Compliance costs for personal income tax in a transition country: the case of Slovenia

The evaluation of taxpayers' compliance costs has grown in significance within tax system research over the last 15 years. In 2001, two surveys of VAT and personal income taxpayers were conducted in Slovenia to evaluate compliance costs for the 2000 fiscal year. This paper presents the results of research into compliance costs for personal income tax in Slovenia. The results show that compliance costs for personal income tax are relatively low, primarily because most taxpayers consider filing their tax declaration to be a simple procedure, which means that consultancy costs are low.     

Economic instruments and the environmental accounts

The Nordic countries have now had experience with environmental taxes and subsidies as a major component of their environmental policy over an extensive period of time. The Swedish System of Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA) include environmental taxes and subsidies as part of the official statistics. This article presents the accounts for taxes and subsidies, linked to the accounts for emissions data by industry. It demonstrates disparities between emissions and environmental taxes, as well as where industries or environmental problems are not regulated. The data show that in Sweden economic instruments are always aimed at particular actors or areas, and are never quite as comprehensive as recommended by economic theory. The environmental taxes are primarily aimed at fossil fuel use and related emissions, and have been mostly applied to the household sector and services sector, while industry often has been given exemptions due to concerns about international competition. The environmentally motivated subsidies are mainly directed to agriculture, fishing and research on renewable resources. A fully developed international data set on taxes and subsidies would provide a sound base for comparing the impact on international competitiveness. Eurostat is promoting the use of environmental accounts data for its member countries by harmonizing methods and engaging in publication of international comparisons.     

Human capital and SME internationalization: a structural equation modeling study

This study uses a structural equation modeling technique to predict the internationalization of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from the entrepreneur's human capital (dimensions: international business skills, international orientation, environmental perception, and management know‐how). While international orientation and environmental risk perception predicted internationalization, international business skills and management know‐how did not. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysing the fulfilment of service recovery paradox in retailing

The literature dealing with the Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) is vast, but some results are confusing and contradictory. In addition to this, scarce attention has been paid to service recovery in the context of retailing. This paper aims at verifying the compliance of the SRP in the context of retailing. Considering a sample of consumers that experienced a failure in the service delivered by a retailer and are very satisfied with the solution provided by the store employee, we test first the fulfilment of the SRP in the context of retailing. Secondly, we test the existence of significant differences in the customer satisfaction levels with the store before and after experiencing the problem considering several factors potentially influencing the impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction, therefore providing an encompassing analysis of the SRP and its main influencing variables, including some potential factors not previously explored. While we do not find evidence of the fulfilment of the SRP in retailing, differences in customer satisfaction before and after service recovery are highly related with consumer sociodemographic characteristics and shopping experience. Findings raise some practical implications.     

Marketing-sales interface configurations in B2B firms

As the body of knowledge on marketing-sales interface expands, there is a greater need to investigate the specific aspects of marketing-sales configurations in B2B firms. Using a qualitative methodology and interview data collected from over 100 sales and marketing professionals from the US, The Netherlands and Slovenia, this study presents a dynamic, evolutionary spectrum of four B2B marketing-sales interface configurations. These configurations are described in detail in terms of structure, communication patterns, information sharing, collaboration, and strategic outcomes. The findings show that no configuration is inherently superior. Our dynamic configuration spectrum offers managers a toolkit to evaluate their firm's marketing-sales interface in terms of current and desired positions, and contribute to their firm's market orientation and business performance.     

Game hoarding in Europe: stock-price consequences of local bias?

Local bias within a country and between countries is well established in the empirical literature. However, the underlying reasons are less well established. In a simple supply and demand framework, Hong, Kubik, and Stein (hereafter HKS) [2008. The only game in town: Stock-price consequences of local bias. Journal of Financial Economics 90, no. 1: 20–37.] find an ‘only-game-in-town’ effect in the USA – the stock price in a region decreases in the ratio of aggregate book value of listed firms to the aggregate personal income (‘RATIO’). We first replicate the HKS (2008) study using European data and find an opposite effect, a ‘game-hoarding’ effect. We then investigate the underlying factors of RATIO and find that after controlling for differences in origin of law, investor rights, corruption and Euro adoption, neither a game-hoarding effect nor an only-game-in-town effect is strongly supported in the European case. The results are important in understanding the concept of local bias in a cross-country framework.     

Non‐farm employment and incomes in rural Cambodia

Rural households in Cambodia derive income from various sources. On average, non‐farm income accounts for more than 60 per cent of total household income. However, the average masks the substantial heterogeneity of non‐farm employment. We account for this heterogeneity and find significant differences in non‐farm participation and incomes across segments of the income distribution. The poor and the less well‐educated participate less in the non‐farm sector, and when they do work in the non‐farm sector, they work in low‐paid jobs and earn lower incomes. Accounting for endogeneity and sample selection issues, we conduct an empirical enquiry of the determinants of participation in non‐farm activities and of non‐farm incomes. As expected, we find that education plays a major role in accessing more remunerative non‐farm employment. Interestingly, we do not find evidence that women, ethnic minorities, or the land‐poor are disadvantaged in access to the non‐farm sector. Geographical location plays a role in access to and income from non‐farm employment, indicating the importance of local context.     

COVID-19 and pro-sociality: How do donors respond to local pandemic severity,increased salience,and media coverage?

Experimental Economics - Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected pro-sociality among individuals? After the onset of the pandemic, many charitable appeals were updated to include a reference to...