Taxation and the Environment–Health–Poverty Trap: A Policy Experiment Perspective

Under pressures related to economic growth and environmental protection, China is facing an increasingly severe “environment–health–poverty” trap risk. Fuel taxation is generally considered an effective policy to counter such a risk. Since 2009 China has raised the fuel tax rate many times to enhance tax reform. However, the effects of this policy remain unknown. Therefore, it is vitally important to estimate the impacts of China's current fuel taxation policy on environment, public health and the national economy. As the first attempt in existing literature on China, this paper builds a general equilibrium framework with the feedback effect of public health on economy. We find that that the fuel tax policy benefits the adjustment of the economic structure and improves human health; however, it is detrimental to economic growth, public welfare and price stability. In this sense, it plays a limited role in reducing the trap risk and might not be sustainable in the long term.     

Changing patterns of transfers in Slovenia in the last three decades: transition from a socialist economy to a market economy

Rapid population ageing increases interest in economic flows across ages and intergenerational transfers in general. This article uses the National Transfer Accounts methodology to measure consumption and production at each age, and how the difference between consumption and production is financed through (private and public) transfers and the interaction with assets, i.e. ‘asset-based reallocations’. During working ages, people earn more than they consume and with the surplus they finance the deficit of the young and old generations who consume more than they produce. Such a pattern of economic dependency is universal across countries and across time, but huge differences exist in the ages at which individuals produce more than they consume and vice versa. Moreover, the importance of private and public transfers and asset-based reallocations varies across countries and times. In the last three decades, life expectancy at birth in Slovenia increased by 9.3 years, while the age span in which production exceeds consumption narrowed rather than increased. Child dependents are predominantly financed by private transfers, whereas the elderly mainly rely on public transfers. Young and old individuals increasingly rely on public transfers. Together with rapid population ageing, this is likely to jeopardise the public finance system in the future.     

Neighbors' Income,Public Goods,and Well‐Being

How does neighbors' income affect individual well‐being? Our analysis is based on rich U.S. local data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which contains information on where respondents live and their self‐reported well‐being. We find that the effect of neighbors' income on individuals' self‐reported well‐being varies with the size of the neighborhood included. In smaller areas such as ZIP codes, we find a positive relationship between median income and individuals' life satisfaction, whereas it is the opposite at the county, MSA, and state levels. We provide evidence that local public goods and local area characteristics such as unemployment, criminality, and poverty rates drive the association between satisfaction and neighbors' income at the ZIP code level. The neighbors' income effects are mainly concentrated among poorer individuals and are as large as one quarter of the effect of own income on self‐reported well‐being.     

Good global citizen? ASEAN’s image building in the United Nations

ABSTRACT

Based on role theory, the article examines the images that ASEAN member governments project of their organization. It rests on a discourse analysis of 198 speeches in the United Nations General Assembly between 1998 and 2017. Findings suggest that ASEAN does not figure as a top priority for delegates and that an overarching ASEAN role conception is missing. However, their addresses reveal parameters on which a collective role conception can be built. Individual ASEAN countries undertake great efforts to project themselves as ‘good global citizens,’ a role conception that could also be applied to ASEAN.     

Debates and dissent inside the FOMC during WWII

Abstract

We demonstrate that even though during WWII the interest rate was close to zero supporting the financing of the military effort, dissent inside the FOMC occurred with a similar frequency to other policy episodes. Our analysis highlights that the debates which resulted in dissents turned around two broad issues: the size of the Fed’s balance sheet as well as the functioning of and communication with financial markets. Thus, we argue that the conventional view depicting the Fed as merely accommodating treasury needs should be revised. Our detailed investigation of dissents emphasises the modernity of the objections raised by Fed officials.     

Neutralizing environmental uncertainties: the evolution of leadership in the South Korean TV station,KBS

ABSTRACT

Leadership studies on public TV companies are few and far between due to their peculiar status as a monopoly in the market. TV leadership has been deemed less important than the government that regulates it or the corporate advertisers who buy its air time. Using the theory of environmental threats and leadership evolution, this study analyses the personal data of CEOs at the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), which is owned and controlled by the state from its conception in 1961. This contribution finds that different types of CEOs were favoured for each evolutionary stage with dissimilar environmental threats. Over the years, CEOs at KBS have become much more professionalized and were selected from inside rather than from the government. However, CEOs continue to pursue their political, rather than professional, roles to neutralize its external threats. It continues to be genuine that the most critical environmental threat for KBS is the state itself. The continuous political nature of KBS leadership makes it very difficult for the organization to be free from internal and external crises, including general strikes by employees and the sweeping layoff of key decision-makers in the firm by the government. It is expected that new CEOs at KBS should play professional roles for their long-term survival.     

河北省加强与国际金融组织合作研究

新形势下河北省与国际金融组织具有拓展合作的空间,如知识合作、民营经济发展,新的资金合作渠道等。为此,深化与国际金融组织合作的路径主要为:注重合作,提升服务水平;加强管理,提高项目质量;立足实际,创新资金合作模式;与时俱进,争取世行新的贷款品种;提升素质,打造涉外队伍。     

区域科技公共服务平台的建设研究

科技公共服务平台是一种创新基础设施,主要致力于整合区域内的物质、知识、技术、信息、人才、政策等科技资源,为科技创新活动的全过程提供科技服务。就我国当前科技公共服务平台的发展与需求来看,应加快科技资源服务平台、科技研发服务平台、科技成果转移转化服务平台、科技中介服务平台等四类平台的建设,应根据区域主导产业、战略新兴产业和优势传统产业的实际发展需求,对平台进行顶层设计并制定平台建设的法律、法规、制度和管理办法。     

Fundraising under two-dimensional asymmetric information: the case of mindless donations

The paper develops a model of charity’s choice of fundraising method under two dimensions of asymmetric information, quality and purpose. The main implication from this model is a separating equilibrium where the higher-quality charity uses a traditional fundraising method, while the lower-quality one exploits a low-stakes, take-it- or leave-it, ‘mindless’ method. Empirical results support the hypothesis that charities of lower quality are more likely to adopt the mindless fundraising method. Even so, consumers still choose to give in the equilibrium, due to the small requested amount of mindless donations, which disincentivizes serious thinking by consumers. The mindless method, along with purpose uncertainty, has the potential to alleviate the free-riding problem that is characteristic of public good provision and is, therefore, welfare improving.     

If It Works,I like It: Consumer Acceptance of Food-Related Nudging

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to investigate factors that influence consumer acceptance of food-related nudging. Previous studies indicate that perceived effectiveness may positively influence acceptance of nudging, while limited freedom of choice may reduce acceptance. On this basis, acceptance, perceived effectiveness and perceived limited freedom of choice were measured for 11 different food-related nudges in a national representative sample of 455 adults. Five of the nudges were variations of placement alteration, while six were variations of informational labeling. Perceived effectiveness was identified as a significant positive predictor for acceptance of all of the investigated nudges (p?<?0.001), while perceived limited freedom of choice decreased acceptance of all investigated nudges (p?≤?0.02). Perceived effectiveness was the strongest predictor for acceptance of all types of nudges (β-values from 0.55 to 0.75), yet perceived limited freedom of choice was also a significant factor (β-values from ?0.07 to ?0.23).