Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management

Over time, the scope of public finance, as a branch of economics, has expanded with the changing role of governments. When considered from the positive as well as normative perspectives, this subject is no longer confined to the understanding of only public revenue or taxation, public expenditure, and public debt. Issues related to climate finance and climate change, environmental federalism, and the trans-jurisdictional implications of global public goods have emerged as themes of critical relevance. When it comes to public financial management, several new areas have become relevant for policy, including the understanding of fiscal transparency, legislative control over borrowing, and the establishment of independent fiscal institutions such as fiscal councils. Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management presents a range of contributions dealing with the evolving frontiers of research on the subject. It highlights specific themes related to direct and indirect taxes, tax evasion, public expenditure and debt, fiscal and environmental federalism, fiscal transparency, budget management, climate change and climate finance, and public sector investment appraisals. The diverse array of issues covered in this volume thus provides important analytical insights on the complexity and challenges of fiscal management in India and the emerging issues in public financial management, including climate finance.

Pinaki Chakraborty, Vice-Chairman, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur,K R Shanmugam, Director and Professor, Madras School of Economics

Pinaki Chakraborty is Vice-Chairman, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur, and Visiting Distinguished Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi. Chakraborty has served as Economic Adviser to the Fourteenth Finance Commission of India. He has also worked for the Asian Development Bank and the UNICEF. He was previously Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi.

K R Shanmugam is Professor and Director, Madras School of Economics. He has previously served as an Independent Director of ITI limited. He has also been a member of the following: the Steering Committee on Research in Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change; Academic Councils of the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Indian Institute of Finance, and Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning; and various committees of the Government of Tamil Nadu. He is currently a Non-Official member of the State Planning Board of the Government of Puducherry and has previously been a Non-Official member of the Central Direct Taxes Advisory Committee, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

1. Introducing the Volume on Fiscal Policy and Public Financial ManagementPart I: Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomy2. Sustainability of Public Debt in India: An Economic Perspective3. Post-COVID Economic Recovery, Macroeconomic Uncertainties, and Fiscal Responsibility4. Fiscal Policy for Growth and Stabilization: Theory and Application in IndiaPart II: Tax Policy Issues5. Goods and Services Tax in India: Transition, Experience, and Future Reforms6. GST, End of Compensation Regime, and Stress on State Finances7. Tax Expenditures on Union Taxes in India from 2005-06 to 2019-208. Tax Evasion and Unaccounted Incomes: A Theoretical ApproachPart III: Fiscal Federalism9. Fiscal Transfers in India: Equalization in Theory and Practice10. Indian Fiscal Federalism in Practice11. Environmental Federalism in an Emerging Economy: An Empirical Analysis12. Fiscal Federalism in India: A Case for Reassigning of Tax PowersPart IV: Public Financial Management and Environmental and Climate Finance13. Public Financial Management in India: Reforms and Opportunities14. Economic Valuation of Wetland Ecosystem Services: Current Status and the Way Forward15. Climate Risks and Financial Management16. Financial Analysis of Publicly Funded Investment Projects17. Project Appraisal and Alternative Sources of Funding: Some Perspectives to Improve Viability18. Public Financial Management and Budget Credibility: Analysing Subnational Fiscal Marksmanship in India