Digital financial inclusion and fiscal solvency in Uganda’s local governments: A review of regulation mediation

Fiscal solvency has become a popular phenomenon in numerous decentralizing countries in recent years. The ability to mobilize adequate revenue to fund expenditure in a given budget period, and provide public goods and services, makes fiscal solvency very pertinent, especially in local government. However, policy, practice, and research, claim that most local entities, both in the developed and developing world, rarely achieve required fiscal solvency standards. While no clear explanation of the problem abounds, digital financial inclusion dominates the ongoing debate. Besides, regulation is also considered a very crucial factor for fiscal solvency. This study examines the probable mediation effect regulation has on the digital financial inclusion-fiscal solvency relationship in local governments in Uganda, East Africa. Based on a cross-sectional research design, data were collected from 21 districts, nine municipalities, and many sub-counties in the country’s post-conflict northern regions. The data were then subjected to structural equation modeling analysis. Its findings reveal that digital financial inclusion explains changes in fiscal solvency in surveyed local governments. Moreover, regulation has an indirect influence on the digital financial inclusion-fiscal solvency formation. Findings implications to practice and theory are discussed, and future research direction is provided

Fiscal Policy and Public Debt

This chapter looks at fiscal policy, broadly interpreted to include its implications on deficits, debt, and fiscal solvency. It is informally divided in two parts, starting from the latter set of issues. After introducing the budget deficit, debt and the government budget constraint, and related issues, it proceeds to analyse fiscal solvency, deriving formal conditions and discussing extensively indicators and required policy rules. The role of growth in ensuring fiscal solvency is put in sharp relief. Additionally, the ‘dilemma of austerity’ is critically discussed, i.e. whether ‘fiscal consolidations’ can in fact damage public finances by being recessionary. We then turn to the effects of fiscal policy on economic activity: A ‘toolkit’ of static fiscal multipliers is discussed, as is the intertemporal approach to fiscal policy (including Ricardian Equivalence), complemented by empirical evidence.

Can Anyone Plan a Professional Conference? Tales of a Conference Planning Newbie

Professional conferences—love ’em? Many of us do, but they can mean something different to everyone. For organizations, they often serve as major sources of revenue, maintaining fiscal solvency and making future conferences financially sustainable.For attendees, conferences provide structured opportunities for learning, inspiration, and networking. Sharing new information in the field, socializing with friends and colleagues, and enjoying the camaraderie of the profession are just some of the intended outcomes, and conference planners hope to produce a valuable and inspirational event for their colleagues.

Dynamic Fiscal Solvency with Consumption and Capital Taxes

To finance public expenditure a government needs to raise revenue, which mainly comes from taxes and borrowings. During a financial crisis, however, financing of budget deficit is particularly difficult because of a rise in debt servicing costs that crowd out other expenses and raise the concern for government solvency. In extreme cases, governments are constrained to tax, as borrowing opportunities are strictly limited or unavailable. Still, governments can choose from tax menu options (income and consumption taxes), given the flexibility of the tax mix. This article presents a long-term dynamic model of fiscal solvency that shows the equilibrium the revenue maximising government can obtain with reasonable tax rates when capital income can be shifted and there are constraints on the consumption tax. Specifically, the solution predicts a positive level of bonds in the long-term equilibrium and the tax rates dependent positively on the abundance of the tax bases.