Dali, Yunnan Province, China August 9-12, 2004

Transcription

1 International Seminar on Local Public Finance and Governance A Seminar Organized by the Ministry of Finance, China, the Canadian Agency for International Development and the World Bank Dali, Yunnan Province, China August 9-12, 2004 Day 1: Monday, 9 August :00am 9:45am 9:45am 10:00am 10:00am 12:00am Welcome Remarks by Mr. Zhao Xiaoyu, Director-general of Foreign Affairs Department, Ministry of Finance, China; Welcome Remarks by Ms. Diana M. Merlini, First Secretary (Development), Canadian Embassy in Beijing; Seminar Introduction by Mr. Anwar Shah, Lead Economist, World Bank Institute. Session 1. Local Government Organization and Responsibilities: This session will discuss alternative models of jurisdictional design of various local and municipal governments and criteria for assignment of responsibilities. It will provide a comparative perspective on approaches to jurisdictional design, powers and functions of local and municipal governments. Melville McMillan, Professor, University of Alberta, Canada Zhiyong Lan, Professor at School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, USA. Achim Fock, Senior Economist, World Bank Floor Discussion: Local Government Organization and Responsibilities in China 12:00pm 1:30pm 1:30pm 3:00pm Lunch Break Session 2. Local and Metropolitan Finance: The structure of local and metropolitan finance is important for creating the right incentives for prudent fiscal management and cost-effective service delivery. A greater reliance on own source revenues is also 1

2 important for greater accountability. This session will review alternate models of local finances (taxes, fees and charges) as practiced in industrial countries. In this context, experiences of Nordic countries, France, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain UK and USA will be highlighted and China's own experience with local finances will also be reviewed. Harry Kitchen, Professor, Trent University, Canada Kai Sun, Professor at School of Public Finance and Taxation, Dongbei University of Economics and Finance Floor Discussion: Local and Metropolitan Finance in China 3:00pm 3:15pm 3:15pm 5:15pm Session 3. Financing Rural Services: Rural public finance represents a major challenge due to dispersal of population over a wide area and inadequate tax base to support local financing and limited opportunities for cost recovery due to low incomes. Possible options to meet this challenge will be explored. Melville McMillan, Professor, University of Alberta, Canada Ming Su, Fiscal Science Research Center, Ministry of Finance, China Floor Discussion: Financing Rural Services in China Day 2: Tuesday, 10 August :00am 11:30am Session 4. Central Local Fiscal Transfers: Fiscal transfers in developing/transition economies represent the predominant source of sub-national revenues. Beyond the expenditures they finance, these transfers create an incentive environment with important implications for the efficiency and equity of public service provision and fiscal management. This session will provide an overview of the objectives and designs of fiscal transfers practiced worldwide but with special emphasis on fiscal transfers to set national minimum standards in basic local services and to equalize 2

3 the fiscal capacities of poorer local governments. Design features to promote competitive and innovative local service delivery will be highlighted. Better practices in grant design from various countries will be discussed. Anwar Shah, Lead Economist, World Bank Yongjun Wang, Professor, Central U. of Finance and Economics Zhihua Zhang, Ministry of Finance, China Floor Discussion: Central Local Fiscal Transfers in China 11:30am 1:00pm 1:00pm 3:15pm Lunch Break Session 5. Local Budgeting: Modern public expenditure management (PEM) has shifted the role of budget systems from the traditional function of financial control to maintaining fiscal discipline and improving efficiency in resource allocation and service delivery. This session will explore alternate approaches to local budgeting and their suitability for China. Almos Tassonyi, Property Taxation Policy Branch, Ministry of Finance, Government of Ontario, Canada Local Budgeting International Experience with Performance Budgeting: Anwar Shah, Lead Economist, World Bank Institute Local Budgeting Potential Application of Performance Budgeting in China: Chunli Shen, World Bank Institute Floor Discussion: Local Budgeting in China 3:15pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 5:00pm Session 6. Financing Local Government Capital Investment: Local access to credit finance is critical in dealing with large infrastructure deficiencies at the local level but it represents a major challenge in some transition countries due to the lack of a regulatory and institutional framework to ensure prudent borrowing. This session will take stock of the current situation in China and what lessons it could learn from experiences elsewhere. 3

4 Harry Kitchen, Professor, Trent University, Canada Zhiyong Yang, Professor, Xiamen University Floor Discussion: Financing Local Government Capital Investment in China Day 3: Wednesday, August :00am 11:30am Session 7. Delivering Local/Municipal Services: The governments in most transition and developing economies do not have the capacity to deliver the range and quality of public services desired by residents. This session will explore alternate approaches to improving the service delivery performance of local governments. Both potentials and pitfalls of partnership approaches to service delivery will be highlighted. Harry Kitchen, Professor, Trent University, Canada Yumin Ye, Professor, School of Public Administration, Renmin University Floor Discussion: Delivering Local/Municipal Services in China 11:30am 1:00pm 1:00pm 3:15pm Lunch Break Session 8. Delivering Rural Services: Delivering rural services poses a major challenge due to dispersal of population over a wide area and inadequate financial resources at the local level. Possible options to meet this challenge will be explored and better practices in some countries will be reviewed. Melville McMillan, Professor, University of Alberta, Canada Zou Wei, Professor, Wuhan University Haitao Ma, Dean of the School of Public Finance & Public Administration, Central University of Finance and Economics Floor Discussion: Delivering Rural Services in China 4

5 3:15pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 5:00pm Session 9. Local Economic Development Policies: Enlarging the economic bases of a community opens up opportunities for improving the quality and quantity of local public services. But how does one determine what are the right policies for a specific jurisdiction? This session will collate lessons from approaches pursued by various jurisdictions that have achieved a measure of success in expanding their economic bases. Almos Tassonyi, Property Taxation Policy Branch, Ministry of Finance, Government of Ontario, Canada Keyun Zhang, Professor, School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China Floor Discussion: Local Economic Development Policies in China Day 4: Thursday, 12 August :00am 11:00am Session 10. Monitoring Local Government Performance: Industrial country experience demonstrates that for good local governance, local governments must have freedom and responsibilities within boundaries. This session will explore issues relating to local government oversight and performance monitoring. 11:00 am 11:15am Anwar Shah, Lead Economist, World Bank Gong Chen, Professor, Xiamen University Floor Discussion: Monitoring Local Government Performance in China 11:15am 11:45am Participants Perspectives on Local Government Reform Agenda in China, About the Workshop and Suggestions for Future Workshops 5

6 11:45am 12:15pm Closing & Certificate Award Closing Remarks by Mr. Zhang Jun, Deputy Director of Human Resource Development Department, Ministry of Finance, China; Closing Remarks by Dr. Anwar Shah, World Bank Institute; Awarding of Certificates. 6