Tax evasion and public governance before and after the European “big bang”: a red flag for policymakers

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Emadeldin Yamen ◽  
Hounaida Mersni ◽  
Abdulhadi Ramadan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of public governance quality on tax evasion levels in old (pre-2004) and new (post-2004) European Union (EU) members before and after the 2004 EU-enlargement. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data of 28 EU countries over the period 1996-2015. Tax evasion is measured using an updated version of the shadow economy size based on the light intensity, as calculated by (Medina and Schneider, 2018). The World Bank’s worldwide governance indicators are used as a measure of public governance. Findings The results indicate that new EU members have higher tax evasion levels compared to the old ones before and after the 2004 EU enlargement. The findings also report that the public governance quality is superior in old members throughout the 1996-2015 period. Furthermore, the authors found that after the EU enlargement, tax evasion levels decreased in both EU groups; however, the authors noticed an improvement in the public governance quality in new members and a deterioration in old ones. Additional analysis confirms the impact of public governance quality as an effective tool for reducing tax evasion behavior in both EU groups before and after the EU enlargement. Practical implications The findings are potentially useful for EU policymakers in identifying the most effective tools that can minimize tax evasion levels in EU countries. Additionally, the results are alarming as they show the negative consequences of the EU enlargement in old EU members. Thus, policymakers should consider them when setting their rules and regulations to reduce the significant differences between both EU groups to prevent member states from potentially exiting the EU. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study that examines the tax evasion behavior and public governance quality in the EU before and after the EU enlargement.

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Bracci

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to illustrate the changing structure of accountability under a new public governance agenda introduced in England to deliver social care through personal budgets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on accountability and public governance literature, in particular, the accountability framework proposed by Hupe and Hill. The evidence was gathered from exploratory case studies conducted in two English County Councils. Findings – The introduction of personal budgets has modified the roles of the different actors involved in the co-production of social services. The case studies evidence changes in the accountability and governance process, particularly with respect to the personal budget regime that has devolved responsibility and accountability to the customer. Specifically, the customer's role has shifted and expanded in the accountability chain and thus developed into a partnership. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to analyse the relationship between the personalisation agenda in English social services and the relevant accountability mechanisms involved. Moreover, the paper refines the theoretical framework proposed by Hupe and Hill according to the different role the public now plays.


Subject The impact of recent corruption allegations. Significance An investigation into tax evasion at one of Chile's leading business groups, whose principal owners are currently on remand, has led to revelations of what may prove to be quite widespread illegal political financing. The revelations raise questions about the country's reputation for transparency, and have the potential to trigger the country's worst political crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1990. Impacts The crisis of confidence may delay pending reforms and a recovery in growth and investment. The scandal is accentuating Chileans' with income inequality which, despite lower poverty, remains very high. As investigations proceed, political financing could dominate the public agenda into next year.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arif ◽  
Christohper Gan ◽  
Muhammad Nadeem

Purpose Motivated by the enactment of non-financial reporting regulations by the European Parliament, this paper aims to investigate the impact of European Union (EU) directive 2014/95/EU on the quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by the S&P Europe 350 index firms. This study also investigates whether the implementation of the non-financial information (NFI) reporting regulations influences the association between ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk. Design/methodology/approach To measure the impact of mandatory regulations on the quantity of ESG disclosures, this study estimates the average treatment effects using a propensity weighted sample. Then this study uses the difference-in-differences method to estimate the differences in the association between ESG disclosures and earning risk before and after implementation of the EU directive. Findings The results show a significant positive impact of the EU directive on the quantity of ESG disclosures for the sample European public-interest entities, which indicates that the mandatory NFI reporting requirements could boost the availability of increasingly demanded ESG related information. The enhanced association between the ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk during the post-directive period reveals that mandating NFI reporting also increases the quality of ESG disclosures. Originality/value Using the legitimacy and decision-usefulness theories, this study provides novel evidence concerning the impact of the EU directive on the quantity and quality of ESG disclosures.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Casaglia

