scholarly journals Sustainability level, corruption and tax evasion: a cross-country analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Khlif ◽  
Achraf Guidara ◽  
Khaled Hussainey

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between the level of sustainability and tax evasion and test whether the level of corruption moderates such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 65 developed and developing countries. Tax evasion is measured using a macro indirect approach used by Schneider et al. (2010). The sustainability level and corruption variables are collected from The Global Competitiveness Report for 2012-2013. Findings This study finds that the level of tax evasion is negatively associated with the level of sustainability (overall score and social and environmental score) and the quality of infrastructure. When we distinguish between low- and high-corruption countries, we find that this negative association is significant for low-corruption countries and insignificant for high-corruption countries. These results imply that the level of corruption may reduce the tendency of individuals in a given state to accept and trust their government in general and comply with the tax rules in particular. Originality/value Our empirical findings have policy implications for governments with high levels of tax evasion, as they highlight the importance of states’ engagements towards their citizens in reducing tax evasion.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Amara ◽  
Hichem Khlif

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between the financial crime and tax evasion and tests whether corruption moderates such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach Tax evasion measure is based on Schneider et al. (2010). Financial crime is collected from Basel anti-money laundering (AML) report. Findings Using a sample of 120 countries, the authors find that the level of financial crime is positively associated with tax evasion. When testing for the moderating effect of corruption, they document that the positive relationship between financial crime and tax evasion is more pronounced for high corrupt environments. Originality/value The findings have policy implications for governments aiming to combat tax evasion and financial crimes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Khlif ◽  
Achraf Guidara

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the quality of management schools and tax evasion and tests whether the strength of auditing and reporting standards moderates such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach Tax evasion is measured using the macro-indirect approach based on Schneider, Buehn and Monterngro (2010). The quality of management schools is collected from The Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015. Findings On the basis of sample of 137 countries, the authors document that the level of tax evasion is negatively associated with the quality of management schools and the strength of auditing and reporting standards. When the authors distinguish between low- and high-strength of auditing and reporting standards countries, the authors find that the negative and significant association remains stable only for high-strength of auditing and reporting standards countries. Practical implications These results imply that the quality of management schools through its output (managers, fiscal controllers, auditors and businessmen) may increase the tendency of individuals in a given country to comply with tax rules and that legal enforcement may affect the ethical behaviours of these actors with regard to tax evasion. Originality/value The empirical findings have policy implications for governments with high levels of tax evasion since they highlight the importance of the quality of higher educational system in shaping tax compliance behaviour.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Achraf Guidara ◽  
Anis El Ammari ◽  
Hichem Khlif

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the association between the strength of auditing and reporting standards (SARS, hereafter) and sustainability and investigates whether ethical behavior of firms moderates relationship between SARS and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consists of 500 country-year observations over the period of 2014–2017. Sustainability is collected from the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index Reports for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, while SARS and ethical behaviors are collected from the Global Competitiveness Reports for the same years.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that the SARS is associated with sustainability. Similarly, ethical behavior of firms has a positive and significant effect on sustainability. When testing for the moderating effect of ethical behavior of firms on the association between SARS and sustainability, the results show that the positive association SARS becomes positive and more significant for countries where firms operate with high ethical behaviors, while the association becomes insignificant for settings where firms operate with low ethical behaviors.Originality/valueThe findings emphasize the role played by SARS and business ethics in improving sustainability. These results may have policy implications for governments aiming to improve sustainability by strengthening auditing and reporting standards and enforcing laws obliging firms to act ethically.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Khlif ◽  
Ines Amara

Purpose This paper aims to examine the association between political connections and tax evasion and test whether corruption level affects this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Tax evasion measure is based on Schneider et al. (2010), while country’s political connection trend is based on Faccio (2006). Findings Using a sample of 35 countries, the authors document that political connections are positively associated with tax evasion and this relationship becomes stronger for high corrupt environment. Originality/value The findings have policy implications for countries aiming to combat tax evasion as political connection trends in one country reduce the level of tax compliance. In addition, political connections and corruption play a complimentary role in increasing tax evasion practices.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-118
Author(s):  
Philip Kamau ◽  
Eno L. Inanga ◽  
Kami Rwegasira

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of currency risks on the financial performance of multilateral banks (MBs). Financial performance is measured here by after-tax accounting profitability or losses. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative hypothesis regarding the impact of currency risks on the financial performance of MBs was tested by a two-tailed t test for significance of the b regression coefficient. Findings – A regression analysis was done on the total currency risk and financial performance of MBs after taking into account currency risk over eight years. The analysis of variance of the regression of the b coefficient led to non-rejection of the null hypothesis of no association, F(1, 6) = 0.77, p > 0.05. The results of the two-tailed t test on the b regression coefficient suggest that the relationship between currency risk and financial performance is statistically insignificant. Therefore, it was concluded that there is no significant impact of currency risk on the financial performance of MBs. Research limitations/implications – The results of the study can be generalized only for MBs given their peculiar characteristics as wholesale banks, which are owned mainly by governments and are generally not listed on stock exchanges. Originality/value – The study is of value to those interested in the multilateral banking industry. To the authors’ knowledge it is the first study providing empirical evidence on currency risk impact on MBs financial performance. The study finds that the currency risk impact on the financial performance of MBs is insignificant. The results are also useful to managers of MBs in terms of benchmarking their effectiveness in managing currency risk compared to their peers and learn from better performers. It has also policy implications in terms of justifying the current self-regulatory status, shareholder monitoring and governance of MBs as they are not significantly impacted by currency risk as it appears to be effectively managed.


