Abstract:
Local government finances are under severe strain from three sources: the collapse of land revenues, a looming debt crisis, and a long-term erosion of the aggregate fiscal position of government. In this talk, I will argue that although these problems manifest at the local level, their root causes are structural and systemic, and stem from larger underlying issues in the wider economy. I also explain the central role of land revenues in the fiscal system – in funding both capital spending and service provision (including debt-service). Given the restructuring of the property sector and demographic trends that point to a long-term, permanent reduction in the level of land receipts, this will require a substantial adjustment in public finance. To resolve the problems of local finance will require structural and systemic reform, rather than partial reforms focused on local government behaviours.
Biography:
Prof. Christine Wong is a Visiting Research Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Visiting Chair Professor in International Finance for the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University. Prior to this, she held various prominent positions, including Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne until 2020, Professor of Chinese Public Finance and Director of Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford from 2007 to 2013, and Henry M. Jackson Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington from 2000 to 2007. She has also taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and Mount Holyoke College.
In addition, Prof. Wong has held senior staff roles at the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and has worked with international agencies such as the IMF, OECD, and UNDP. She currently serves on the OECD Advisory Panel on Budgeting and Public Expenditures.
Local government finances are under severe strain from three sources: the collapse of land revenues, a looming debt crisis, and a long-term erosion of the aggregate fiscal position of government. In this talk, I will argue that although these problems manifest at the local level, their root causes are structural and systemic, and stem from larger underlying issues in the wider economy. I also explain the central role of land revenues in the fiscal system – in funding both capital spending and service provision (including debt-service). Given the restructuring of the property sector and demographic trends that point to a long-term, permanent reduction in the level of land receipts, this will require a substantial adjustment in public finance. To resolve the problems of local finance will require structural and systemic reform, rather than partial reforms focused on local government behaviours.