The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China

The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China PDF Author: Ming Su
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Bank Policy
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
China has experienced more than 25 years of extraordinary economic growth. Underlying this growth has been a decentralized fiscal system, in which provinces and large cities are given the freedom to make infrastructure investments to stimulate local development, and are allowed to retain a large part of the fiscal revenues that are generated from economic activity. Although successful as a growth strategy, this policy created two problems for national fiscal management. First, it significantly reduced the central government's share of fiscal revenues, which fell from 34.8 percent in 1980 to 22 percent in 1992. Second, it widened economic and fiscal disparities between the rapidly growing urban coastal region and the rest of the country. Rapid growth in subnational debt (which rose 23-fold in a decade) and subnational nonperforming loans (estimated by the authors to range between US$100 billion and US$150 billion) has placed pressure on China's financial system. Traditionally, China has favored bank lending as a source of finance because the banking system has provided a vehicle for central political control over local debt. But as China's financial system matures, creditworthiness standards must become more important. The authors recommend greater use of the revenue streams from infrastructure assets as a financing source, and gradual relaxation of central political control over subnational debt. One step in this direction would permit leading cities to issue municipal bonds based on objective financial standards.

The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China

The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China PDF Author: Ming Su
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Bank Policy
Languages : en
Pages : 54

Get Book

Book Description
China has experienced more than 25 years of extraordinary economic growth. Underlying this growth has been a decentralized fiscal system, in which provinces and large cities are given the freedom to make infrastructure investments to stimulate local development, and are allowed to retain a large part of the fiscal revenues that are generated from economic activity. Although successful as a growth strategy, this policy created two problems for national fiscal management. First, it significantly reduced the central government's share of fiscal revenues, which fell from 34.8 percent in 1980 to 22 percent in 1992. Second, it widened economic and fiscal disparities between the rapidly growing urban coastal region and the rest of the country. Rapid growth in subnational debt (which rose 23-fold in a decade) and subnational nonperforming loans (estimated by the authors to range between US$100 billion and US$150 billion) has placed pressure on China's financial system. Traditionally, China has favored bank lending as a source of finance because the banking system has provided a vehicle for central political control over local debt. But as China's financial system matures, creditworthiness standards must become more important. The authors recommend greater use of the revenue streams from infrastructure assets as a financing source, and gradual relaxation of central political control over subnational debt. One step in this direction would permit leading cities to issue municipal bonds based on objective financial standards.

The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China

The Fiscal Framework and Urban Infrastructure Finance in China PDF Author: Ming Su
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
China has experienced more than 25 years of extraordinary economic growth. Underlying this growth has been a decentralized fiscal system, in which provinces and large cities are given the freedom to make infrastructure investments to stimulate local development, and are allowed to retain a large part of the fiscal revenues that are generated from economic activity. Although successful as a growth strategy, this policy created two problems for national fiscal management. First, it significantly reduced the central government's share of fiscal revenues, which fell from 34.8 percent in 1980 to 22 percent in 1992. Second, it widened economic and fiscal disparities between the rapidly growing urban coastal region and the rest of the country. Rapid growth in subnational debt (which rose 23-fold in a decade) and subnational nonperforming loans (estimated by the authors to range between US$100 billion and US$150 billion) has placed pressure on China's financial system. Traditionally, China has favored bank lending as a source of finance because the banking system has provided a vehicle for central political control over local debt. But as China's financial system matures, creditworthiness standards must become more important. The authors recommend greater use of the revenue streams from infrastructure assets as a financing source, and gradual relaxation of central political control over subnational debt. One step in this direction would permit leading cities to issue municipal bonds based on objective financial standards.

Financing Cities

Financing Cities PDF Author: George E. Peterson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788178297248
Category : Finance, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description


Modernizing China

Modernizing China PDF Author: W. Raphael Lam
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513539949
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
China is at a critical juncture in its economic transformation as it tries to rebalance what is generally seen as an exhausted growth model. A unifying theme across the reforms that will deliver this transformation is that it can no longer be achieved by raising the amount of physical investment and government direction of resource allocation. Instead China is building a new set of policy frameworks that will allow markets to function more effectively—not unfettered markets, but markets that work efficiently, in line with broad social and other policy goals, and in a sustainable way. Hence, China is now building a new soft infrastructure, that is, the institutional plumbing that underpins and guides the functioning of markets as the key organizing principle toward achieving sustained economic and social progress. Against this background, this volume provides policymakers, academics, and the public with valuable information about policies and institutions in China today. It also looks at the road ahead and key principles that can help China in navigating it. The book focuses on issues crucial in the country’s transformation, such as tax policy and administration, social security, state-owned enterprise reform, medium-term expenditure frameworks, the role of local government finances, capital account liberalization, and renminbi internationalization. As China moves toward a more price-based allocation of resources, strengthening monetary policy frameworks and financial sector regulation will be particularly important in channeling resources to the most productive sectors and minimizing the risks of financial sector stress. Also, upgrading statistical frameworks will be critical for macroeconomic policymaking and investors. Visit : http://www.elibrary.imf.org/page/modernizing-china

Regulating Local Government Financing Vehicles and Public-Private Partnerships in China

Regulating Local Government Financing Vehicles and Public-Private Partnerships in China PDF Author: Hui Jin
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475537662
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
In this paper, we argue that there is much room for China to strengthen its regulatory framework for public-private partnerships (PPPs). We show that infrastructure projects carried out through local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) were largely unregulated PPPs, and significant fiscal risks have already manifested themselves. While PPPs can potentially provide efficiency gains, they can also be used by governments to circumvent budgetary borrowing constraints. Therefore, effective PPP regulation is key to delivering PPPs’ benefits while containing their potential fiscal risks. The authorities have taken concrete steps in order to establish a sound regulatory framework and foster a new generation of PPPs. However, to make the framework effective, we highlight a few issues to be resolved. Based on international best practice, we propose a four-pillar regulatory framework for China, which could be implemented gradually in three stages.

