Fiscal stress has forced local governments to pay increasing attention to revenue trends and has increased the importance of financial forecasting in local government. After…
Abstract
Fiscal stress has forced local governments to pay increasing attention to revenue trends and has increased the importance of financial forecasting in local government. After reviewing the role of revenue forecasting in financial planning and discussing the use of regression and econometric analysis in revenue forecasting, this article applies this technique to forecast several key revenue components in a medium-sized city. Three general conclusions may be drawn: (1) systematic revenue forecasting and long-range planning are necessities, not luxuries, (2) risk aversion to "technical" revenue forecasting can be overcome, and (3) the implementation of a systematic revenue forecasting system does not require a battery of "rocket scientists." As municipal revenue bases come to rely less on relatively stable property taxes and more on less stable sources such as sales taxes, fees, and charges, the use of a regression and econometric based model should prove increasingly fruitful.
John D. Wong and Maurice G. Pritz
Local governments have long been concerned with economic growth and development. Some local governments take an aggressive, proactive stance on economic development, while others…
Abstract
Local governments have long been concerned with economic growth and development. Some local governments take an aggressive, proactive stance on economic development, while others take a more incremental, reactionary approach. When economic development opportunities arise, the frequently asked question is “Who’s on first?” Is it the responsibility of local government to take the lead in promoting economic development opportunities, or should local government remain in the background leaving development activities to private developers? This article uses community power theory to examine the evolution of economic development in Wichita, Kansas and the roles played by the public and private sectors and their impact on the course of development activities. In order for a booster regime to be successful, the lead government must establish the legitimacy of the development effort with other potential members of the coalition. The lead government must establish a hospitable business climate and establish a commitment to support the infrastructure and service needs of developers. Coalition members must view the undertaking as a positive-sum gain.
The focus of this article is to examine the relationship between local economic growth and development and local government revenue capacity. A model is established to determine…
Abstract
The focus of this article is to examine the relationship between local economic growth and development and local government revenue capacity. A model is established to determine the relationship between the number of agricultural, manufacturing, service, and retail establishments per capita and employees per capita on real local government property tax capacity per capita. High property tax levies are highly negatively correlated with tax capacity. Population density, the general price level, and the presence of local retail sales taxes also play a role in determining tax capacity. New business creation in the service industry does appear to have a positive impact on local government tax capacity, while increases in agricultural, manufacturing, and retail activity do not. Although increasing concentration in the number of service establishments has a positive impact on tax capacity, increasing concentration in the number of service workers alone does not seem to lead to increases in tax capacity.
With its worldwide fame for making action films, Hong Kong cinema has been defined as masculine. Action films, including the costumed martial arts films and the modern gangster…
Abstract
With its worldwide fame for making action films, Hong Kong cinema has been defined as masculine. Action films, including the costumed martial arts films and the modern gangster films, have been a major genre in Hong Kong cinema from the 1960s on. Despite the dominant masculinity, women still play significant roles in some of these films. In fact, fighting women leave footprints in the history of Hong Kong cinema, which precede their counterparts in the West and even provide models for Hollywood after 2000.
This chapter focuses on the female characters portrayed by the acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, whose works have an ambiguous connection to mainstream genres. He modifies Hong Kong action films and creates unconventional female characters such as the drug dealer in Chungking Express (1994), the killer dispatcher in Fallen Angels (1995), the swordswoman in Ashes of Time (1994), and the kung fu master in The Grandmaster (2013). Wong's films have been mush discussed in academia, but the gender images therein are quite ignored. With high intertextuality, these characters are used to question mainstream action films and redefine women's roles in male's cinematic space. In addition, via the writing of these women, Wong constructs an open and ambivalent post-colonial Hong Kong identity. This paper contextualises the figures of sword-wielding and gun-shooting women and examines how Wong Kar-wai deploys these images to articulate the cultural identity of a post-colonial city.
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Dalia Marciukaityte and Samuel H. Szewczyk
We examine whether discretionary accruals of firms obtaining substantial external financing can be explained by managerial manipulation or managerial overoptimism. Insider trading…
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We examine whether discretionary accruals of firms obtaining substantial external financing can be explained by managerial manipulation or managerial overoptimism. Insider trading patterns and press releases around equity and debt financing suggest that managers are more optimistic about their firms around debt financing. Consistent with earlier studies, we find that discretionary current accruals peak when firms obtain equity financing. However, we also find that discretionary accruals peak when firms obtain debt financing. Moreover, discretionary accruals are higher for firms that rely on debt rather than on equity financing. The results are robust to controlling for firm characteristics, excluding small and distressed firms, and using alternative measures of discretionary accruals. These findings support the hypothesis that managerial overoptimism distorts financial statements of firms obtaining external financing.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.