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Soft-Budget Constraints and Local Expenditures

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Author Info

  • Takero Doi

    (Faculty of Economics, Keio University)

  • Toshihiro Ihori

    (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo)

Abstract

This paper investigates how the soft budget constraint with grants from the central government to local governments tends to exaggerate inefficient local expenditures. We first develop a theoretical model, which explains soft budget problem in a multi-government setting. We then show that in Japan's case local governments implemented inefficient public investments and hence the bad outcome of soft budget problem occurred in the 1990s.

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File URL: http://www.cirje.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/dp/2006/2006cf422.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo in its series CIRJE F-Series with number CIRJE-F-422.

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Length: 33pages
Date of creation: May 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:tky:fseres:2006cf422

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References

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  1. Motohiro Sato, 2002. "Intergovernmental Transfers, Governance Structure and Fiscal Decentralization," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 53(1), pages 55-76.
  2. David E. Wildasin, 2001. "Externalities and Bailouts: Hard and Soft Budget Constraints in Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations," Public Economics 0112002, EconWPA.
  3. Timothy Goodspeed, 2002. "Bailouts in a Federation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 409-421, August.
  4. Michael Keen, 1997. "Vertical Tax Externalities in the Theory of Fiscal Federalism," IMF Working Papers 97/173, International Monetary Fund.
  5. Alesina, Alberto & Tabellini, Guido, 1990. "A Positive Theory of Fiscal Deficits and Government Debt," Review of Economic Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 403-14, July.
  6. Alberto Alesina & Roberto Perotti, 1996. "Fiscal Adjustments in OECD Countries - Composition and Macroeconomic Effects," IMF Working Papers 96/70, International Monetary Fund.
  7. Persson, Torsten & Svensson, Lars E O, 1989. "Why a Stubborn Conservative Would Run a Deficit: Policy with Time-Inconsistent Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 104(2), pages 325-45, May.
  8. Tabellini, Guido & Alesina, Alberto, 1990. "A Positive Theory of Fiscal Deficits and Government Debt," Scholarly Articles 3612769, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  9. Ihori, Toshihiro & Doi, Takero & Kondo, Hiroki, 2001. "Japanese fiscal reform: fiscal reconstruction and fiscal policy," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 351-370, December.
  10. Michael J. Keen & Christos Kotsogiannis, 2002. "Does Federalism Lead to Excessively High Taxes?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 363-370, March.
  11. Besfamille, Martin & Lockwood, Ben, 2004. "Are Hard Budget Constraints for Sub-National Governments Always Efficient?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 717, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
  12. DelRossi, Alison F. & Inman, Robert P., 1999. "Changing the price of pork: the impact of local cost sharing on legislators' demands for distributive public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 247-273, February.
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Cited by:
  1. Miyazaki, Tomomi, 2009. "Public investment and business cycles: The case of Japan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 419-426, September.
  2. Baskaran, Thushyanthan, 2011. "Soft budget constraints and strategic interactions in subnational borrowing: Evidence from the German States, 1975-2005," MPRA Paper 32537, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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