Download or read book Mobilizing urban infrastructure finance within a responsible fiscal framework South African case written by Philip Van Ryneveld and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Since South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, it has given significant attention to building an effective system of decentralization including provincial and local government. While provincial governments are responsible mainly for the implementation of social services such as health and education, the provision of much of the urban infrastructure is the responsibility of local government. Although many challenges remain, the country has made significant progress over the past decade in addressing urban service backlogs in poor areas. At the same time, it has greatly improved macroeconomic fundamentals. The system of financing local government seeks to place accountability firmly at the local level, with most revenues in the larger urban centers raised locally through a combination of local taxes and fees for services, while poorer regions are predominantly grant funded. The objective has been to encourage the financing of capital infrastructure through local borrowing based on sustainable, transparent local finances rather than national repayment guarantees, which are outlawed. There is some indirect subsidization of loans through the state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa. But the emphasis is on achieving redistribution through transparent, formula-based grants paid directly from national to local governments. While further bedding down of the system is needed, the approach is proving largely successful. The paper concludes by recommending that the existing division between provinces as providers of social services and local governments as the key locus of responsibility for services related to the built environment should be strengthened, particularly through the devolution of more urban transport related functions. A number of key risks are also highlighted, including issues related to the reform of local business taxes.

Download or read book Mobilizing Urban Infrastructure Finance within a Responsible Fiscal Framework written by Philip van Ryneveld and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, it has given significant attention to building an effective system of decentralization including provincial and local government. While provincial governments are responsible mainly for the implementation of social services such as health and education, the provision of much of the urban infrastructure is the responsibility of local government. Although many challenges remain, the country has made significant progress over the past decade in addressing urban service backlogs in poor areas. At the same time, it has greatly improved macroeconomic fundamentals. The system of financing local government seeks to place accountability firmly at the local level, with most revenues in the larger urban centers raised locally through a combination of local taxes and fees for services, while poorer regions are predominantly grant funded. The objective has been to encourage the financing of capital infrastructure through local borrowing based on sustainable, transparent local finances rather than national repayment guarantees, which are outlawed. There is some indirect subsidization of loans through the state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa. But the emphasis is on achieving redistribution through transparent, formula-based grants paid directly from national to local governments. While further bedding down of the system is needed, the approach is proving largely successful. The paper concludes by recommending that the existing division between provinces as providers of social services and local governments as the key locus of responsibility for services related to the built environment should be strengthened, particularly through the devolution of more urban transport related functions. A number of key risks are also highlighted, including issues related to the reform of local business taxes.

Download or read book Financing Metropolitan Governments in Developing Countries written by Roy W. Bahl and published by Lincoln Inst of Land Policy. This book was released on 2013 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economic activity that drives growth in developing countries is heavily concentrated in cities. Catchphrases such as “metropolitan areas are the engines that pull the national economy” turn out to be fairly accurate. But the same advantages of metropolitan areas that draw investment also draw migrants who need jobs and housing, lead to demands for better infrastructure and social services, and result in increased congestion, environmental harm, and social problems. The challenges for metropolitan public finance are to capture a share of the economic growth to adequately finance new and growing expenditures and to organize governance so that services can be delivered in a cost-effective way, giving the local population a voice in fiscal decision making. At the same time, care must be taken to avoid overregulation and overtaxation, which will hamper the now quite mobile economic engine of private investment and entrepreneurial initiative. Metropolitan planning has become a reality in most large urban areas, even though the planning agencies are often ineffective in moving things forward and in linking their plans with the fiscal and financial realities of metropolitan government. A growing number of success stories in metropolitan finance and management, together with accumulated experience and proper efforts and support, could be extended to a broader array of forward-looking programs to address the growing public service needs of metropolitan-area populations. Nevertheless, sweeping metropolitan-area fiscal reforms have been few and far between; the urban policy reform agenda is still a long one; and there is a reasonable prospect that closing the gaps between what we know how to do and what is actually being done will continue to be difficult and slow. This book identifies the most important issues in metropolitan governance and finance in developing countries, describes the practice, explores the gap between practice and what theory suggests should be done, and lays out the reform paths that might be considered. Part of the solution will rest in rethinking expenditure assignments and instruments of finance. The “right” approach also will depend on the flexibility of political leaders to relinquish some control in order to find a better solution to the metropolitan finance problem.

