VATs in CEE Countries: A Survey and Analysis

Ten Central and Eastern European countries have applied for membership of the European Union (EU). The adoption of the value-added tax (VAT) is a nonnegotiable condition. Accordingly, all these countries have introduced the VAT which, in principle, is a highly product-neutral, factor-neutral and revenue-productive tax. A review of the structures of the various VATs indicates that more can be done to tax public sector bodies and cultural services. In some countries, immovable property and the agricultural sector can be treated more even-handedly. However, the most important structural weakness of the VATs is the exemption and lower taxation of so-called essential products. VATs are ill-suited to enhance progressivity in tax burden distribution. It is concluded that policymakers should now focus their attention on improving the administration of their VATs. As in many other countries, tax policy often is tax administration.     

Turkey＇s Hope

Turkey, lies southeast of Europe on the tip of western Asia, the country enjoys both a historical bond and deep friendship with China. With their respective locations on the west and east ends of the ancient Silk Road, Turkey and China have a long history of political, cultural and trade relations.     

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the CEECs: New evidence from sectoral patterns

This paper investigates the determinants of European Union FDI in the CEECs at sectoral level. The aim is to understand whether and to what extent FDI undertaken in different sectors reacts to the characteristics of the host countries. The analysis is based on a dataset created specifically for this purpose. It concentrates on the manufacturing sectors, classified according to the Pavitt taxonomy. Firstly, data summarizing the recent trend of FDI in the CEECs is presented and then empirical evidence given to account for differences between sectors. The estimated model is a generalization of a three-way fixed effect model incorporating 'classic' variables, such as labour costs as well as country-specific variables, i.e., the stage reached in the transition process. The results confirm the presence of heterogeneity at sector level.     

An Impact Analysis of Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina

This paper applies the financing constraints approach to study whether microfinance institutions improved access to credit for microenterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to this approach, microenterprises with improved access to credit rely less on internal funds for their investments. Thus, we compare investment sensitivity to internal funds of microenterprises in municipalities with significant presence of MFIs to that of microenterprises in municipalities with no (or limited) presence of MFIs using Living Standards Measurement Survey and MFI branch location data. Results indicate that MFIs alleviated microbusinesses’ financing constraints. This approach is applicable to evaluating microfinance impact in other countries.     

东西部经济态势与民营经济发展差距的相关性

改革开放以来,我国东西差距不断扩大,即使在实施西部大开发之后,这种不断扩大的趋势也没有得到有效的扼制。就东西部经济发展态势与其民营经济发展差距的相关性进行实证分析,发现东西经济发展差距与民营经济发展差距呈强正相关性,从而证实了“东西差距的根本是民营经济发展的差距”的论断。     

Redistribution in the age of austerity: evidence from Europe 2006–2013

We examine the relationship between changes in a country’s public sector fiscal position on inequality at the top and bottom of the income distribution during the age of austerity from 2006 to 2013. We use a parametric Lorenz curve model and Gini-like indices of inequality as our measures to assess distributional changes. Based on Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and IMF data for 12 European countries, we find that more severe adjustments to the cyclically adjusted primary balance (i.e., more austerity) are associated with a more unequal distribution of income driven by rising inequality at the top. The data also weakly suggests a decrease in inequality at the bottom. The distributional impact of austerity measures reflects the reliance on regressive policies and likely produces increased incentives for rent-seeking while reducing incentives for workers to increase productivity.     

海外并购:中国企业如何应对美欧的反垄断挑战

伴随着中国经济的快速发展和政府出台的一系列政策的鼓励,越来越多的中国企业开始走出国门并购海外企业,尝试着跨国产业重组。然而,国外的反垄断法使得一些中国企业的跨国并购功败垂成。因此,通过对欧美反垄断法体系及近来反垄断规制趋势的具体分析,结合中国企业的实际情况,尝试性地为中国企业进军欧美,顺利进行跨国并购重组提供应对策略。     

中国东部沿海县域农村经济增长的差异及其成因

基于东部沿海地区县域1980、1990、2000和2005年的农村发展数据,分析农村经济增长的差异特征,通过构建计量经济模型进一步揭示了农村经济增长的差异成因.结果显示:东部沿海整体及各省市内部农村经济增长区域差异趋于收敛,但省际的差异逐年增大;平坦的地形有利于农村经济增长,区位条件影响经济增长的效应并不明显;农地资源丰度与农村经济增长水平存在负向关系,人力资本强化了农村经济增长差异;经济基础是决定农村发展地域差异的主要成因,产业非农化进一步扩大了区域差异;城市化对农村经济增长的效应并不显著,政策等社会因素的经济增长效应存在明显的阶段性差异.     

Stakeholder perspectives on the European Union tourism policy framework and their preferences on the type of involvement

Despite a growing body of literature on regional trading agreements and tourism, little empirical evidence exists on how tourism policy is formulated at the supranational level. The study focuses on the European Union and employs stakeholder interviews to construct the institutional environment for tourism and to identify potential areas for involvement in tourism. Four different approaches are identified ranging from maintaining the status quo to a common tourism policy. It is concluded that because of the complexities of the institutional environment for tourism and the diversity of opinion among stakeholders, a significant change in the status quo is unlikely to happen. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The business history of the preindustrial world: Towards a comparative historical analysis

The organisation of business transactions in the preindustrial period, once a central concern in scholarly debates about the rise of capitalism, currently plays only a marginal role in the literature on long-run economic development. Our survey of the contents of five top-tier business and economic history journals published in the United Kingdom and the United States from 2000 to 2016 finds that only 20 per cent of the articles concern the entire period before 1800 and that, among those articles, most are national or regional in scope, with a disproportionate focus on Europe, and on England in particular. At the same time, our survey suggests that a strong theoretical foundation and rich empirical data exist on the basis of which we can develop a comparative business history of the preindustrial world. We identify four areas of enquiry that are especially conducive to further comparisons within and beyond Europe: the corporation, the family firms, the economic role of women, and the funding of private businesses.