This article analyses the impact of Cyprus’s accession to the European Union (EU) on the northern part of the island, and tackles the political actorness of the EU with regard to the enduring Cypriot conflict. Much literature has critically analysed the EU enlargement process, underlining its imperialistic features and its problematic nature. At the same time, scholars have highlighted the EU’s difficulties in acting as a political actor and its impact on situations of ethno-national conflict. This article brings together these critical aspects by analysing them in the peculiar context of Cyprus. It retraces the negotiation process and the Turkish Cypriots’ in/visibility throughout it, and presents research conducted following Cyprus’s accession in three different periods between 2008 and 2015. We propose an interpretation of Northern Cyprus as an ‘inner neighbour’ of the EU, because of its anomalous and liminal status, the suspended application of the acquis communautaire, the unresolved conflict and the ambiguity of the border management of the Green Line, the line of partition between north and south. All these problematic features of Northern Cyprus’s situation are examined in detail to identify the unique position of this entity within the EU. In addition to this, and supporting the importance of a bottom-up understanding of the EU’s normative and symbolic projection, the article presents the opinions of Turkish Cypriot citizens about their expectations before and after 2004, and how their ideas and imaginaries related to the EU have evolved and interacted with the process of Europeanisation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Clemente-Almendros ◽  
Florin Teodor Boldeanu ◽  
Luis Alberto Seguí-Amórtegui

PurposeThe authors analyze the impact of COVID-19 on listed European electricity companies and differentiate between renewable and traditional electricity, to show the heterogenous characteristics of electricity subsectors and the differences between renewable and traditional electricity.Design/methodology/approachUsing the event study method, the authors calculate the cumulative average abnormal returns (ARs) before and after the World Health Organization pandemic announcement and the declaration of national lockdowns in Europe.FindingsThe results show that while the European electricity sector was overall negatively impacted by the COVID-19 announcement, this impact was larger for renewable companies due to their riskier investment profile. Moreover, after the national lockdowns came into effect, the recovery in the financial markets return was smaller for the latter.Research limitations/implicationsThere may be variables to be included in the model to analyze possible differences between companies and countries, as well as alternative econometric models. Limited to the data, the authors did not investigate the different impact of the economic policy uncertainty from various countries inside or outside the EU.Practical implicationsThe results have important implications for both investors and policymakers since the heterogenous characteristics of electricity subsectors. This heterogeneity prompts different investor reactions, which are necessary to know and to understand.Originality/valueAs far as the authors know, this is the first study that analyses the effect of COVID-19 in heterogeneity profile of both types of electricity, renewable and traditional.


Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Claudio M. Radaelli

This chapter examines the impact of Europeanization upon the public policy functions of European Union member states. It first explains why Europeanization of policy is a hot topic before describing types of Europeanization and characteristic patterns of governance in the EU. It then discusses the dynamics of Europeanization, focusing on the processes involved and the effects produced, and relates these processes and effects to categories of policy in order to map the Europeanization of public policy. It also analyses research considerations with respect to Europeanization and concludes with an assessment of the EU enlargement process as well as suggestions for conducting empirical studies to investigate the EU’s impact on member states.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdullahi Umar ◽  
Chek Derashid ◽  
Idawati Ibrahim ◽  
Zainol Bidin

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between public governance quality and tax compliance behavior in developing countries in terms of what transpires between governments and citizens, leading the later to pay or to abstain from paying tax. The study argues that socioeconomic condition is a mediator in the relationship and explains how and why it is so.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the conceptual approach and connects the concepts through synthesis of literature and previous research findings.FindingsThe study concludes that socioeconomic condition mediates the relationship between public governance quality and tax compliance behavior in developing countries. Socioeconomic conditions appear to be a broader, clearer and more practical concept for measurement purpose than public goods/spending as currently understood in the literature.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is a conceptual effort, and there may a be need to undertake further empirical investigations. Developing countries vary in their socioeconomic conditions, and there is a need to acknowledge country-specific circumstances.Practical implicationsThe implication of the finding includes the need for further research on the concept of socioeconomic condition, and how and why it influences tax compliance behavior in developing countries. Stakeholders and governments should monitor the impact of policies and actions on the socioeconomic condition of citizens to ensure they are satisfied. Their dissatisfaction leads to the boycott of the tax system which adversely affects economic development.Originality/valueThis study makes an original contribution by exploring socioeconomic conditions as a mediator between public governance quality and tax compliance behavior in developing countries. It is a significant contribution that is capable of shifting the direction of tax compliance research in developing countries due to its practical realities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5284
Author(s):  
Timothy Van Renterghem ◽  
Francesco Aletta ◽  
Dick Botteldooren