Download or read book Governing and Financing Cities in the Developing World written by Roy W. Bahl and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report identifies the critical issues and describes current practice, the gap between practice and theory, and potential reform paths. Two core issues are explored: how to manage complex vertical and horizontal urban governance structures, and how to raise the finances to promote efficient, equitable, and sustainable metropolitan growth. The report explores local revenue instruments, with a focus on property-based local taxes and user charges, as well as external revenue sources such as intergovernmental transfers, borrowing, public-private partnerships, and international assistance.

Download or read book Africa s Infrastructure written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable infrastructure development is vital for Africa s prosperity. And now is the time to begin the transformation. This volume is the culmination of an unprecedented effort to document, analyze, and interpret the full extent of the challenge in developing Sub-Saharan Africa s infrastructure sectors. As a result, it represents the most comprehensive reference currently available on infrastructure in the region. The book covers the five main economic infrastructure sectors information and communication technology, irrigation, power, transport, and water and sanitation. 'Africa s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation' reflects the collaboration of a wide array of African regional institutions and development partners under the auspices of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. It presents the findings of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project launched following a commitment in 2005 by the international community (after the G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland) to scale up financial support for infrastructure development in Africa. The lack of reliable information in this area made it difficult to evaluate the success of past interventions, prioritize current allocations, and provide benchmarks for measuring future progress, hence the need for the AICD. Africa s infrastructure sectors lag well behind those of the rest of the world, and the gap is widening. Some of the main policy-relevant findings highlighted in the book include the following: infrastructure in the region is exceptionally expensive, with tariffs being many times higher than those found elsewhere. Inadequate and expensive infrastructure is retarding growth by 2 percentage points each year. Solving the problem will cost over US$90 billion per year, which is more than twice what is being spent in Africa today. However, money alone is not the answer. Prudent policies, wise management, and sound maintenance can improve efficiency, thereby stretching the infrastructure dollar. There is the potential to recover an additional US$17 billion a year from within the existing infrastructure resource envelope simply by improving efficiency. For example, improved revenue collection and utility management could generate US$3.3 billion per year. Regional power trade could reduce annual costs by US$2 billion. And deregulating the trucking industry could reduce freight costs by one-half. So, raising more funds without also tackling inefficiencies would be like pouring water into a leaking bucket. Finally, the power sector and fragile states represent particular challenges. Even if every efficiency in every infrastructure sector could be captured, a substantial funding gap of $31 billion a year would remain. Nevertheless, the African people and economies cannot wait any longer. Now is the time to begin the transformation to sustainable development.

Download or read book Fiscal Decentralization and Local Finance in Developing Countries written by Roy Bahl and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-30 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge the gap between the conventional textbook treatment of fiscal decentralization and the actual practice of subnational government finance. The extensive literature about the theory and practice is surveyed and longstanding problems and new questions are addressed. It focuses on the key choices that must be made in decentralizing, on how economic and political factors shape the choices that countries make, and on how, by paying more attention to the need for a more comprehensive approach and the critical connections between different components of decentralization reform, everyone involved might get more for their money.

Download or read book Mastering the Risky Business of Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure written by Manal Fouad and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-05-10 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investment in infrastructure can be a driving force of the economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of shrinking fiscal space. Public-private partnerships (PPP) bring a promise of efficiency when carefully designed and managed, to avoid creating unnecessary fiscal risks. But fiscal illusions prevent an understanding the sources of fiscal risks, which arise in all infrastructure projects, and that in PPPs present specific characteristics that need to be addressed. PPP contracts are also affected by implicit fiscal risks when they are poorly designed, particularly when a government signs a PPP contract for a project with no financial sustainability. This paper reviews the advantages and inconveniences of PPPs, discusses the fiscal illusions affecting them, identifies a diversity of fiscal risks, and presents the essentials of PPP fiscal risk management.

