Enacting guiding laws can be a problem, especially when their different levels of management. Globalization, the Information Revolution, and the Emerging Imperatives for Rethinking Fiscal Federalism and Grants to State and Local Governments: An Overview of Federal Funding Levels and Selected Challenges offer insight into the concept by magnifying the complex nature of the intergovernmental fiscal system. The readings offer informative information on the effects of federal unfunded mandates, the pros, and cons of categorical grants, and the economic and social pressures on state and local governments, which magnify whether or not the federal government's fiscal measures have an overall positive or negative impact on sub-national governments. Globalization, the Information Revolution, and the Emerging Imperatives for Rethinking Fiscal Federalism by Shah offers informative information concerning the intergovernmental fiscal system by magnifying transfers, which formulates a platform to assess its complex nature. According to Shah, federal-state exchanges in a federal system have the objective of "alleviating structural imbalances, correcting for fiscal inefficiencies and inequities, providing compensation for benefit spill-outs, and achieving fiscal harmonization." It offers a foundation for comprehending the mandate of different government levels as they seek to enact ideal policies that positively influence the citizens' welfare. The submission communicates structural discrepancies regarding the intergovernmental fiscal system, given the first objective of federal-state exchanges seeks to alleviate the imbalances. Secondly, the submission further attests to fiscal inefficiencies and inequities which the transfers seek to correct. Thirdly, it offers a sound resolution when the system involving multiple governance levels faces shortcomings considering the third objective of offering compensation for benefit spill-outs. Lastly, the submission magnifies the overall intended purpose of the complex structure, given the objective of seeking success in realizing fiscal harmony. Therefore, the informative piece offers insight into the intergovernmental fiscal system's challenges, creating the foundation for assessing its complex nature to determine the federal government's fiscal measures on sub-national governments. The piece equally magnifies the concept of federal unfunded mandates, which can offer insight into the impact the federal government has on state and local governments. According to Shah, "in the United States, the federal government is assuming an ever-widening role in policy-making areas of the shared rule while devolving responsibilities for implementation to state and local governments with the shift frequently occurring through unfunded mandates." It communicates an ever-widening gap for state and local governments when it comes to enacting vital laws such as fiscal policies, which forces the federal government to step in and attempt to rectify the inefficiencies. The reading further submits that many local governments in many nations lack fiscal autonomy propagated by limited to no access in dynamic, productive bases, which is at the expense of the overgrowing demand for their services. It further posits that the U.S. local tax bases, primarily property taxes incur over-taxation with no room for growth as unfunded mandates in environmental and social spending compound limits on raising local revenues. According to Shah, "a combination of unfunded mandates and extremely constrained taxing powers generates incentives for local governments to develop informal channels of taxation." It contributes to magnifying the intergovernmental fiscal system's complex nature with the negative impacts of federal unfunded mandates communicating the negative impact the federal government has on state and local governments.
Grants to State and Local Governments: An Overview of Federal Funding Levels and Selected Challenges by the United States Government Accountability Office offers insight concerning grants, primarily categorical grants pros and cons, which compounds comprehension of the complex nature of the intergovernmental fiscal system for further insight regarding the effect the federal government has on state and local governments. The publication reports that "categorical grants are the most restricted, permitting funds to be used only for specific activities related to their purpose, such as funding for the narrowly defined purpose of nutrition for the elderly." It further posits that categorical grants are sometimes not rigid and may overlap with other types striking a varying balance for federal grant-making agency interests involving meeting national objectives when adequately utilized and achieving local priorities to reduce administrative burdens in accepting such a grant. The report magnifies the advantage of categorical grants involving a guide for money spending targeting effectiveness as they facilitate funding programs. It equally communicates the disadvantage of such grants whereby the federal government has more control making the instrument restrictive as funds are not divertible to other categories. The advantage and disadvantages of categorical grants communicate a balance regarding the federal government assistance's impact on state and local governments. However, the restrictive nature of the categorical grants compounds the negative impact the federal government's fiscal measures, especially on spending, have on sub-national governments. Lastly, Shah’s piece offers insight into the economic pressures on state and local governments, which magnifies the complex nature of the intergovernmental fiscal system offering insight on the impact the federal government has on sub-national governments. The author suggests that "globalization and information revolution strengthen localization by empowering local governments and "beyond-government" service providers (such as neighborhood associations; nongovernmental, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations; self-help groups; and networks) to exercise a broader role in improving economic and social outcomes at the local level through greater connectivity to markets and resources elsewhere." It communicates the changing dynamics materialized by globalization and the information revolution, which calls for added local government involvement in decision-making processes on matters that directly impact citizens' economies and social welfare. The piece further posits that "two emerging trends in the shifting balance of powers within nations are a steady erosion in the economic relevance of the role of the states and provinces and an enhanced but redefined role of local government in multi-order governance." The awakening call compounds the shortcomings federal government's fiscal measures which facilitate the solid push for sub-national governments' autonomy. Therefore, the insight on economic pressures on state and local governments communicate the shortcoming of the federal government's impact on state and local governments. The readings offer insight into the intergovernmental fiscal system's complex nature by offering information on exchanges between the different government levels creating a foundation of the inadequacies. They further submit information regarding the effects of federal unfunded mandates, the pros, and cons of categorical grants, and the economic and social pressures on state and local governments, which magnifies the shortcomings of the federal government's fiscal measures on subnational governments.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Bibliography
Mattos, Enlinson, Rafael Cardim, and Ricardo Politi. "Grants and Marginal Cost of Public Funding: Empirical Evidence for Local Governments in Brazil." Revista Brasileira De Economia 72, no. 4 (2018): 479-496.
Shah, Anwar. “Globalization, the Information Revolution, and the Emerging Imperatives for Rethinking Fiscal Federalism.” In Macro Federalism and Local Public Finance (World Bank, 2008). http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/111701468149964804/pdf/446380PUB0Macr101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf (pg 77-105)
United States Government Accountability Office, “Grants to State and Local Governments: An Overview of Federal Funding Levels and Selected Challenges.” September 2012 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc299765/m2/1/high_res_d/648791.pdf
Mattos, Enlinson, Rafael Cardim, and Ricardo Politi. "Grants and Marginal Cost of Public Funding: Empirical Evidence for Local Governments in Brazil." Revista Brasileira De Economia 72, no. 4 (2018): 479-496.