The deployment of measures to mitigate sound during propagation outdoors is most often a compromise between the acoustic design, practical limitations, and visual preferences regarding the landscape. The current study of a raised berm next to a highway shows a number of common issues like the impact of the limited length of the noise shielding device, initially non-dominant sounds becoming noticeable, local drops in efficiency when the barrier is not fully continuous, and overall limited abatement efficiencies. Detailed assessments of both the objective and subjective effect of the intervention, both before and after the intervention was deployed, using the same methodology, showed that especially the more noise sensitive persons benefit from the noise abatement. Reducing the highest exposure levels did not result anymore in a different perception compared to more noise insensitive persons. People do react to spatial variation in exposure and abatement efficiency. Although level reductions might not be excessive in many real-life complex multi-source situations, they do improve the perception of the acoustic environment in the public space.


2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 989-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Plüss-Suard ◽  
A. Pannatier ◽  
C. Ruffieux ◽  
A. Kronenberg ◽  
K. Mühlemann ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe original cefepime product was withdrawn from the Swiss market in January 2007 and replaced by a generic 10 months later. The goals of the study were to assess the impact of this cefepime shortage on the use and costs of alternative broad-spectrum antibiotics, on antibiotic policy, and on resistance ofPseudomonas aeruginosatoward carbapenems, ceftazidime, and piperacillin-tazobactam. A generalized regression-based interrupted time series model assessed how much the shortage changed the monthly use and costs of cefepime and of selected alternative broad-spectrum antibiotics (ceftazidime, imipenem-cilastatin, meropenem, piperacillin-tazobactam) in 15 Swiss acute care hospitals from January 2005 to December 2008. Resistance ofP. aeruginosawas compared before and after the cefepime shortage. There was a statistically significant increase in the consumption of piperacillin-tazobactam in hospitals with definitive interruption of cefepime supply and of meropenem in hospitals with transient interruption of cefepime supply. Consumption of each alternative antibiotic tended to increase during the cefepime shortage and to decrease when the cefepime generic was released. These shifts were associated with significantly higher overall costs. There was no significant change in hospitals with uninterrupted cefepime supply. The alternative antibiotics for which an increase in consumption showed the strongest association with a progression of resistance were the carbapenems. The use of alternative antibiotics after cefepime withdrawal was associated with a significant increase in piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem use and in overall costs and with a decrease in susceptibility ofP. aeruginosain hospitals. This warrants caution with regard to shortages and withdrawals of antibiotics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Bessière ◽  
Taoufik Elkemali

Purpose – This article aims to examine the link between uncertainty and analysts' reaction to earnings announcements for a sample of European firms during the period 1997-2007. In the same way as Daniel et al., the authors posit that overconfidence leads to an overreaction to private information followed by an underreaction when the information becomes public. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the authors test analysts' overconfidence through the overreaction preceding a public announcement followed by an underreaction after the announcement. If overconfidence occurs, over- and underreactions should be, respectively, observed before and after the public announcement. If uncertainty boosts overconfidence, the authors predict that these two combined misreactions should be stronger when uncertainty is higher. Uncertainty is defined according to technology intensity, and separate two types of firms: high-tech or low-tech. The authors use a sample of European firms during the period 1997-2007. Findings – The results support the overconfidence hypothesis. The authors jointly observe the two phenomena of under- and overreaction. Overreaction occurs when the information has not yet been made public and disappears just after public release. The results also show that both effects are more important for the high-tech subsample. For robustness, the authors sort the sample using analyst forecast dispersion as a proxy for uncertainty and obtain similar results. The authors also document that the high-tech stocks crash in 2000-2001 moderated the overconfidence of analysts, which then strongly declined during the post-crash period. Originality/value – This study offers interesting insights in two ways. First, in the area of financial markets, it provides a test of a major over- and underreaction model and implements it to analysts' reactions through their revisions (versus investors' reactions through stock returns). Second, in a broader way, it deals with the link between uncertainty and biases. The results are consistent with the experimental evidence and extend it to a cross-sectional analysis that reinforces it as pointed out by Kumar.


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