for greater productivity and efficiency has been increasing in order to reduce labour costs and (possibly) meet the growing demand for (social) services; technological innovations (office automation. computerization and the like) are spreading; the impact of the international competition has begun to be felt not only indirectly via constraints on the state budgets but directly in those sectors of public services which can be somehow ‘transportable’ across borders and hence exposed to foreign initiatives (public works, TLC, to some extent health services. All these factors are emphasized by the European unification process which has already introduced limits in the monetary and financial autonomy of the member states.     

Municipal Waste Management: Inequities and the Role of Deliberation

Like radioactive waste, municipal solid waste (MSW) requires consideration of a complex mix of intergenerational and intragenerational risks surrounded by uncertain science. Unlike radioactive waste, MSW is a common problem and hence one often perceived to be controllable, at least until a required facility is proposed in a particular community. The intragenerational risks focused on local communities rouse intense public pressures for management. Although some of the risks can be quantified, the risk assessment process cannot deal with all questions. This article examines the multiple dimensions of the decisions required to be made and the weaknesses of a number of decision tools traditionally used. A case is made for the need to integrate decision tools appropriate to the risks into reflexive and iterative decision processes open to public involvement. It is argued that this presents the best hope of both optimizing decisions about the intragenerational risks as well as raising public debate about the importance of sustainable waste management in transgenerational terms.     

A generic accounting model to support operations management decisions

Information systems are generally unable to generate information about the financial consequences of operations management decisions. This is because the procedures for determining the relevant accounting information for decision support are not formalised in ways that can be implemented in information systems. This paper describes a formalised procedure, which is based on the following theoretical propositions: (i) cost behaviour is described on the basis of a company's contracts for purchasing and selling resources, and (ii) hierarchical relationships between decisions are recognised, because some decisions have to be made earlier than others. Earlier decisions determine the feasible alternatives for later decisions (e.g. through constraints in available production capacity or components), and the plans that supported the earlier decisions serve as instructions for later decisions. The procedure can be implemented in information systems to provide accounting information in case later decisions deviate from these instruc tions (within the limits of the real-world constraints) because new information becomes available.     

A specific accounting approach for public universities

Many universities in Germany and other countries have introduced financial (or commercial) accounting to manage effectively their finances. It aligns with so-called new public sector management reforms worldwide. In this paper we analyze whether the components of this type of financial accounting reform suit the nature and objectives of German public universities. While the analysis mainly relates to the German situation, there are likely to be implications for public universities universally. Drawing on an analysis of the reports of two well known German-speaking universities, Heidelberg and Vienna, we analyze whether the components of the new financial accounting reforms suit the nature and objectives of those public universities. While we argue that cash-flow statements and balance sheets remain important, it is shown that it is necessary for state-run educational institutions to change several key elements of traditional commercial accounting. Because the success goals of such universities are non-profit-oriented, their financial accounting should be augmented by a ‘change in value statement’, replacing the traditional income statement. As their valuation cannot be correlated with the definition of profit in (German) public universities this term is suggested. By change in value we mean specifically that assets may experience a total loss or a decrease in value. In management accounting output measures and performance indicators should substitute revenues as the counterpart of costs. Furthermore, long-term financial decisions play a crucial role in universities. Therefore, a form of investment accounting is very important for them. The conventional form has to be modified by ‘investment statements’ and ‘knowledge balances’ of their intellectual capital. In this paper we also show how the concept of a balanced scorecard can be applied to public universities and how specific accounting instruments can be integrated into it.     

Financing of the trans-European high-speed rail networks:: New forms of public–private partnerships

This paper discusses the trans-European high-speed rail networks' (TERN) financing. The different goals of public and private investors are identified as these are critical to the development of a new form of integrated financing, whereby both public and private means are required. Government budgets are often limited and private investors may be discouraged by the specific features of infrastructure investments. Co-financing, however, allows the solving of these problems. The paper focuses on the role of the European Union in financing infrastructure. It explains why socio-economic benefits beyond financial gains represent the best justification for public financial intervention as a complement to private financing.     

