Textbook Formulae and UK Taxation: Modigliani and Miller Revisited

One of the less satisfactory features in the education of UK students of corporate finance is the presentation of formulae developed within the context of the US system of taxation. In this paper, the standard formulae of corporate finance are reworked with the context of the UK system of corporate and personal taxes.     

Spiritual retreat tourism development in the Asia Pacific region: investigating the impact of tourist satisfaction and intention to revisit: a Chiang Mai,Thailand case study

The aim of this research is to investigate how spiritual retreat tourism influences tourist satisfaction and intention to revisit a destination. A quantitative approach was employed and a self-administered survey was used to collect data. A multiple regression analysis was used to analyze data. The results revealed that push factors including novelty, relaxation, transcendence, self-esteem, physical appearance and escape influence spiritual retreat tourist satisfaction; while pull factors, especially authentic experiences, natural settings, peaceful atmosphere, far from the usual places and historical significance, influence spiritual retreat tourist satisfaction, in turn leading to intention to revisit the same destination.     

How human resources management best practice influence employee satisfaction and job retention in the Thai hotel industry

Human resources management (HRM) practices are hotel management tools that contribute to organizational success. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how soft HRM practices in the Thai hotel industry affect job satisfaction and job retention. This study focuses on soft HRM practices, which draws on theories of commitment and motivation. Soft HRM refers to human relations between staff and the hotel organization. A quantitative approach was employed using multiple regression technique with a stepwise method for data analysis. It was found that employee satisfaction is not fostered by increasing remuneration, but is more related to the quality of working life, good leadership style, regular training, employment security, the hotel's brand image, and employees' personal traits, a most important aspect. The findings from this study provide a comprehensive framework for both academic and managerial responses to resolve the labor and skill shortage crises. Equally important is the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and personal attitude theory that underpins employee job satisfaction in this study.     

Measuring absorptive capacity constraints to foreign aid

To assist with progress towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries, the international community is scaling-up foreign aid to record levels. Concurrently, there are concerns that additional aid will not be used effectively due to a problem of absorptive capacity in recipient countries. Empirical studies lend support to these concerns with many finding that there are diminishing returns to foreign aid. This paper reviews the extensive aid effectiveness literature to identify the various dimensions of absorptive capacity. It proceeds by devising a composite index of absorptive capacity for individual recipient countries which can assist policymakers in guiding the allocation of their aid. The relevance of the index is confirmed through its employment in a standard empirical model of aid effectiveness. The paper highlights the developing countries that currently receive high levels of aid relative to their estimated level of absorptive capacity.     

Are Britain's workplace skills becoming more unequal?

It has been argued that workplace skills are becoming more polarisedin Britain. This tendency is sometimes considered to be a factorcontributing to the process of social exclusion and growingwage inequality. Skill polarisation has therefore been the focusof renewed academic and - since the election of the Labour government- political interest. In some respects, previous survey evidencefor the 1980s can be used to support the skill polarisationthesis. This paper investigates whether the process has continuedinto the 1990s among those in work. Our main finding is thatthere has been no overriding process of skill polarisation between1992 and 1997. However, the picture is complex, with losersas well as winners. Among the winners are full-timers, employeesand those employed by 'modern' organisations. The losers, onthe other hand, include those in part-time work, the self-employedand those employed in organisations with less progressive managementpractices.     

“Real-Feel” Inflation: Quantitative Estimation of Inflation Perceptions

Inflation expectations are believed to influence actual inflation and therefore policymaker actions. However, methods usually employed to evaluate inflation expectations are insufficient. Survey methods either record economists’ forecasts of the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) (which isn’t what policymakers need to know) or consumers’ attempts to calculate their own inflation experience. Consumers have little chance to perform the calculations needed to accurately compute inflation. I propose functional forms to substitute for the heuristics consumers actually use to form inflation perceptions. I also propose adjustments to reconcile official price measurements with consumers’ perceptions. These adjustments are corrections for cognitive biases related to loss aversion and mental accounting.