Download or read book Financing Cities written by George E Peterson and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2007-04-04 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book highlights the need to boost infrastructure investment in cities as also the necessity for fiscal management across all levels of government-within the context of decentralizing service delivery responsibilities. The volume provides case studies reflecting various viewpoints and a range of success and failure stories from five countries. The topics covered include: - Impact of political and fiscal decentralization - Limitations on borrowing - Managing moral hazard - The role of the financial sector in striking a balance between controls and encouraging the local government to maintain fiscal discipline

Download or read book The Future of Federalism written by Richard Eccleston and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-27 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crisis and its aftermath had a dramatic short-term effect on federal relations and, as the twelve case studies in this volume show, set in place a new set of socio-political factors that are shaping the longer-run process of institutional evolution and adaptation in federal systems. This illuminating book illustrates how an understanding of these complex dynamics is crucial to the development of policies needed for effective and sustainable federal governance in the twenty-first century.​

Download or read book Lessons for the Urban Century written by Patricia Clarke Annez and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Guide to Municipal Finance written by Naomi Enid Slack and published by UN-HABITAT. This book was released on 2009 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Private Finance for Development written by Hilary Devine and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-05-14 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the tension between large development needs in infrastructure and scarce public resources. To alleviate this tension and promote a strong and job-rich recovery from the crisis, Africa needs to mobilize more financing from and to the private sector.

Download or read book Municipal Finances written by Catherine D. Farvacque-Vitkovic and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2014-06-13 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells a fascinating story on municipal finances for local government practitioners with rich examples, global practices, and good and bad experiences the authors gained in decades of field work.

Download or read book Housing Finance System in South Africa written by Vuyisani Moss and published by UN-HABITAT. This book was released on 2008 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Alexander Hamilton on Finance Credit and Debt written by Richard Sylla and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A treasure trove for financial and public policy geeks . . . will also help lay readers go beyond the hit musical in understanding Hamilton’s lasting significance.” —Publishers Weekly While serving as the first treasury secretary from 1789 to 1795, Alexander Hamilton engineered a financial revolution. He established the treasury debt market, the dollar, and a central bank, while strategically prompting private entrepreneurs to establish securities markets and stock exchanges and encouraging state governments to charter a number of commercial banks and other business corporations. Yet despite a recent surge of interest in Hamilton, US financial modernization has not been fully recognized as one of his greatest achievements. This book traces the development of Hamilton’s financial thinking, policies, and actions through a selection of his writings. Financial historians and Hamilton experts Richard Sylla and David J. Cowen provide commentary that demonstrates the impact Hamilton had on the modern economic system, guiding readers through Hamilton’s distinguished career. It showcases Hamilton’s thoughts on the nation’s founding, the need for a strong central government, problems such as a depreciating paper currency and weak public credit, and the architecture of the financial system. His great state papers on public credit, the national bank, the mint, and manufactures instructed reform of the nation’s finances and jumpstarted economic growth. Hamilton practiced what he preached: he played a key role in the founding of three banks and a manufacturing corporation—and his deft political maneuvering and economic savvy saved the fledgling republic’s economy during the country’s first full-blown financial crisis in 1792. “A fascinating examination of Hamiltonian economics.” —The Washington Times

Download or read book SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES written by Dr. Basavaraj R. Bagade & Dr. Mohd Akhter Ali and published by Ashok Yakkaldevi. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The administrators of city or a town adopt two approaches to evaluate the urban places and the impact of urbanization. The first approach undertakes the Study of size, function, growth rate, and tributary area of cities in the general fabric of settlements. The second approach deals with the internal structure of cities and the related factors, which control the layout and buildings, the character and intensity of land use, the movement of persons and goods between various functional areas. The land use planning is a part of larger process of city planning. It is basically concerned with location, intensity, and amount of land development required from various space using functions of city life, such as, industry, wholesaling business, housing, recreation, education, and religious and cultural activities of the people. The study of urban land use and its planning is of considerable significance in the overall planning of urban places like Gadag-Betageri city. Decline and decay of our cities calls for all policy makers, administrators and Politicians to stop destructive forces of the urban development and to forge alliances among all local and national forces which are concerned with the social, political, economic, ecological, physical and cultural development of our cities and towns. Despite the claims that developments in communications imply that the cities are Remote Sensing and GIS going to lose their function and will change dramatically, it cannot be predicted that the new paradigm of the 'information city' will only represent another device of those who do not have access to information technology.]

Download or read book Global Trends 2040 written by National Intelligence Council and published by Cosimo Reports. This book was released on 2021-03 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.