The economic consequences of corporate tax rates reductions in the EU: Evidence using a computable general equilibrium model

In a globalised world, governments are eager to attract foreign investors by lowering corporate tax rates. Recent trends point towards a revival of a race to the bottom in corporate income tax (CIT) rates in developed economies. EU countries have been active in this respect. A generalised fall in CIT rate could prove detrimental to tax revenues and trigger increase in other taxes to meet fiscal policy objectives. However, it could also spur investment and growth and prove to be a good fiscal policy strategy if, as a result, the corporate tax base increases. The final economic and fiscal impact of a reduction in CIT rates is therefore unclear. Using a CGE model, we find that uncoordinated tax reforms significantly impact national economies and third‐country effects can be significant when large countries implement CIT rate cuts. Small countries are better off unilaterally reducing their CIT rate at the expense of other EU countries. We find that negative spillovers are mitigated when the country reducing its CIT rate restores its budget balance by cutting either public expenditures or social transfers. A larger degree of non‐EU capital mobility also tends to reduce the negative spillover effects of unilateral CIT rate reductions.     

International R&D spillovers in emerging markets: The impact of trade and foreign direct investment

While economic theory predicts that growth in developing countries will gain significantly from technology spillovers, the empirical evidence on this issue remains relatively scarce. The present study focuses on a panel of 27 transition and 20 developed countries between 1990 and 2006 and uses the latest developments in panel unit root and cointegration techniques to disentangle the effects of international spillovers via inflows of trade and FDI on total factor productivity (TFP). The findings show that imports remain the main channel of diffusion for both sets of countries, while FDI, although statistically significant, has a lower impact on productivity of the recipients. The domestic R&D capital stock plays an active role in Western Europe while in the Eastern part it is less significant owing to lower levels, transitional disinvestment and relative obsolescence. Human capital affects TFP directly as a factor of production as well as indirectly by enhancing a country's absorptive capacity. In aggregate, the results show that transition countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia seem to enjoy bigger productivity gains from the international diffusion process than their Western counterparts.     

Transplanting corporate culture across international borders: Foreign direct investment and female employment in Japan

This paper examines the effect of foreign ownership on gender‐related employment outcomes and work practices in Japan. The data indicate that the proportion of females among workers, managers, directors and board members is higher in foreign affiliates than in domestic firms of comparable size operating in the same industry. Foreign affiliates are also more likely to offer flexible working arrangements, telecommuting and childcare subsidies as well as employ foreign workers. These effects are visible almost exclusively in older affiliates. The analysis of foreign acquisitions combining propensity score matching with a difference in differences suggests that increase in the female labour share takes place a few years after the ownership change. All these patterns are in line with the view that it takes time to transplant corporate culture to an overseas affiliate.     

The great trade collapse and the Spanish export miracle: Firm‐level evidence from the crisis

We provide novel evidence on the microstructure of international trade during the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent global recession by exploring a rich firm‐level data set from Spain. The focus of our analysis is on changes at the extensive and intensive firm‐level margins of trade, as well as on performance differences (jobs, productivity and firm survival) across firms that differ in their export status. We find no adverse effects of the financial crisis on foreign market entry or exit, but a considerable increase in the export intensity of firms after the financial crisis. Moreover, we find that exporters were more resilient to the crisis than non‐exporters. Finally, while exporters showed a significantly more favourable development of total factor productivity after 2009 than non‐exporters, aggregate productivity declined substantially in a large number of industries in Spanish manufacturing. We also briefly explore two factors that might help explain the surprisingly strong export performance of Spain in the aftermath of the great trade collapse: improved aggregate competitiveness due to internal and external devaluation and a substitutive relationship between domestic and foreign sales at the firm level.     

企业成长过程中的社会责任认知与行动战略

文章从利益相关者角度出发,以一个动态的视角来考察企业成长与企业社会责任之间的关系。通过对319份有效问卷的实证分析,文章基本证实了不同规模的企业、处在不同生命周期阶段的企业对社会责任的认知是存有差异的,企业在不断成长的过程中会采用不同的行动战略来承担社会责任。强求所有的企业都承担等量的社会责任,不仅不利于企业的持续成长,相反还会阻碍企业在承担社会责任方面采取实际行动。     

Endogenous cyclical corporate tax burden in China: The role of tax quotas and growth targets

Using data from China Annual Survey of Industrial Firms and addressing potential endogeneity problem, we find that corporate tax burden in China is procyclical during recessions and countercyclical during booms. The cyclicality is stronger for enterprises whose corporate income taxes are levied by Local Tax Bureau (LTB). Procyclicality of corporate tax burden during recessions is larger for enterprises located in county, non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), non-high-tech enterprises and large-medium enterprises. Furthermore, tax quotas and growth targets of local governments enhance procyclicality during recessions and the countercyclicality of corporate tax burden during booms. Tax collection and government spending are important channels through which tax quotas and growth targets affect the cyclicality of corporate tax burden, respectively. This paper provides important policy implications for China during economic recessions.     

