The design of intergovernmental fiscal transfers has a strong bearing on efficiency and equity of public service provision and accountable local governance. This book provides a comprehensive one-stop window/source of materials to guide practitioners and scholars on design and worldwide practices in intergovernmental fiscal transfers and their implications for efficiency, and equity in public services provision as well as accountable governance.

The majority of the world’s children live in countries where local governments are responsible for the provision of basic education services. Although subnational governments manage their own education systems, they often rely on transfers from the central government for funding. The main purpose of this study is to assess how these fiscal transfers affect public funding for education and how they ultimately affect student schooling and learning outcomes. Through a careful analysis of how fiscal transfers have affected education systems in different contexts, the investigation develops a set of principles to support improvements in the design and implementation of transfer systems with a specific focus on the provision of education services. The study is centered on seven country case studies that aim to answer a set of common research questions using a similar approach. Country case studies were conducted in Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Sudan, and Uganda. The analysis shows that fiscal transfer mechanisms can improve the adequacy of public education spending, reduce spending inequalities between regions, and improve spending efficiency. Moreover, the study highlights that carefully designed and implemented transfer systems can help raise overall education outcomes and reduce education inequality. This publication was funded by a grant from the Results in Education for All Children (REACH) trust fund at the World Bank. REACH is supported by the government of Germany through theFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the government of Norway through NORAD, and the government of the United States of America through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Despite growing fiscal devolution, efficient and effective intergovernmental transfers – the transfer of money from central to lower levels of government – remain a vital sub-national government financing in developing countries. This research study examines different approaches to intergovernmental transfers (ICTs) in developing countries in the Commonwealth, and assesses their relative strengths and weaknesses. It includes detailed case studies of India and Kenya, lessons learned from IGT systems in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Intergovernmental fiscal transfers are a dominant feature of subnational finance in most countries. They are used to ensure that revenues roughly match the expenditure needs of various orders (levels) of subnational governments. They are also used to advance national, regional, and local area objectives, such as fairness and equity, and creating a common economic union. The structure of these transfers creates incentives for national, regional, and local governments that have a bearing on fiscal management, macroeconomic stability, distributional equity, allocative efficiency, and public services delivery. This paper reviews the conceptual, empirical, and practice literature to distill lessons of policy interest in designing the fiscal transfers to create the right incentives for prudent fiscal management and competitive and innovative service delivery. It provides practical guidance on the design of performance-oriented transfers that emphasize bottom-up, client-focused, and results-based government accountability. It cites examples of simple but innovative grant designs that can satisfy grantors' objectives while preserving local autonomy and creating an enabling environment for responsive, responsible, equitable, and accountable public governance. The paper further provides guidance on the design and practice of equalization transfers for regional fiscal equity as well as the institutional arrangements for implementation of such transfer mechanisms. It concludes with negative (practices to avoid) and positive (practices to emulate) lessons from international practices.

Intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IFTs) are an innovative way to create incentives for local public actors to support conservation. This book contributes to the debate about how to conserve tropical forests by implementing mechanisms for reducing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). With Indonesia as a case study, the authors adopt an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on political science, economics, and public policy. They consider the theoretical justification, as well as the wider political and administrative context for developing the design of IFTs for conservation. Students and scholars looking at conservation, ecological economics, decentralisation, forest policy and climate change will find this book to be of interest. It will also be of considerable use to policy-makers and practitioners working on forest policy, particularly those implementing REDD+.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Other International Politics Topics, , language: English, abstract: The paper deals with intergovernmental fiscal transfer in comparative analysis of Germany, Nigeria and Ethiopia federation. The first chapter concerns about the concept of intergovernmental fiscal transfer and the objective of having intergovernmental fiscal transfer. In chapter two the types of fiscal imbalances are discussed from the view of three federal countries arrangements. Types of intergovernmental fiscal transfer and institutions are examined in chapter three. In addition to that procedure for establishing and modifying intergovernmental transfers as well as the design of intergovernmental transfers are included in this chapter. Chapter four is particularly concerned in reviewing the legal frame work and experience of three federal countries (Germany, Ethiopia, and Nigeria) on intergovernmental fiscal transfers. The chapter discusses in brief the intergovernmental fiscal transfers legal frame work and practice as well as challenges of each of the three federal countries and dispute resolution mechanism. Lastly the paper ends with a conclusion and the comparative lessons that Ethiopia could draw from the foreign experiences. Federalism is alleged to serve various purposes that could not be effectively handled by other forms of state formation structures. It is a gain saying that the federal arrangement is chosen for driving a benefit from a strong union without compromising regional autonomy. In federal arrangements that are primarily concerned in devolving powers mainly from the central to the sub national governments. This may also involve assigning expenditure and revenue responsibilities between the federal and regional governments and the need to rectify the fiscal gaps arising there from. This is the subject matter of fiscal federalism. Fiscal federalism is in general dividing the fiscal aspects of the functions of government (expenditure and revenue assignments) and the subsequent need for intergovernmental fiscal transfer between the tiers of government. It is principally concerned in allocating expenditure responsibilities, the revenue raising power, and rectifying the fiscal imbalances between the central and sub national governments through intergovernmental fiscal transfers.

This book examines and analyzes issues related to public finance in subnational governments, along with a discussion of case studies on decentralization. Most of the analysis applies to all public goods and services provided by subnational governments, with some placed on the role of subnational governments in the management of environmental resources, notably water and waste Coverage includes optimal arrangements for sharing fiscal responsibilities among different levels of government, the potential impact of decentralization on the quality of public goods delivery, local governments’ expenditure and revenue choices, and the effect of decentralization on accountability, governance and policy outcomes. The scope of discussion extends to both public finance theory and applied policy debates. The first chapter, on trends in financing of public services, opens with an explanation of the how and why of government intervention in the economy, the nature and purposes of transfers between and among governments and trends in decentralization. Case studies examine the impact of decentralization in such areas as service delivery, water and sanitation, education and health, and on poverty and income inequality. Chapter 2 examines public budgets: governance structures, norms and organizational practices, building up understanding of budgets, budget cycles, fiscal revenues from fees and taxes, expenses, debt and political economy issues, rules mandating balanced budgets in government and more. Chapter 3 discusses issues of accountability and policy outcomes, offering important lessons from recent international experience, including ways to strengthen political, administrative and financial accountability. The concluding chapter recounts lessons from recent international experience and surveys implications for the nexus approach to management of environmental resources. The information, analysis and expert advice presented here is particularly relevant for developing and emerging countries, where well designed decentralization reforms have a higher potential to improve efficiency in the provision of public services, and to enhance the development of integrated and sustainable strategies for the use of water, soil and waste resources and applications that advance the nexus approach.

Intergovernmental transfers are an important tool of public sector finance in both industrialized and developing countries. Critically examining selected intergovernmental transfers in three large Asian countries--India, Pakistan, and the Philippines--this study highlights lessons from these countries that those intending to reform their intergovernmental transfer systems might apply. Each country is considered in light of the accepted principles and international practices of intergovernmental transfers. A summary is provided that synthesizes the results from case studies, examining how they meet individual country objectives and how they relate to broader international experience.

In this book, experts from across the globe highlight the state of knowledge in intergovernmental transfer design. The essays collected in the volume represent creative new thinking about challenging policy issues and offer useful options for policy makers. The book offers academics and practitioners a thorough, thematic assessment of unresolved issues in the design of equalization grants.