scholarly journals A Pervasive Economic Fallacy in Assessing the Cost of Public Funds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Boyer
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
The Public ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost

In the assessment of the cost of public funds, there is a pervasive economic fallacy that is frequently repeated in public policy circles: because the cost of borrowing is higher for a private-sector firm than it is for a public-sector firm, the cost of carrying out an activity (investment, production, distribution, provision of goods and services, and borrowing) will necessarily be lower ceteris paribus in the public sector than in the private sector. The statement is erroneous because part of the government’s cost of borrowing, namely the risk borne by citizens, customers, and taxpayers, is hidden from the casual observer of market interest rates or yields. The all-inclusive borrowing cost, more generally the all-inclusive cost of capital, is the same for both the public and the private sectors. I discuss four specific real cases in which the error is present: the Quebec Generations Fund, the Québec CDPQ Infra–Réseu express métropolitain project, the Infrastructure Ontario methodology to assess the riskiness of costs, and the BC Hydro Site C hydroelectric megaproject. I also discuss a general fifth case, namely government support programs for businesses (grants, loans, guarantees, subsidies, etc.), which are generally justified on the fallacious claim that the cost of financing is lower for the government than for the private sector. I propose an auction process by which the true cost of business support programs could be made transparent. I conclude with an appeal for a more rigorous use and management of public funds because miscalculation, misinformation, mismanagement, and fallacious analysis will eventually backfire.

scholarly journals METHODS AND WAYS OF ASSESSMENT OF LOSSES FROM CORRUPTION THEFT IN PUBLIC SECTOR OF ECONOMY

2019 ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei Aleksandrovich Konovalenko ◽  
Georgy Ismaylovich Harada ◽  
Nazirkhan Gadzhievich Gadzhiev
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
The Public ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Government

Implementation of the decisions made in the course of management of economic and socio-political development of the state causes the adequate financial flows forming the budgetary sphere of the state. The trouble in this sphere does not allow to provide the necessary level of economic growth, hampers reforming of the economy, makes negative impact on commercial and foreign economic activity, interferes with improvement of monetary and credit, tax, insurance and other spheres of the financial system of the Russian Federation. The offenses connected with corruption and theft of budget funds committed by officials at various levels significantly undermine the authority of the government, cause a growth of discontent of society and impact the social and economic situation in the country. The practice of identifying the offenses connected with theft of public funds and property shows that practically all spheres of the public sector of economy are, to a greater or lesser extent, subject to the risks of such crimes commitment. In this regard, a research of methods and ways of assessment of corruption theft amount in the public sector of the economy is an important and hot topic. The main types of public funds theft have been analyzed, including theft of budget funds allocated in the form of grants for targeted measures; theft by overcharging the prices of goods and services used for the state needs; the acquisition of inventory for personal use of the heads of public companies at the expense of the company, etc. The dynamics of the amount of budget crimes in the Ryazan region has been analyzed. It was inferred that corruption crimes in the public sector of the Ryazan region include fraud, abuse of power, abuse of authority, illegal participation in business, as well as taking bribes. A set of measures for preventing the above crimes has been proposed.

scholarly journals Public-Private Partnership Projects in Bangladesh: The Performance of Public Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruf Ahmad ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Satisfaction Level ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Audit ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Weak Coordination ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

The government of Bangladesh recognizes public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a strong catalyst for implementing infrastructure projects. The study conducted to assess the performance of the public sector and measure the cost of service with service quality in infrastructure projects under PPP. The survey focused on 35 government and nongovernment officials from PPP implementing agencies and academicians using a structured questionnaire. The performance of the public sector was assessed with 16 selected indicators. Among them Performances of the public sector in case of land acquisition for infrastructure, exemption of taxes and import duties, linked project, addressing socioeconomic issues were good enough. The findings of the study also revealed that the public sector’s performances in coordination, environmental relationship and communications, interorganizational trust and satisfaction level of the private sector are low. Besides this cost of providing service under PPP projects are increases but customers are satisfied with the higher paid services. Considering the views that starting PPP with weak coordination, lower inter-organizational trust, lower satisfaction level of the private sector, the Government of Bangladesh should take initiative for improving trust through open dialogue with the private sector and through developing a social audit model for PPP implementation.

