An International Carbon Tax to Combat Global Warming: An Economic and Political Analysis of the European Union Proposal

A bstract An international carbon tax has been the subject of considerable recent discussion as an economic incentive instrument to combat the perceived threat of global warming lesuking, primarily, from the use of the carbon emitting fossils–coal, oil, and natural gas–in the production of energy. During 1991, the European Union proposed the adoption of such a tax to be imposed by each member nation. The economic merits as well as the problems associated with the proposed European carbon tax are discussed along with the political prospects for its adoption. It is concluded that even though early adoption of the tax is unlikely, the economic merits of this tax instrument for the alleviation of global warming accompanied by changing political parameters may lead to its adoption in the long run.     

On the performance of the Chow-Lin procedure for quarterly interpolation of annual data: Some Monte-Carlo analysis

Most of the countries of the OECD offer quarterly estimates of their national growth or of their Gross National Product. Official Statistical Agencies in western countries have to deal with the problem of estimating Quarterly National Accounts series congruently with Annual National Accounts. In Spain, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística uses the Chow-Lin disaggregation method, which is based on information provided by a group of high-frequency related variables, to estimate the quarterly components of National Accounts from annual components. In this paper, we analyse the relative quality of the estimates obtained through the Chow-Lin procedure, under different sets of hypotheses.JEL Classification: C15, C43, M40We are grateful to Maria Amparo Ripoll for her assistance. The authors also wish to thank three anonymous referees and an editor for their constructive suggestions and comments. This research was partially made during the stay of the first author at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. It has been partially supported by the research project DGCYT PB98-1460.     

Advantages of assembly lines in Sheltered Work Centres for Disabled. A case study

Current practices for the treatment of the physically and/or mentally handicapped prescribe meaningful job activity as a means towards both a more fulfilling life and societal integration. In many countries, these practices have facilitated the development of many Sheltered Work Centres for Disabled.In the case study presented, a reengineering process is done starting from individual workplaces where only certain workers were capable of assembling the entire product, and finishing with an assembly line implementation. It is revealed how the traditional division of work in single tasks, typical in assembly lines, becomes a perfect tool for making certain worker disabilities invisible, providing new jobs for disabled people; always taking into account certain special constraints that are analysed.     

Earnings Management and the Long-Run Market Performance of Initial Public Offerings

Issuers of initial public offerings (IPOs) can report earnings in excess of cash flows by taking positive accruals. This paper provides evidence that issuers with unusually high accruals in the IPO year experience poor stock return performance in the three years thereafter. IPO issuers in the most "aggressive" quartile of earnings managers have a three-year aftermarket stock return of approximately 20 percent less than IPO issuers in the most "conservative" quartile. They also issue about 20 percent fewer seasoned equity offerings. These differences are statistically and economically significant in a variety of specifications.     

Tax resistance, economy and state transformation in China and Europe

This article considers the distinct ways in which Chinese and European governments have historically approached taxation. The similarities of popular resistance in both regions to taxation deemed illegitimate contrast with the diverse solutions to tax collection put forward under varied political systems. Differences in state relations with elites, the intensity of demands for revenues and the kinds of strategies developed to secure additional funding contribute to the definition of distinct patterns of political change. Tax operations can therefore serve as a useful diagnostic for comparing broader economic and political developments in China and Europe over the past several centuries. Received: August 28, 1999 / Accepted: January 20, 2000     

Growth of Hong Kong Before and After its Reversion to China: The China Factor

The paper focuses on the Hong Kong economy and attempts to measure the contribution of Hong Kong's integration with mainland China to its GDP growth rate. Two linkages have received particular attention, namely, Hong Kong's foreign direct investment (FDI) in China and immigrants from China. While the former is assumed to stimulate capital investment in Hong Kong but at the same time to reduce human capital formation (owing to a shrinkage of its domestic manufacturing sector), the latter is assumed to further reduce Hong Kong's average human capital because immigrants tend to be less educated. By making some assumptions about the future trajectories of Hong Kong direct investment in China and Chinese immigrants into Hong Kong after its reversion to China, the paper offers some predictions about Hong Kong's future economic growth.     

Fund Advisor Compensation in Closed-End Funds

This paper examines the relation between the premium on closed-end funds and organizational features of the funds and advisors, including the compensation scheme of the investment advisor. We find that the fund premium is larger when: (a) the advisor's compensation is more sensitive to fund performance; (b) the assets managed by the advisor are concentrated in the fund in question; (c) the advisor manages other funds with low compensation sensitivity to performance and with low concentration of assets managed by the advisor; and (d) the advisor's compensation contract evaluates performance relative to a benchmark.     

Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation

As China is becoming an important market and there are a lot of foreign ventures operating there, different lines of research have been providing useful information for foreign ventures to manage effectively in China. In this paper, we discuss one of the critical factors leading to successful management of Chinese subordinates, i.e. building and maintaining good guanxi (i.e., interpersonal connection) with them. We conducted an empirical investigation to illustrate (1) the supervisor-subordinate guanxi concept is different and unique when compared to other similar concepts in the Western literature such as leader-member exchange (LMX) and commitment to supervisor; (2) the supervisor-subordinate guanxi will affect the Chinese supervisor's administrative decisions; (3) guanxi can be measured by concrete behaviour/activities. Data on 189 supervisor-subordinate dyads were collected in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Results indicated that supervisor-subordinate guanxi is a distinct concept from LMX and commitment to supervisor. It also has additional explanatory power over supervisory decisions on promotion and bonus allocation after controlling for performance. Implications for foreign ventures and expatriates are discussed.     

Convergence in OECD countries: technical change,efficiency and productivity

The aim of this study is to analyse labour productivity convergence in the OECD countries over the period 1975-90. A nonparametric frontier approach is used to calculate the Malmquist productivity index. By breaking it down, the contribution in the growth of labour productivity of technical progress, of changes in efficiency, and of the accumulation of inputs per worker are quantified. Unlike other studies, the results obtained show that technical change has worked against labour productivity convergence, since it has always been greater in the countries with higher labour productivity.