Cash Limits were introduced for the financial year 1976-77 by the Treasury as the dominant basis of control over a wide range of expenditures by central departments; health, local and water authorities; and public corporations.
In a separate article (Forsyth and Kay, Fiscal Studies, No.3), we have described the gains to the British economy from the exploitation of North Sea oil reserves.
In the earlier article (Kay and Morris, 1979), we examined the effects of the 1979 budget on distribution and incentives by looking at the tax system as a whole in terms of a 'tax credit' and a marginal tax rate.
The wage determination process in Australia operates substantially under the guidelines set down by the Australian Arbitration and Conciliation Commission.
It has always been difficult to justify the existence of a separate tax on corporations in a fiscal system based ultimately on individual ability to pay and many, indeed, have argued that the corporation tax should, in principle, be abrogated.
While much recent attention has been paid to the problems involved in estimating the degree of welath inequality in Britain, and policies to reduce it have been the subject of widespread discussion, there is a relative paucity of knowledge about the reasons for its existence and persistence.
Since coming to office the present government has been involved in implementing its economic philosophy, which sees the future growth and development of the UK economy dependent upon the elimination of inflation, the re-establishment of economic incentives, the return of many activities to the market place and a reduction in the public sector's involvement in economic and social affairs.
Professor Townsend's monumental study of poverty in the United Kingdom has been long awaited. It is based on a specially commissioned household survey and the results are meticulously documented.