From Data to Vision

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhoda Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Current Survey ◽  
The Government

This chapter examines the use of big data in the public sector. The public sector pertains to government-related activities. The specific context in this chapter looks at the use of big data at the country level, also described as the federal level. Conceptually, data is processed through a “knowledge pyramid” where data is used to generate information, information generates knowledge, and knowledge begets wisdom. Using this theoretical backdrop, this chapter presents an extension of this model and proposes that the next stage in the pyramid is vision. Vision describes a future plan for the government agency or business, based on the current survey of the organization's environment. To develop these concepts, the use of big data is examined in three different countries. Both opportunities and challenges are outlined, with recommendations for the future. The concepts examined in this chapter are within the constraints of the public sector, but may also be applied to private sector initiatives pertaining to big data.

Public-Private-Academic Cooperation as a Trust Building Mechanism

2016 ◽  
pp. 199-223
Author(s):  
Nicholas Virzi ◽  
Juan Portillo ◽  
Mariela Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Trust Building ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Competitiveness ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Government ◽  
Innovation And Entrepreneurship

The chapter will be a case study from an Ordoliberal perspective of the conception, implementation and policy output of the newly created Private Council of Competitiveness (PCC) in Guatemala, a country wracked by mistrust of the public sector by the private sector. The PCC was founded as a private sector initiative, in conjunction with academia, to work with the government to spawn new efforts aimed at augmenting Guatemala's national competitiveness, by fomenting innovation, entrepreneurship and closer ties between academia and the public and private sectors. The chapter utilizes first hand interviews with the members of the PCC and key public sector players, academics, and other top representatives from the private sector to show how working together built the trust necessary to make the PCC a successful working body with the potential to produce important initiatives in matters of competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Will Public-Private Partnerships Solve Nigeria’s Infrastructure Problems?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
George Nwangwu
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Public Infrastructure ◽  
The Public ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
As If

Nigeria, like most countries around the world, has turned to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to finance its infrastructure deficit. However, it appears that the government of Nigeria looks towards PPPs as the major solution to the country’s infrastructure crisis. In a sense PPPs are being sold to the public as if they were free, that the private sector would come in with its funds, provide the desired services and that the problem with the country’s infrastructure would automatically cease. This paper argues that this supposition is a myth and that the role of PPPs in the provision of public infrastructure is more nuanced than is being bandied around. PPPs are not the panacea to all of the country’s infrastructure problems and also are far from being completely free. It is however the case that if appropriately deployed, in most cases PPPs provide some advantages over conventional public sector procurements. This paper explores the different advantages and disadvantages of PPPs and suggests ways in which PPPs may be effectively used to improve the country’s infrastructure with reduced fiscal exposure to government.

scholarly journals Optimal Taxation in the Solow-Uzawa Growth Model with Public Goods

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3(S)) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Wei-Bin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Growth Model ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Optimal Taxation ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
The Public ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Government ◽  
Parameter Values

This paper makes an original contribution to the literature of optimal taxation by introducing Ramseytaxation to the Solow-Uzawa growth model to examine genuine dynamic interdependence between growth andoptimal taxation. We introduce a public sector to the Uzawa two-sector growth model. The public sector suppliespublic goods and services. The government financially supports by the public sector by collecting taxes on thehousehold’s wage income and wealth income under the assumption that the utility level is maximized. We derivethe optimal taxation rule and construct the dynamics of the national economy. The model studies a nonlineardynamics between national and sectoral growth, economic structural change, wealth/capital accumulation, andoptimal tax rates in perfect competitive markets with the government intervention. The model has a uniquestable equilibrium point with the chosen parameter values. We carry out comparative dynamic analysis toanalyze effects of exogenous changes in a few parameters on the transitional process and long-term economicstructure of the economic dynamics.

