Urban Public Finance in Developing Countries

by Linn, Johannes F.

• ISBN13: 9780195211221
• ISBN10: 0195211227
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-09-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Now available in paperback, his encyclopedic volume quantifies and describes the detail of local fiscal practices in developing countries and the most common data problems that arise in cross-national analysis. Proven to be an important resource for the study of urban finance, it remains one of the most comprehensive reviews of municipal financing in developing countries to date.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix	(2)
Acknowledgments	xi	(2)
Data Sources and Definitions	xiii
1 Introduction: Why Study Urban Public Finance?	1	(8)
Urbanization and National Planning	2	(1)
Objectives of this Book	3	(2)
Scope, Method, and Limitations	5	(2)
Plan of the Book	7	(2)
Part I A Framework for Analysis	9	(68)
2 The Expenditure and Revenue Structure of Urban Governments	11	(38)
The Importance of Local Government in Developing Countries	11	(5)
What Do Local Governments Do?	16	(7)
Expenditure Patterns	23	(9)
Financing Urban Services	32	(15)
Conclusions: Local Fiscal Performance	47	(2)
3 The Urban Fiscal Problem in Developing Countries: Issues and Approaches	49	(28)
Is There an Optimal Size for an Urban Government's Budget?	49	(3)
The Fiscal Gap and the Budget Deficit	52	(1)
Why Do Urban Government Budgets Grow?	53	(12)
Revenue Constraints and Opportunities	65	(3)
Reform and the Prospects for Urban Government Budgets	68	(5)
The Prospects for and Politics of Urban Fiscal Reform	73	(4)
Part II Local Government Taxes	77	(162)
4 Property Tax Systems: Practice and Performance	79	(44)
The Importance of Property Taxation	80	(3)
Types of Property Taxation	83	(1)
Annual Value Systems	84	(6)
Capital Value Systems	90	(6)
Site Value Systems	96	(1)
Is There an Optimal Property Tax Structure for Developing Countries?	97	(3)
Exemptions from the Property Tax Base	100	(1)
Does the Property Tax Generate Adequate Revenue?	101	(8)
Property Tax Administration	109	(8)
Property Tax Reform	117	(6)
5 The Incidence of Urban Property Taxation	123	(42)
Conventional Theories of Incidence	123	(2)
Limitations of the New Orthodoxy	125	(6)
A Framework for a Theory of Incidence in Developing Countries	131	(3)
Empirical Estimates of Incidence	134	(9)
Distributive Effects of Structure and Administration	143	(17)
A Case Study of the Effect of Structure and Administration on Incidence	160	(4)
Summary	164	(1)
6 Allocative Effects of Urban Property Taxation	165	(25)
Property Taxation and Resource Allocation	165	(1)
Property Taxation and Land Use Policy	166	(3)
Allocative Effects and Property Tax Practices	169	(18)
Appendix	187	(3)
7 Automotive Taxation	190	(19)
The Case for Automotive Taxation	190	(3)
Local Automotive Tax Practices in Developing Countries	193	(2)
Objectives of Automotive Taxation	195	(1)
Fuel Taxes	196	(3)
Sales and Transfer Taxes on Motor Vehicles	199	(1)
Unrestricted Annual License Taxes	200	(3)
Congestion Charges	203	(4)
Summary and Evaluation of Local Automotive Taxation	207	(2)
8 Other Urban Taxes	209	(30)
Policy Objectives	210	(2)
Local Income Taxes	212	(7)
General Sales Taxes	219	(3)
Local Taxes on Industry, Commerce, and Professions	222	(4)
"Terminal" Taxes	226	(3)
Local Sumptuary Taxes	229	(2)
Entertainment Taxes	231	(2)
Minor Local Taxes, Licenses, and Fees	233	(3)
Summary and Evaluation	236	(3)
Part III User Charges for Urban Services	239	(144)
9 Issues in Pricing Urban Services	241	(45)
The Efficiency Argument for User Charges	241	(24)
Fiscal Considerations and Full Cost Pricing	265	(6)
Income Distribution Considerations	271	(9)
The Politics and Institutions of Public Service Pricing	280	(6)
10 Charging for Urban Water Services	286	(60)
Pricing Water Supply Services	289	(44)
Sewerage and Drainage	333	(8)
Summary	341	(5)
11 Charging for Other Urban Services	346	(37)
Electricity and Telephone Services	346	(13)
Collecting and Disposing of Solid Waste	359	(4)
Mass Transit	363	(4)
Housing	367	(7)
Development Charges	374	(9)
Part IV Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations	383	(98)
12 The Structure of Urban Governance	385	(43)
Fiscal Decentralization	385	(9)
The National Structure of Urban Government	394	(9)
The Structure of Large Metropolitan Areas	403	(8)
Evaluating Experiences with Alternative Structures	411	(9)
Summary and Conclusions: The Structure of Local Government and Decentralization	420	(2)
Appendix: Application of the Constrained Maximization Model of Local Fiscal Behavior to Developing Countries	422	(6)
13 Flows and Effects of Intergovernmental Transfers	428	(42)
The Importance of Grants for Revenue	430	(2)
A Typology of Grant Programs	432	(2)
The Pure Shared Tax	434	(6)
Formula Grants	440	(6)
Grants to Reimburse Costs	446	(3)
Ad Hoc Grants	449	(1)
Capital Grants and Loans	450	(4)
Evaluating the Alternatives	454	(12)
Policy Choices	466	(4)
14 Epilogue: Lessons for Policy	470	(11)
The Importance of Urban Government in Developing Countries	471	(1)
The Urban Fiscal Gap	471	(1)
The Allocation of Urban Government Functions and Revenue Authority	472	(1)
Issues in Urban Property Taxation	473	(1)
Automotive Taxation	474	(1)
Other Local Taxes	474	(1)
User Fees and Development Charges	475	(2)
Intergovernmental Transfers	477	(1)
The Scope and Prospects for Reform	478	(3)
Appendix: Data Sources for Tables	481	(12)
Notes	493	(20)
References and Selected Bibliography	513	(28)
Index	541