Abstract
The bibliographical note appended to the last chapter in W. A. Lewis’ The Theory of Economic Growth ends with the following sentence: ‘There is regrettably very little theoretical discussion of the fiscal problems of underdeveloped countries’.2 There is ample reason for this deficiency, which has not disappeared since Lewis’ book was first published. The fiscal system and the fiscal policy of any country reflect its citizens’ general economic views and aspirations, which it may have in common with other countries, or may be peculiar to it; but they also are the result of the country’s social and cultural institutions, its resource endowment, the structure of its economy, the distribution of income, and the seat of political power, in a configuration which is inevitably unique. Any general discussion of fiscal problems is thus bound to be of limited usefulness since just below the surface of the broadest generalizations lurks a multitude of specific exceptions to the general rules. Nevertheless, some principles of fiscal policy which are pertinent to low income countries endeavouring to advance economically at a faster pace than in the past may be derived from observation and speculation.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The assistance of Dr. H. H. H. Eschenberg in the preparation of the statistical tables is gratefully acknowledged.
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Notes
W. A. Lewis, The Theory of Economic Growth (London, Allen and Unwin, 1955), p. 419.
Cf. A. M. Martin and W. A. Lewis, ‘Patterns of Public Revenue and Expenditure’, in The Manchester School of Economic and Social Studies, vol. xxiv, September 1956, pp. 203–44.
A. R. Prest and I. G. Stewart, The National Income of Nigeria, Colonial Research Studies, No. 11 (London, H.M. Stationery Office, 1953), p. 83.
The partial substitution of an expenditure tax and a net worth tax for the personal income tax, which were advocated by N. Kaldor in Indian Tax Reform, Report of a Survey (New Delhi, Ministry of Finance, 1956)
and An Expenditure Tax (London, Allen and Unwin), 1955
H. Wald, The Taxation of Agricultural Land in Underdeveloped Economies (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1959), passim.
Cf. H. C. Wallich and J. H. Adler, Public Finance in a Developing Country — El Salvador, a Case Study (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1951), p. 132.
J. H. Adler, E. R. Schlesinger, E. O. Olson, Public Finance and Development in Guatemala (Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1952), p. 138.
Cf. E. R. Schlesinger, Multiple Exchange Rates and Economic Development (Princeton : Princeton University Press, 1952), particularly p. 20.
For a more extensive treatment of export taxes, cf. J. H. Adler, ‘The Economic Development of Nigeria : Comment’, in The Journal of Political Economy, vol. 44 (October 1956), pp. 425–34
T. Bauer, ‘The Economic Development of Nigeria’, in The Journal of Political Economy, vol. 43 (October 1955), pp. 398–411.
E. M. Bernstein and I. G. Patel, ‘Inflation in Relation to Economic Development’, in IMF Staff Papers, vol. 2, No. 3 (November 1951), p. 393.
Cf. P. O. Steiner, ‘Choosing Among Alternative Public Investments’, in American Economic Review, vol. 49, No. 5 (December 1959), pp. 893–916.
A. O. Hirschman has used the term ‘internalize’ to describe the opposite process (The Strategy of Economic Development (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1958), p. 57).
Cf. R. Nurkse, ‘Comments’ (on paper by P. N. Rosenstein-Rodan), presented to Round Table of the I.E.A., Rio de Janeiro, (Economic Development for Latin America (London : Macmillan 1961), pp. 74–8).
J. H. Adler, ‘Deficit Spending and Supply Elasticities’, in Indian Journal of Economics, vol. 3, No. 144 (July 1955), pp. 17–18.
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© 1964 International Economic Association
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Adler, J.H. (1964). Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy in a Developing Country. In: Berrill, K. (eds) Economic Development with Special Reference to East Asia. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00074-6_13
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