scholarly journals Knowledge Management in the Public Sector

2019 ◽  
pp. 484-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousif Abdullatif Albastaki ◽  
Adel Ismail Al-Alawi ◽  
Sara Abdulrahman Al-Bassam
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Although knowledge is recognized as a very important element of any business, the public sector does not fully explore the depth of the knowledge management (KM) as compared to private sector business. As days are passing by, public sector business has also started to realize the importance of KM. The public sector is a business that is run by the government. This sector includes organizations like government cooperation, enterprises, militaries, education, health, and related departments public services. In the public sector, the managers have started to adopt and develop practices of KM. Government organizations are facing many challenges to adapt and engage themselves in an electronic work environment. Over the years KM has grown and has been in continuous change in the public sector and has become essential to any organization in the world. Managers have been looking for a more futuristic approach for the past years. The purpose of this chapter examines the ongoing change in KM in the public sector and tackles the gap in the literature.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Public-Private Divide: Workplace Violence and the U.S. Forest Service

1999 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kindra Ramble
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Forest Service ◽  
Contextual Knowledge ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

The Oklahoma City bombing put a sensational face on antigovernment violence. Yet, for all of the attention devoted during its aftermath to the growth and possible consequences of antigovernment sentiments, little systematic investigation has been done regarding the extent to which this type of violence may have permeated the government workplace. Further, scholars presently lack contextual knowledge about potential differences between public sector and private sector workplace violence in which to place hypotheses concerning the connections between antigovernment sentiments and the violent victimization of government employees. This article probes those connections through a study of the workplace violence endured by rangers of the United States Forest Service, in hopes of contributing to the understanding of the complicated relationships between workplace violence, antigovernment activity, and employment in the public sector. Analysis of the violent incidents uncovered through this study lends support to the conclusion that violence waged against government employees is significantly different than the violence being perpetrated in private sector work settings. These findings further suggest that antigovernment activity contributes meaningfully to the differences in workplace violence experienced by government employees.

scholarly journals Is the Private Sector more Productive than the Public Sector?

1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (4II) ◽  
pp. 721-729
Author(s):  
Khwaja Sarmad
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Total Production ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

In developing countries the rapid growth of the public sector during the past few decades was viewed as an important means for accelerating the pace of economic growth. In most developing countries the public sector now accounts for a prominent share of total production and investment. But the contribution of the public sector to growth has been much below expectations. In many cases public enterprises require large subsidies from the government and impose a significant fiscal burden on the economy, which leads to the notion that the private sector is much more productive than the public sector. However, little empirical work has been done in this field so that the proposals that emphasize the private sector vis-a-vis the public sector rest largely on theoretical considerations. Recent work by Khan and Reinhart (1990) is an important exception. Using cross-section data for the seventies of 24 developing countries they show that the arguments favouring the private sector in adjustment programmes have empirical support. Khan and Reinhart estimate a growth model in which the effect of private and public investment on growth is separated. A comparison of the marginal productivities of the two types of investment allows them to conclude that "all in all, there does seem to be some merit in the key role assigned to private investment in the development process by supporters of market -based strategies". [Khan and Reinhart (1990), p. 25.]

From Data to Vision

Big Data ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 2149-2163
Author(s):  
Rhoda Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Current Survey ◽  
The Government

This chapter examines the use of big data in the public sector. The public sector pertains to government-related activities. The specific context in this chapter looks at the use of big data at the country level, also described as the federal level. Conceptually, data is processed through a “knowledge pyramid” where data is used to generate information, information generates knowledge, and knowledge begets wisdom. Using this theoretical backdrop, this chapter presents an extension of this model and proposes that the next stage in the pyramid is vision. Vision describes a future plan for the government agency or business, based on the current survey of the organization's environment. To develop these concepts, the use of big data is examined in three different countries. Both opportunities and challenges are outlined, with recommendations for the future. The concepts examined in this chapter are within the constraints of the public sector, but may also be applied to private sector initiatives pertaining to big data.

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