An investigation of the corporate identity construct in China: Managerial evidence from the high technology industry

The study develops and extends existing frameworks of corporate identity and investigates what organisations in China perceive as essential components of the corporate identity concept including their dimensions and contents. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the method of research was a case study. Using the soft-laddering approach, and a multidisciplinary categorisation of analyses of corporate literature and websites, a systematic analysis of the corporate identity was carried out. Different from previous studies, the study reveals new dimensions on the basis of the industry practitioners’ views. The context of China has shown to influence a different focus, more significantly around the ‘impression’ that corporate identity can contribute with commercially. It is suggested that new high-tech firms in China may not have enough experience and capacity to engage in a more holistic corporate identity concept provided. The lack of such experience is particularly likely for new firms, which are still in their early stage of development. Implications for management of corporate identity in China are presented along with directions for further research in the marketing communications literature.     

On the tax bias against investments in fixed assets: Empirical evidence from China

China's new Corporate Income Tax Law was passed in March 2007 and took effect on 1 January 2008. We take advantage of this tax law change and use a difference‐in‐differences approach to empirically estimate the impact of taxation on asset structure. Employing the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database from 2002 to 2008 to implement the analysis, we find evidence suggesting the presence of tax bias against investments in fixed assets. We address two potential concerns about our analysis and argue that our conclusion is not China‐specific; it is a general lesson for modern finance theory that is portable to developed countries.     

A meta‐analysis of the indirect impact of foreign direct investment in old and new EU member states: Understanding productivity spillovers

In this paper, we summarise, combine and explain recent findings from firm‐level empirical literature focusing on the indirect impact of foreign direct investment (FDI ) on economic performance, measured as productivity, in the Enlarged Europe. We have reviewed 52 quantitative studies, released between 2000 and 2015 and codified 1,133 estimates. We run a regression of regressions which measures the strength of the FDI –productivity relationship. Taking advantage of large number of high‐quality studies on FDI and its role in explaining the growth in firms’ productivity in Europe, we adopt recent meta‐regression analysis methods—funnel asymmetry and precision estimate tests and precision‐effect estimate with standard errors —to explain the heterogeneous impact of FDI . This paper assesses the country‐specific impact of FDI on firms’ performance, after taking publication selection bias, econometric modelling and the individual studies’ characteristics fully into account. Our results show that on average FDI has a positive indirect impact on productivity. The impact is especially significant in selected European countries, and we interpret this as a sign of better absorptive capacities in those countries.     

Offshoring in the global economy: microeconomic structure and macroeconomic implications

This article analyses the trade balance effects of Europe agreements (EA) between the EU-15 and four new EU members from Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC-4) using both static and dynamic panel data approaches. Specifically, the system generalised method of moments (GMM, Blundell, R., and S. Bond. 1998. Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models. Journal of Econometrics 87, no. 1: 115–43) and recently developed econometric methods such as the Correlated Common Estimation Pooled–Hausman-Taylor (CCEP–HT, Serlenga, L., and Y. Shin. 2007. Gravity models of intra-EU trade: Application of the CCEP-HT estimation in heterogenous panels with unobserved common time-specific factors. Journal of Applied Econometrics 22: 361–81) are applied to analyse the effects of the agreement variable. Our estimation results indicate a positive and significant impact of EA on trade flows. However, there is an asymmetric impact of the agreement variable on the trade balance, exports and imports being affected in different ways, which results in a trade balance deficit in the CEEC-4.     

企业并购估值中的威斯通模型扩展研究

威斯通模型是企业并购估值贴现现金流模型中具有代表性的研究。在威斯通固定增长模型的基础上,建立了考虑未来经营失败概率的估值模型;对威斯通超常增长而后无增长模型进行了修正,探讨了企业在超常增长期采取不同投资策略对其价值的影响,建立了一个更为简明的估值模型,并给出隐含超常增长期限的一种计算方法。     

中国对非洲直接投资与贸易的关系研究——基于面板数据的实证分析

文章从理论上回顾了对外直接投资的贸易效应,以非洲33个国家为样本,运用2002～2006年的数据,建立了中国对非洲直接投资与贸易之间关系的面板数据(Panel Data)模型,并进行了实证分析.研究发现,我国对非洲国家直接投资与贸易存在着互补效应;我国对非洲直接投资尚处于起步阶段,进一步拓展非洲市场有利于创造中非合作双赢局面.     

