Decentralisation and Quality of Fiscal Management: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan
Journal Title: Journal of Development Policy, Research & Practice (JoDPRP) - Year 2022, Vol 6, Issue 01
Abstract
Effective use of public resources is crucial for developing countries facing persistent deficits. Fiscal decentralisation is believed to enhance government efficiency over resource use. Therefore, the paper intends to examine the association between Pakistan’s Fiscal Decentralisation (FD) and Fiscal Management from 1988 to 2020. The authors develop a Composite Decentralisation Index (CDI) that captures the effect of both Expenditure Decentralisation (ED) and Revenue Decentralisation (RD) processes. After confirmation of stationarity through augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Philip-Peran (PP) unit roots tests, the study employs the Johansen cointegration method to draw longrun estimates. The study’s findings reveal that composite decentralisation reduces public deficit significantly - lower corruption, weaker underground economy, and smaller government size help reduce the fiscal deficit. The Error Correction Term (ECM) is also negative and significant at 1%, which confirms the speed of convergence towards longrun equilibrium in case of any shock or dis equilibrium in the short run. These study findings may help policymakers and legislatures draft effective long-term fiscal management policies.
Authors and Affiliations
Asif Razzaq, Rabia Nazir, Sundus Shaheen
Cost of Access to Justice and Exclusion in Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis
This paper examines the cost of access to justice and analyses whether such a cost is affordable by the average citizen of Pakistan. It is assumed that the foundation on which the current judicial system has evolved is u...
Youth Development in Pakistan: A Provincial Analysis
The paper studies youth development in Pakistan from a provincial lens and examines policies and relevant measures of each province in this regard. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to education are also e...
Cyber Security Imperatives and Pakistan’s Readiness: A Brief Overview
With increasing use of the Internet and its free for all availability, the cyber space is expanding making it easier for hackers to target infrastructure and services. The next war between adversaries will be a cyber war...
Romania’s National Plan against Illegal Logging: An Analysis of the Public Proposal
This study analyses the extent to which the Romanian National Plan Against Illegal Logging (Planul Național de Combatere a Tăierilor Ilegale de Arbori (PNCTIA) fulfils the conditions of a functional public policy proposa...
Decentralisation and Quality of Fiscal Management: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan
Effective use of public resources is crucial for developing countries facing persistent deficits. Fiscal decentralisation is believed to enhance government efficiency over resource use. Therefore, the paper intends to ex...