Browse Our Research
Presentation | 2011
The Practice and Regulation of Municipal Loans and Bankruptcies in Hungary: The Challenges in 2011.
Izabella Barati-Stec
Since municipal sector spending represents almost 14% of Hungarian GDP, imbalances in municipal finance have a measurable effect at the macroeconomic level. The current government is setting new rules on local borrowing. With the rare two-thirds majority in parliament, it has the chance to introduce long awaited reforms, although they are likely to be met by intense opposition at the local level.
Find out more »
Find out more »
Presentation | 2011
Villain or Scapegoat?: The Ontario Municipal Board and Land Use Planning in Ontario
Aaron A. Moore
This presentation contrasts the institutions, law, and practices of planning in Ontario with other jurisdictions in Canada and the US. It concludes that the public's frustration with the OMB masks larger issues present in Ontario's planning regime, issues that the removal of the OMB will not address.
Find out more »
Find out more »
Presentation | 2011
Planning a Region: Infrastructure and and Imagination for North America's Largest City-Region
Bob Yaro
This talk features Bob Yaro, President of the Regional Plan Association, New York City.
Find out more »
Find out more »
IMFG Paper | 2011
Are There Trends in Local Finance?
Richard M. Bird
There is little evidence of regional, let alone worldwide, trends in local finances. In analyzing and comparing country experiences, it is important to be clear about the different (implicit or explicit) normative models to be found in the literature and exemplified in practice in different countries.
Find out more »
Find out more »
IMFG Paper | 2011
The Property Tax–in Theory and Practice
Enid Slack
The property tax is considered to be a good tax for local governments, yet property tax revenues rarely account for more than 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in any country. This paper explains why the property tax is under-used by highlighting some of the problems with the tax.
Find out more »
Find out more »
IMFG Paper | 2011
Financing Large Cities and Metropolitan Areas
Enid Slack
This paper explores the financing of services and infrastructure in large cities and metropolitan areas. Do large cities spend more than smaller cities? Do larger cities have greater fiscal capacity? Are large cities treated differently from other cities? What are the appropriate revenue sources for large cities?
Find out more »
Find out more »
IMFG Paper | 2011
Coping with Change: The Need to Restructure Urban Governance and Finance in India
M. Govinda Rao and Richard M. Bird
This paper identifies some key reforms needed to ensure more citizen participation and greater accountability in urban governance, and to augment and strengthen the capacity of Indian cities to deliver more adequate services and provide needed urban infrastructure.
Find out more »
Find out more »
IMFG Paper | 2011
Revenue Diversification in Large U.S. Cities
Howard Chernick, Adam Langley, and Andrew Reschovsky
Using a panel of data on the financing of the United States’ largest central cities from 1997 to 2008, the empirical results of this paper provide strong support for the hypothesis that a more diversified revenue structure generates more revenues than one that relies primarily on the property tax.
Find out more »
Find out more »
Search Research Archive
Inside Halton: Enid Slack on the Vacant Home Tax
September 6, 2024
Journal of Commerce: Aaron Moore on Winnipeg development
August 14, 2024
Globe and Mail: Sean Grisdale on the “Squandering” of Public Land Sales
June 7, 2024