Fiscal Federalism



State governments typically outperform the federal government in service delivery. They are closer to the coalface, more familiar with the intricacies of the terrain. Contrast… Read More ›

Let the States Specialise in Services and Leave Tax to the Feds

New South Wales Treasurer Matt Kean has been loudly calling out failures of expenditure by the Commonwealth, as we head into budget and election season… Read More ›

[Budget Forum 2022] For Social Infrastructure and Tax Reform, We Need a New Federal Fiscal Bargain

During the past decades, income inequality has triggered policies aiming at social inclusion in democracies worldwide. The strengthening and deepening of social security and removing… Read More ›

Does Subnational Tax Autonomy Alleviate Regional Inequality?

Gender budgeting is an approach that uses fiscal policy to promote gender equality by trying to translate gender commitments into fiscal commitments through processes, resources… Read More ›

Gender Budgeting in Multi-level Governance

Extraordinary times require extraordinary policy responses. This blog explores the efficacy of ‘child budgeting’ in public financial management (PFM) to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.… Read More ›

Child Budgeting During COVID-19: The Case of Indian State of Karnataka

My main mistake as opposition leader in advocating broad-based tax reform in the early 1990s – as a key element of the Coalition’s Fightback campaign… Read More ›

Take It From One Who’s Been Burnt Attempting Tax Reform: Now’s the Time to Try Again

Classic “pork barrel” theory, as originally developed by Weingast et al (1981), argues that larger legislatures lead to increased spending, especially on capital, and the… Read More ›

Local Legislature Size Effects in Indonesia: Pork Barrel or Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen?

The principle of subsidiarity, when applied to taxation, suggests that the incidence of taxation should be at the level where they are most salient, and… Read More ›

How Do Vertical Fiscal Transfers Affect the Revenue-Raising Abilities of Local Governments in Rural India?

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