Price: $11.95

Format:
Paperback 104 pp.
4.5" x 7"

ISBN-10:
019543238X

ISBN-13:
9780195432381

Publication date:
July 2009

Imprint: OUP Canada

Share on Facebook

Add to Favourites Tell a Friend


Fiscal Federalism

A Comparative Introduction

George Anderson

Fiscal Federalism: A Comparative Introduction is a concise introduction to the ways in which the world's federations manage their finances. Topics covered include the distribution of taxation powers among different levels of government; regional equalization schemes; authority over natural resource revenues; and the impact of federal systems of government on pension, welfare, and income assistance programs. The book targets second-, third-, and fourth-year courses in Federalism and Comparative Politics at the university level, and will also be useful for practitioners and civil servants.

Readership : A core text for upper-level courses in Federalism and a second text for second-year courses in Comparative Government.

Preface and Acknowledgements
1. An Overview of Fiscal Federalism
1.1 Political federalism
1.2 Fiscal federalism
1.3 Institutional variety of federalism
1.4 Fiscal arrangements and flexibility
1.5 Evaluation of federal fiscal regimes
2. Expenditure Responsibilities
2.1 Expenditure patterns in governments
2.2 Principles of expenditure assignment
2.3 Integrated or dualist federal systems
2.4 Spending power
2.5 Distribution of expenditure responsibilities
2.6 Mandates: Funded and unfunded
3. The Structure of Tax Regimes
3.1 Own-source, shared, and transferred revenues
3.2 Devolved versus centralized revenue raising
3.3 Assigning individual revenue sources
3.4 Concurrent tax bases and tax room
3.5 Tax competition
3.6 Tax harmonization
3.7 Tax administration
4. The Allocation of Specific Tax and Revenue Sources
4.1 Types and value of revenue sources
4.2 Personal income taxes
4.3 Corporate income taxes
4.4 Sales, value-added, and turnover taxes
4.5 Social insurance contributions and payroll taxes
4.6 Property taxes
4.7 Natural resource revenues
4.8 Licences and user charges
4.9 Other revenue sources
5. Intergovernmental Revenue Sharing and Transfers
5.1 The roles of revenue sharing and transfers
5.2 Legal provisions governing revenue sharing and transfers
5.3 Tax sharing versus fiscal transfers
5.4 Tax-sharing criteria
5.5 Sharing natural resource revenues
5.6 Conditional versus unconditional transfers
5.7 Horizontal fiscal inequalities
5.8 Equalization programs
5.9 Transfers to local governments
6. Economic Management in Federations
6.1 Fiscal federalism and macroeconomic management
6.2 Central banks and monetary policy
6.3 Fiscal policy coordination and stabilization
6.4 Debt management and fiscal responsibility laws
6.5 Microeconomic policy
6.6 Regional development
7. Institutional Arrangements and Issues
7.1 Fiscal forums and advisory commissions
7.2 Courts and dispute resolution
7.3 Asymmetric arrangements
7.4 Capitals, territories, and aboriginal peoples
7.5 Government enterprises
7.6 Corruption
7.7 Conclusion

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

George Anderson became president of the Forum of Federations in June 2005. He was previously Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, from May 2002 until May 2005. He also served as Deputy Minister (Intergovernmental Affairs) in the Privy Council Office beginning in August 1996. He began working in Canada's federal public service in 1972. From 1992 to 1993 he was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs. George Anderson has a B.A. from Queen's University, an M. Litt. in Political Science from Oxford University, a diploma from the École nationale d'administration in Paris, France, and is currently a trustee of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His previous book, Federalism: An Introduction was published by OUP in 2008.

Federalism - George Anderson
Canadian Federalism - Edited by Herman Bakvis and Grace Skogstad

Special Features

  • RELEVANT: Debates around money are perennial in federations, and outcomes evolve with different parties in power, shifts in regional wealth, and changes in the prevailing wisdom. The dynamic and critical role of fiscal federalism makes it one of the most studied aspects of federalism.
  • CONCISE and NON-TECHNICAL: Provides politicians, officials, citizens, and students with an overview of fiscal federalism, drawing on the relevant work of economists and political scientists. It is practical in tone and uses everyday, non-specialist language.
  • ACCESSIBLE: Each chapter has five to nine sections that open with a capsule paragraph outlining the essential point, which is then elaborated. Inset boxes illustrate the range of federal experiences or give key case examples. Further Readings and The Forum of Federations' website (www.forumfed.org) provide important source references.
  • EXTENSIVE FEEDBACK: This book will be used and "road tested" by the Forum of Federations in its work around the world.