Modernizing China

Modernizing China PDF Author: W. Raphael Lam
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 147555849X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
China is at a critical juncture in its economic transformation as it tries to rebalance what is generally seen as an exhausted growth model. A unifying theme across the reforms that will deliver this transformation is that it can no longer be achieved by raising the amount of physical investment and government direction of resource allocation. Instead China is building a new set of policy frameworks that will allow markets to function more effectively—not unfettered markets, but markets that work efficiently, in line with broad social and other policy goals, and in a sustainable way. Hence, China is now building a new soft infrastructure, that is, the institutional plumbing that underpins and guides the functioning of markets as the key organizing principle toward achieving sustained economic and social progress. Against this background, this volume provides policymakers, academics, and the public with valuable information about policies and institutions in China today. It also looks at the road ahead and key principles that can help China in navigating it. The book focuses on issues crucial in the country’s transformation, such as tax policy and administration, social security, state-owned enterprise reform, medium-term expenditure frameworks, the role of local government finances, capital account liberalization, and renminbi internationalization. As China moves toward a more price-based allocation of resources, strengthening monetary policy frameworks and financial sector regulation will be particularly important in channeling resources to the most productive sectors and minimizing the risks of financial sector stress. Also, upgrading statistical frameworks will be critical for macroeconomic policymaking and investors.

Financing Cities

Financing Cities PDF Author: George E Peterson
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761935643
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
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

Urban China

Urban China PDF Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464802068
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 583

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Book Description
In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce. With China’s urban population projected to rise to about one billion – or close to 70 percent of the country’s population – by 2030, China’s leaders are seeking a more coordinated urbanization process. Urban China is a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council which was established to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in China and to help China forge a new model of urbanization. The report takes as its point of departure the conviction that China's urbanization can become more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. However, it stresses that achieving this vision will require strong support from both government and the markets for policy reforms in a number of area. The report proposes six main areas for reform: first, amending land management institutions to foster more efficient land use, denser cities, modernized agriculture, and more equitable wealth distribution; second, adjusting the hukou household registration system to increase labor mobility and provide urban migrant workers equal access to a common standard of public services; third, placing urban finances on a more sustainable footing while fostering financial discipline among local governments; fourth, improving urban planning to enhance connectivity and encourage scale and agglomeration economies; fifth, reducing environmental pressures through more efficient resource management; and sixth, improving governance at the local level.

China's Local Public Finance in Transition

China's Local Public Finance in Transition PDF Author: Joyce Y. Man
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558442382
Category : BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
China's economy has developed rapidly following the 1978 implementation of economic reforms that facilitated investment, expanded trade, and introduced market mechanisms and practices. However, reforms of China's public finances have proceeded more slowly and with less publicity. The major reform (a tax sharing system) implemented in 1994 shifted a large share of fiscal revenues from local governments to the central government, but did not substantially reassign expenditure responsibilities back to the center. Following the 1994 reform, local governments had 46 percent of revenues but responsibility for 77 percent of public expenditures. This revenue shortfall motivated local governments to exploit new sources, and revenue from the conversion of land from rural to urban use has been one of the most important extra-budgetary sources. Conversion involves compensating farmers for their land based on its agricultural use value, and then converting the land to urban use and selling it for development at a much higher value. The difference in land values accrues to the local government. The revenue from land sales has been a major source of funding for investment in infrastructure capital, often required to provide services to the newly converted urban land. In areas where urban land is in short supply revenues have been significant, and the incentive to produce more revenue has led to excessive land conversions. This practice has created low-density development in the periphery of some metropolitan areas while leaving large areas of urbanized land undeveloped. Three major policy options explored in this volume can address the underlying imbalance between revenues and expenditures at the local level in China: (1) institute new sources of local revenue, such as a property tax; (2) reform and enhance revenue transfers from the central government to local governments, a promising approach that could also address cross-provincial disparities; and (3) revisit the assignment of expenditure responsibilities from local governments to the central government to align revenues and expenditures at the same level. The end result is likely to be a mix of all three options as part of an incremental reform. This book presents the proceedings of a conference cosponsored by the Lincoln Institute and the Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy in May 2008, plus two additional chapters. It will be a valuable resource for government officials, public finance practitioners, academic researchers, university faculty and students, and others concerned with government tax and expenditure policies and practices in China. This volume will be translated into Chinese and published in association with the Peking-Lincoln Center in Beijing.

Fiscal Underpinnings for Sustainable Development in China

Fiscal Underpinnings for Sustainable Development in China PDF Author: Ehtisham Ahmad
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811062862
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This book collects high-quality papers on issues related to the rebalancing strategy in China, new clean cities as “hubs’’, liability management, and involving the private sector, including through PPPs, with specific examples from Guangdong. Guangdong has been at the forefront of economic reforms in China since the advent of the Responsibility System in the late 1970s, and its successes and challenges reflect those of China as a whole. The need for rebalancing towards a more inclusive and sustainable path is also critical in Guangdong, just as it is in China. Strengthening the fiscal underpinnings and the next stages of tax reforms are critical drivers to accomplishing the requisite structural changes.