加工贸易的就业效应 ——基于行业面板数据的检验

本文利用2001²008年行业动态面板GMM模型检验了中国加工贸易的就业效应,检验结果显示加工贸易的就业效应存在滞后性,不论是当期加工贸易进口还是出口对就业拉动作用并不明显;而分部门的回归结果表明加工贸易的就业效应存在明显的部门差异,劳动密集型部门和资源密集型部门加工贸易发展的就业效应相对比较显著,但是技术密集型部门加工贸易发展对就业的影响非常弱。     

Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States: Location choice determinants and strategic implications for the State of Indiana

Identifying the unique U.S. state-level factors that more often give rise to Chinese firm-led investment is the central focus of this article. Looking at Chinese investment in the United States between 2007 and 2011, this article (1) explores the determinants underlying the locational choices of Chinese firms, (2) seeks to understand why some U.S. states receive relatively greater amounts of investment from China, (3) assesses whether prior trends are likely to continue into the future; and—perhaps most importantly—(4) seeks to identify what (if anything) the state of Indiana can do to better position itself to capture greater amounts of Chinese investment moving forward. We recommend the following actions for the state of Indiana: (1) firm targeting—Indiana is a prime FDI target for private, firm-led, greenfield investment; (2) differentiation— Indiana has distinct advantages over other locations in the Midwest; (3) promotions—trade missions and overseas office locations are investments, not costs; (4) investments in relationships—cultural sensitivity and friendship make the difference.     

The financialization of the non‐financial corporation. A critique to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis

One aspect in which non‐financial corporations (NFCs) are said to be financialized is that they have been increasingly engaged in financial accumulation from which they derive a growing proportion of financial income. This is what we call the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis. In this article, we show that the evidence used to sustain it, in the U.S. setting, has to be reconsidered. Our findings show that, contrary to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis, financial income averages 2.5% of NFCs’ total income since the 1980s, oscillating since the beginnings of the 1990s until 2005 and then declining. In terms of assets, some of the alleged financial assets might actually reflect other activities in which NFCs have been increasingly engaged, such as tax avoidance, internationalization of production, activities refocusing and M&As.     

Understanding the interaction of motivation and opportunity for tax planning inside US multinationals: A qualitative study

We explore the internal workings of tax planning within US multinational enterprises (MNEs) using a qualitative research method. We conduct a series of interviews with senior tax executives, which we supplement with other public information. We find that US MNEs adopt a heterogenous range of approaches driven by the motivations as well as the opportunities to reduce their tax bill legally. We develop a new theoretical framework that analyses the interactions of motivations and opportunities in MNEs’ tax planning strategy. We generate four typologies of corporate tax payers. Our study provides new insights detailing why and how companies plan their tax.     

Estimating the revenue costs of tax treaties in developing countries

(12764) Petr Janský Marek Šedivý Tax treaties between countries influence how much tax revenues governments receive from multinational enterprises. These treaties often reduce the withholding tax rates on outgoing dividend and interest payments. We provide illustrative estimates of costs for these two taxes for 14 developing countries in sub‐Saharan Africa and Asia in a first multi‐country comparison of this kind. These might be overestimates because we assume that foreign direct investments are not influenced by the tax treaties. We estimate that the highest potential tax revenue losses are within hundreds of millions US$ and around 0.1% of GDP, with Philippines incurring the highest losses both in US$ and relative to GDP. We also find that around 95% of the losses is due to dividends and that only four investor countries—Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland and Singapore—are together responsible for more than half of the losses. We discuss the limitations of these estimates and how future research could improve their quality as well as coverage.     

技术性贸易措施影响中国制造业出口的实证分析——基于企业异质性视角的研究

文章在企业异质性视角下,利用修正后的引力模型,分析了影响2004～2007年中国制造业29个子产业出口的因素。研究表明多数子产业同质性程度较高,产出和出口主要集中于众多中小企业。考虑企业异质性情形下,产业内出口规模对贸易壁垒引起的贸易成本变化更加敏感。研究也发现较之距离缩短,技术性贸易措施减少引起的贸易成本降低有更明显的贸易促进效应。     

The role of imports for exporter performance in Peru

Using highly disaggregated firm‐level customs data for imports and exports in Peru over the 2000–12 period, we explore the relationship between imports of intermediate inputs and firm export performance. The evidence shows that greater use, variety and quality of imported intermediate inputs are significantly correlated with higher export levels and growth, greater market diversification and higher export quality at the firm level, even after controlling for unobserved firm heterogeneity. Exporter–importers exposed to higher tariffs, and non‐tariff measures import less in total and exhibit lower import variety, whereas those using an advance customs clearance procedure designed to facilitate imports exhibit higher imports and a more diversified bundle of inputs.     

台商投资中国大陆对大陆就业的影响——基于大陆7个省市面板数据的实证分析

选取1996～2006年中国大陆7个台资比较聚集的省市的面板数据,实证考察了台商投资中国大陆对大陆就业的影响.对1996～2006年的整体样本估计结果表明,20世纪90年代中期以来,台资的进入对大陆的就业起到了显著的促进作用.通过分阶段估计发现,1996～2000年期间,台资对大陆就业促进效应是显著的;然而,2001～2006年期间台资对大陆就业的促进效应则不显著.