Tax enforcement,technology, and the informal sector

Theoretical models of the informal sector mostly assume—or end up with—a positive correlation between a measure of taxes and the size of the informal sector. However, some recent empirical studies associate higher taxes with a smaller informal sector size. In this paper, we build a theoretical framework—an extension to a two-sector growth model—which allows us to unravel the negative correlation between informal sector size and taxes. We find that (a) a higher degree of tax enforcement, (b) a higher productivity of formal sector households, and (c) a lower physical capital depreciation rate make for a negative relation between these variables. Our results suggest that enforcement and technological factors are likely candidates to account for this relationship.     

Tax-tariff reform with costs of tax administration

As is broadly recognised, the straightforward application of the Diamond–Mirrlees (1971) production efficiency theorem implies that when lump-sum taxation is not available, then it is optimal for the government in a small open economy to rely on taxes on the net demand of households rather than on border taxes to finance its resource requirements. However, the theorem does not hold when taxation is associated with administrative costs. The present paper explores the implications for optimal taxation and for desirable directions of tax-tariff reform of taking into account the costs of tax administration in countries at different levels of economic development. The paper clarifies the reasons for, and lends support to, the criticism by Stiglitz (Presentation to Congress of International Institute of Public Finance, Prague, 2003) of the IMF and the World Bank’s recommendation to developing countries to adopt VAT to replace border taxes.      

Pollution and informal economy

In this study, we investigate the relationship between the size of the informal economy and the level of environmental pollution/energy use. To this end, we first use different indicators of environmental pollution along with a measure of energy use intensity in a panel dataset consisting of 152 countries over the period 1999–2009 and empirically examine the relationship between pollution and the shadow economy. The estimation results show that there is an inverse-U relationship between the size of the informal economy and environmental pollution, that is, small and large sizes of the informal economy are associated with lower environmental pollution and medium levels of informality are associated with higher levels of environmental pollution. Next, we build a two sector dynamic general equilibrium model to suggest an economic mechanism for this observation. Our model identifies two channels through which informality might affect environmental pollution: The scale effect, whereby a larger (smaller) informal economy size is associated with a lower (higher) level of environmental pollution, and the deregulation effect, whereby a larger (smaller) informal economy is associated with higher (lower) pollution levels. As these two effects work in opposite directions, the changing relative strength of one with respect to the informal sector size creates the inverted-U relationship between pollution indicators and informality.     

论我国税收制度中的非正式安排

非正式税收制度安排对政府和纳税人行为的选择、税收秩序的形成、税收关系的调整乃至整个税收制度的运行都产生着重要的影响.然而过去我们却把税收观念和税收惯例这样一些非正式税收制度安排排斥在税收制度范畴之外,这实际上是忽略了非正式制度安排在我国税收制度中的重要作用.从某种意义上说,税收制度的变革首先应该是作为税收非正式制度安排的改变.树立全新的税收观念和充分尊重税收惯例的约束作用是我国今后税收制度建设必须予以高度重视的两个基本问题.     

“一带一路”上的中华风景园林文化 艺术展现——新疆可克达拉市伊犁河滨水 景观带规划设计的追求

：以“一带一路”上的中华风景园林文化艺术展现为 题，探索中国风景园林建设之路。以歌曲“草原之夜”原生地 新疆可克达拉地域为背景，以“可克达拉市伊犁河滨水景观带 规划设计”建成项目为例，展开从理论到实践的阐述、分析、 探讨：项目的自然山水城市背景分析；项目作为城市纪念地、 发生地、交流地的风景园林文化艺术定位；项目作为中国固有 领土的历史表现与文化传承；保家卫国、屯垦戍边的景观纪 念；以及项目体现的“一带一路”上的中华风景园林的现代价 值。阐述了该项目的理论及应用：人居环境三元论；景观“旷 奥三性”理论应用；生态绿色支撑与风景园林小气候营造，以 及具体方案规划设计的要点。     

GIS支持下的传统聚落景观管理模式

中国广大地域范围内分布着为数众多的传统聚落,包含着丰富的历史文化信息。但在经济建设的大潮中,大多数传统聚落面临着被损毁甚至完全被破坏的危险。目前管理模式缺乏科学的手段,保护规划的执行难以落到实处,而且后期的保护管理也较为困难。以我国南方传统聚落为对象,研究GIS与传统聚落景观管理相结合的方法,进而采用基于GIS的传统聚落景观管理模式,将极大促进传统聚落的保护规划和保护管理,对城乡规划与建设也有着很强的指导作用。     

中国农村非正规金融:绩效、缺陷与治理

随着我国正规金融从农村纷纷撤走，非正规金融在农村地区迅速壮大，并为农村社会与经济发展提供了有力的金融支持。然而，由于非正规金融掌握信息的有限性和得不到法律认可与政府保护，从而它也存在许多缺陷，并对经济的平稳运行产生一些破坏作用。对待农村非正规金融，绝不能简单地否定或取缔它，而应持辩证的观点，扬长避短，因势利导，使其成为正规金融的有力补充。     

桂北城镇聚落空间形态及景观

桂北城镇空间形态是特定的自然环境、社会经济和文化背景下,各构成要素共同作用的结果.塑造个性化的、可持续发展的城镇聚落形态是保持和发展城镇特色的主要内容和手段.通过对空间形态和景观格局形成的影响因素分析,提出了小城镇生态景观的完整性、空间生长的连续性、空间要素的有机性与空间形态的人文性是实现小城镇空间形态可持续发展的方法和途径.     

中国农村正规与非正规市场的融资差异

本文基于2009年农村微观调查数据,分析农户资金需求及其借款状况,考察其在正规与非正规市场的融资差异。农户资金需求和信贷约束相当普遍。在农村信贷市场,非正规借款占绝对优势,且绝对多数是无息借贷。农村正规与非正规金融市场相互独立运行;前者对后者几乎没有产生“共栖”性有益影响和“竞争”性抑制影响。与非正规融资和市场需求密切相关不同,农信社贷款脱离需求,行政化配置明显。解决农户信贷约束并非仅放开利率那样简单,在拓展农村正规金融的同时,更应引导非正规市场发展创新,鼓励支持农户发展资金互助组织,通过有效措施形成正规市场的促进作用,并强化农信社的市场取向功能。     

RISK‐COPING,LAND TENURE AND LAND MARKETS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Over the last decades, a significant amount of literature has been published on informal risk‐coping in developing countries. In this paper, we review how informal risk‐coping has been addressed in the land tenure literature from two main perspectives: a first stream of research looks at how customary tenure and communal property perform key informal risk‐coping functions. A second subset of this literature analyses how informal risk‐coping creates land market imperfections through sharecropping or distress sales. The segmentation of the literature results from the Demsetzian property rights framework. Further research on risk‐coping and land tenure would benefit from examining recent work on property regimes.