Author(s):  
Ngan Truong ◽  
Tahir Nisar ◽  
Dan Knox ◽  
Guru Prabhakar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the service quality of full-service restaurants in Vietnam to explore possible factors that may impact customer perception, which subsequently influences customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Based on the DINESERV model and service clues, the possible dimensions to construct customer perception were realised, and four key dimensions were suggested. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from four urban local full-service restaurants in Vietnam, and factor analysis and SEM-PLS were then performed to uncover the relationship between customer perception, satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Findings The results suggest that customer perception significantly influences customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions, and customer satisfaction itself is also found to have influence on behavioural intentions. Originality/value This is an original piece of work which contributes to the exploration of service quality in developing countries and to the incorporation of cleanliness into analyses of restaurant service quality in particular.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 887-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlon Fernandes Rodrigues Alves ◽  
Simone Vasconcelos Ribeiro Galina ◽  
Nayele Macini ◽  
Luísa Cagica Carvalho ◽  
Teresa Costa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in terms of internationalization and innovation. Supported by a resource-based framework of early internationalizing firms, the authors investigated multiple conditions for the relationship between internationalization and innovation relative to gender in nascent companies. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, the authors used survey data related to entrepreneurial activity in 50 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Based on a model of seven factors (internationalization, innovation, gender, skills, opportunity, sector, and country), the authors tested the significance of the relationships between these factors by means of a hierarchical log-linear analysis. Findings The results indicate the low competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in general, but outline some singularities, especially between developed and developing countries. Originality/value This study offers cross-country empirical evidence of how factors of different levels interact with each other. In this way, the authors shed light on the competitiveness of nascent companies, especially regarding gender differences.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaia Melloni

Purpose – Intellectual capital (IC) is fundamental to understanding how firms create value; however, current IC disclosure (ICD) has been described as inadequate due to the lack of an established IC framework and companies’ actual commitment to report IC information. The International Integrated Reporting Council aims to foster ICD by means of integrated reporting (IR); such a report should display how IC and other forms of capital (e.g. financial) contribute to value creation over time. Drawing on impression management (IM) studies, the purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of ICD offered in IR. Design/methodology/approach – A manual content analysis of all the reports available in the International Integrated Reporting Council web site is run considering both the content of ICD and specific linguistic attributes (evidence, time orientation and tone). In addition, the study tests the relationship between the positive ICD tone and specific characteristics that may incentive managers to manipulate their disclosure to determine whether firms use ICD to manage public perceptions of corporate behaviour. Findings – The results of the content analysis show that majority of ICD is focused on relational capital, with limited quantitative and forward-looking information. Additionally, compared to non-ICD, ICD is significantly more optimistic. Furthermore, the positive tone of ICD is significantly associated with declining performance, bigger size and higher level of intangibles supporting the use of ICD as an IM strategy. Originality/value – The research contributes to the literature offering evidence of the quality of the ICD offered in the IR and demonstrating that ICD offered in the IR is used by managers opportunistically to advance their image.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jikun Huang ◽  
Pengfei Shi

PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to analyze the path and speed of rural transformation (RT) and explore the relationship between farmer's income and RT as well as structural transformation (ST) and typology of RT in the past four decades in China.Design/methodology/approachBased on the major indicators of RT and ST, graphic illustration is used to analyze the relationships between these indicators and farmer's income using the time-series and cross-provincial data in 1978–2017.FindingsWhile China has experienced significant RT and ST, the levels and speeds of these transformations differed largely among provinces. Higher and faster RT and ST are often positively associated with the higher and faster growth of rural income. Based on this study, a general typology of rural and structural transformations and rural income is developed. The likely impacts of institutions, policies and investments (IPIs) on RT are discussed.Originality/valueThe authors believe that the findings of this study provide the insights on regional RT and ST and policy implications to increase farmer's income through facilitating and speeding up RT and ST with appropriate IPIs during the rural transformation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-382
Author(s):  
Angel Arturo Pacheco Paredes ◽  
Clark Wheatley

Purpose This study aims to extend recent research analyzing the effect of auditor busyness on audit quality. Specifically, this study explores the effect on audit quality of a change of fiscal year-end to or from an audit firm’s busy period. Design/methodology/approach Empirical archival. Findings When firms change their fiscal year-end to a period when the auditor is less busy, client firms are rewarded with lower audit fees and auditors are rewarded with a reduction in required effort. This study finds no difference in the level of audit quality after a change in fiscal year-end. Practical implications There are significant implications for audit firms as they may gain cost advantages by successfully promoting off-season fiscal year-ends, and reduce the negative effect on employees associated with “busy season” stress. Similarly, client firms may find that audit costs are reduced when they adopt a less “busy” fiscal year-end. Social implications These results have policy implications for regulators because regulators often dictate the fiscal year-end for certain industries or traded securities. Such dictates may thus introduce inefficiencies into the market for audit services. Originality/value These results should guide regulators in their decisions to dictate fiscal year-ends and firms in their choice of reporting periods.


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