Accounting, strategy and AMT investment

One strand in the current debate on AMT investment emphasises technical aspects of investment appraisal. Another calls for a broader focus on wider decision-making processes and strategic considerations. This paper seeks to merge both sets of concerns. It uses two empirical studies of AMT decisions in a number of companies. The first demonstrates specific linkages between manufacturing strategies and financial justifications. The second explores ways in which connections between finance and strategy are constructed and how they are understood and evaluated by decision-makers. We conclude that AMT proposals succeed by linking accounting information to strategic considerations throughout the investment decision process.     

Paving the way for coopetition: drivers for work–life balance policy implementation

An extensive literature provides evidence that conflict between employees’ family and work duties is associated with stress and poor well-being, which have negative consequences for firms and their employees. This paper analyzes the role of two internal and two external drivers that encourage (or discourage) organizations to adopt and implement work–life balance policies. The role of external financial assistance and specific laws (external drivers), together with budgetary provision for work–life balance policies and managers’ perceptions regarding problems due to work–life conflict (internal drivers), are analyzed. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is used to pursue the study’s research goals. Analysis of data on 132 SMEs suggests that financial issues (external financial assistance and/or a specific budget within the company) are key factors for the implementation or lack of implementation of work–life balance policies. Moreover, to implement these policies, managers need not necessarily perceive problems due to work–life conflict. Finally, work–life balance legislation seems not to play an explicit role in the relationships discussed herein. Consequences of these findings are discussed in the final section of the paper.     

Medical resource allocation: rationing and ethical considerations--Part I

The United States' system of high-quality but expensive and poorly distributed medical care is in trouble. Dramatic advances in medical knowledge and procedures, combined with soaring demands created by growing public awareness, the cost of private hospital and medical insurance, and Medicare and Medicaid, are burdening the medical care delivery systems. The costs of medical care have reached levels that can no longer be sustained. Government officials, insurance planners, labor leaders responsible for union health care benefits, and ordinary citizens are questioning whether it is acceptable to limit health care based on economic considerations. If health care is deemed a social good, the method of allocation must be addressed. Unless society decides that other priorities of the infrastructure are to be subjugated to health service delivery, difficult decisions will be forced upon us, consciously or by default. The discussion in this two-part article explores the ethical considerations of the more formalized approaches to resource allocation that presently exist in our society.     

Financial reporting in Europe: Prospects for research

This paper is a commentary on the future of financial reporting in Europe and on how research into accounting issues can be relevant to policy makers. Combining scholarship in accounting with scholarship in management can offer insight into national and global issues where accounting communicates information that affects managerial decisions at the microeconomic level and political decisions at the macroeconomic level. The paper cites examples of recent research in financial reporting and points to the current work plans of leading policy makers to illustrate the potential for researchers to influence policy directions. The context of financial reporting, nationally and globally, and the data available in the public domain, provide continued opportunities for researchers investigating accounting issues in the private sector and the public sector.     

The Contribution of Formal Planning Systems to Strategic Investment Decisions1

This paper aims to investigate linkages between formal planning systems (FPSs) and characteristics of the processes followed in making strategic investment decisions (SIDs). The empirical testing was based on a sample of 70 SIDs drawn from 38 industrial enterprises operating in Greece. Primary data on FPSs and SIDs were provided by key participants in the decision-making process, using a combination of structured interviews and questionnaire completion. Contrary to the argument raised by several academics that much decision making takes place outside FPSs, the findings of this paper support the view that at least for decisions of a clearly strategic nature this may not be valid. Results consistently show that strong associations exist between characteristics of SID processes and dimensions of FPSs. More specifically: The degree of rationality-comprehensiveness as well as degree of financial reporting in the process of making SIDs is positively associated with FPSs. Particularly strong is the association between the existence of a set of formalized rules guiding the process of strategic decision making and FPSs. Furthermore, the association between both hierarchical decentralization and lateral communication in advancing SIDs and FPSs appears to be fairly strong. Finally, results failed to support any statistical significant relationship between duration timing of SID processes and dimensions of FPSs.