Fighting multiple tax havens

This paper develops a competition theory framework that evaluates an important aspect of the OECD's Harmful Tax Practices Initiative against tax havens. We show that the sequential nature of the process is harmful and more costly than a “big bang” multilateral agreement. The sequentiality may even prevent the process from being completed successfully. Closing down a subset of tax havens reduces competition among the havens that remain active. This makes their “tax haven business” more profitable and shifts a larger share of rents to these remaining tax havens, making them more reluctant to give up their “tax haven business”. Moreover, the outcome of this process, reducing the number of tax havens, but not eliminating them altogether, may reduce welfare in the OECD.     

Unemployment governance,labour cost and earnings management: Evidence from China

This study investigates the effect of labour cost on earnings management based on the panel data of listed firms in China. We use the average wage of employees in firm level as the proxy for labour cost. Firms with rising labour cost become more likely to engage in negative earnings management to conceal profits or report losses. The effect becomes more significant in state-owned enterprises, labour-intensive enterprises, firms in high unemployment-rate regions and firms with political connections. Further research finds that, under the institutional background of Chinese unemployment governance, firms get more government subsidies and tax preferences and reduce the excessive employment through negative earnings management. To a certain extent, this weakens the policy effect of unemployment governance. Overall, our conclusions are meaningful to the reform of unemployment governance, the standardisation of earnings management behaviour, the improvement of the government subsidy policies and the improvement of the efficiency of public resource allocation.     

The impact of emotional self-management on benefit offerings and employment growth: an analysis of the fastest growing businesses in the United States

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - Increases in the cost of benefit offerings have led organizations to cut back benefits in an effort to reduce overall labor costs. Since...     

Communication instruction: What is being done to develop the communication skills of accounting students?

A survey was conducted to determine what colleges and universities are doing to improve accounting students' communication skills and how they are doing it. Results indicate that much is already being done to improve the communication skills of accounting students, and that more programs are being planned. The survey revealed that accounting students at most of the responding colleges and universities have access to formal instruction in business communication, and that some communication programs are tailored for accounting majors. In addition to communication programs already in effect at the time of the survey, several schools were planning to add either an accounting communication course or an integrated skills program.     

The existence of a real value-added function in the Canadian manufacturing sector

Sims (1969), Gordon (1969), and Arrow (1972) have demonstrated that the capability of using real value-added to measure the output of a sector when material inputs are employed in the production process rests upon primary factor inputs being weakly separable from material inputs. In Canada, the double deflation technique is used by Statistics Canada to measure the real value-added output of an industry; this technique assumes strong separability. This paper tests both of these separability hypotheses for the Canadian manufacturing sector using data from 1950 to 1972 and a translogarithmic production function. Our tests lead us to reject both the strong and weak separability hypotheses. Furthermore, our estimates of the Allen partial elasticity of substitution of capital for labor are radically different from the results of previous Canadian studies.     

Using scenarios to explore UK upland futures

Uplands around the world are facing significant social, economic and environmental changes, and decision-makers need to better understand what the future may hold if they are to adapt and maintain upland goods and services. This paper draws together all major research comprising eight studies that have used scenarios to describe possible futures for UK uplands. The paper evaluates which scenarios are perceived by stakeholders to be most likely and desirable, and assesses the benefits and drawbacks of the scenario methods used in UK uplands to date. Stakeholders agreed that the most desirable and likely scenario would be a continuation of hill farming (albeit at reduced levels) based on cross-compliance with environmental measures. The least desirable scenario is a withdrawal of government financial support for hill farming. Although this was deemed by stakeholders to be the least likely scenario, the loss of government support warrants close attention due to its potential implications for the local economy. Stakeholders noted that the environmental implications of this scenario are much less clear-cut. As such, there is an urgent need to understand the full implications of this scenario, so that upland stakeholders can adequately prepare, and policy-makers can better evaluate the likely implications of different policy options. The paper concludes that in future, upland scenario research needs to: (1) better integrate in-depth and representative participation from stakeholders during both scenario development and evaluation; and (2) make more effective use of visualisation techniques and simulation models.     

Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi and Employee Work Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

In this study, we attempt to explain the divergent results found in the relationships between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and employee work outcomes. Specifically, we propose that the relationships between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and participatory management, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment are mediated by job satisfaction. Based on the data collected from a sample of 196 employees of three local manufacturing firms in Zhejiang Province, China, we found that job satisfaction fully mediated the effects of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on participatory management and intentions to leave, but partially mediated the relationship between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Frames and facilitators by China in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Much larger than the U.S. Marshall Plan, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with over $5 trillion global infrastructure projects, is a major undertaking by the international communities, proposed by the Chinese government. Adopting a multimethod approach of employing textual analysis, participant observation, and framing analysis, this article uncovers that Chinese government and state‐run media promote BRI with proper rhetorical frames and institutional facilitators. The six frames are “Development,” “Mutual respect and mutual trust,” “Ancient Silk Road Story,” “Action Speaks Louder than Words,” “China is a Partner, not a Colonialist,” and “Win‐Win.” Since 1949 and especially in the past two decades, China has cultivated a global ecosystem with at least nine facilitators that support BRI. These facilitators are Chinese Soft Power, South–South Cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China & ASEAN FTA, RCEP, 16+1, AIIB, Silk Road Fund, and The New Development Bank. With BRI, China leads a new wave of globalization: Globalization 5.0. This article proposes a three‐step strategy for Western companies to benefit from the China‐led Belt and Road Initiative: from rising above pre‐existing frames in your mind (stereotypes), to be open minded for new frames (new thinking), to participate in BRI for win–win outcomes (opportunities).     

Zero Tolerance for GM Flax and the Rules of Trade

Trade in genetically modified products is a longstanding and contentious issue in agricultural trade. One issue has not, as yet, received much attention. This is the mingling of unapproved GM products with conventional products. This issue is likely to gain more prominence in the future as new GM product development accelerates. Until recently, problems with mingling were largely one‐off events. Recently, however, an ongoing case of mingling has arisen – the case of Canadian GM flax in the EU. The case led to an embargo of imports from Canada and subsequently the bilateral negotiation of a protocol to allow exports to resume. The case raises a number of important issues pertaining to the objective of zero tolerance policies for GM products, the operationalisation of zero tolerance, the role of the testing industry, the design of testing regimes and the risks associated with the absence of transparency and/or international standardisation. It is concluded that mingling is a topic that is deserving of multilateral attention.