A SIMPLER CONSUMPTION-BASED ALTERNATIVE TO THE INCOME TAX FOR SOCIALIST ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION

The tax systems of socialist economies in transition will distortresource allocation, create inequities, and cause administrativeheadaches if not reformed. These countries have weak tax administrations,lack experience with mass taxes based on voluntary compliance,and need to encourage domestic saving and foreign investment.This article suggests an alternative to the conventional incometax that is more suited to these conditions. Attempting to tax real economic income raises complicated timingissues (when to recognize income and allow deductions) and mayrequire complex adjustments for inflation. The simplified alternativetax (SAT) avoids these complications and provides a generalincentive for saving and investment less subject to abuse ordistortions than tax holidays and other tax gimmicks in voguein countries emerging from socialism. The key elements of the SAT are separate taxes on income fromlabor and capital, immediate deduction for all business expenditures,no deduction for interest, and no taxation of interest or dividends.(Interest could be treated as under an income tax, at some cost.)Although the marginal effective tax rate is zero, the governmentshares in extraordinary returns to investment. The article discussespotential problems (including distributional implications, taxlosses, and foreign tax credits) as well as advantages of theSAT.      

不同经济体的差别增长格局

虽然从长期看,新兴经济体增长潜力较大,仍将是世界经济增长的重要动力。但从中期看,新兴经济体的调整期才刚刚开始,预计调整将经历3-5年的时间。虽然美国经济贡献度占全球经济的四分之一,中国只占不到十分之一,但市场预测中美两国将贡献2014年全球GDP增幅的近一半,面对未知的2014年,国际经济形势需要我们提前把脉,做到心中有数。     

ECONOMIES OF SCALE IN MUTUAL FUND ADMINISTRATION

Since many mutual fund expenses are fixed costs, asset growth should reduce the ratio of fund expenses to average net assets. A translog cost function is estimated for a sample of 2,610 funds to evaluate the existence and extent of economies of scale in mutual fund administration. The elasticity of fund expenses with respect to fund assets is significantly less than one, indicating there are economies of scale in mutual fund administration. Average costs diminish over the full range of fund assets; however, the rapid decrease in average costs is exhausted by about $3.5 billion in fund assets.     

MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

This paper fnst discusses the results of previous empirical and theoretical work relating to multiple objectives. It then reports on a survey carried out in 1978 by means of a questionnaire circulated to the top 500 companies. The paper finds that despite strong evidence of multiple objectives, the profit motive is dominant, although there is evidence of growth as a significant objective.
Proxy goals for a single primary objective function are found to be present, particularly in relation to risk. Finally, the implications of these results for accounting and finance are discussed.     

MULTIPRODUCT COST FUNCTIONS AND SCALE ECONOMIES IN BANKING

This study provides new and efficient estimates of scale economies in banking. Recent criticism of the incorrect specification of homogeneity restrictions on the translog cost functions is addressed, and correct estimations are provided. The results indicate that such misspecifications do affect measures of scale economies. The study covers 1980 to 1983 for unit and branch banks. The estimation is further enhanced by introducing factor share equations invoking Shephard's lemma and using an iterative Zellner procedure. The results fail to indicate scale economies for the overall sample. Some evidence of small degrees of scale economies is observed in parts of the sample.     

REFORMING PROPERTY RIGHTS IN LAND AND TENANCY

This article examines the nature and distribution of propertyrights in land and how they are changing under economic anddemographic pressures. It also analyzes the practical chancesof success of several alternative forms of policy interventionto redistribute property rights and regulate tenancy. This analysisbegins with the political economy of land reform in the twentiethcentury. It draws a distinction between reforms precipitatedby social upheaval (defeat in war, social revolution, or nationalliberation) and those that occur in "normal" times, when thesocial and political order is more secure. It is argued thatthe former have been much more important and, drawing on examples,that the latter face formidable obstacles. In this connection,it is proposed that a tax reform which does away with the highlyselective subsidies and exemptions that benefit the rich andinflate the price of land should be undertaken first. Then,when land prices have fallen, compulsory purchase of land forredistribution, at close to fair market value to ensure itspolitical acceptability, would not entail an intolerable fiscalburden. Where tenancy is concerned, it is argued that this institutionis commonly a socially useful market response, which providesopportunities for the fuller employment of family resourcesand, over the long run, for individual mobility. Thus interventionsdesigned to inhibit tenancy directly or to transfer ownership-likerights to existing tenants may result in heavy costs, especiallyfor future cohorts of would-be tenants.