scholarly journals Taiwan's budgetary responses to COVID-19: the use of special budgets

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Jie Liao ◽  
Nai-Ling Kuo ◽  
Shih-Hsien Chuang

PurposeThe authors examine the Taiwanese government's budgetary responses to COVID-19, with a focus on the special budgets created for containing the virus, undertaking bailouts and providing economic stimulus. The authors assess the short-term and long-term fiscal implications of the budgetary measures and discuss how Taiwan's experiences could provide lessons for other countries for future emergencies.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect data from Taiwan's official documents and news reports and compare the special budgets proposed by the Taiwanese government during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors discuss lessons learned from the 2008–09 special budget and possible concerns of the 2020 special budgets. In the conclusions, the authors discuss potential long-term implications for Taiwan's budgetary system as well as possible lessons for other countries based on Taiwan's experiencesFindingsThe authors found that the 2008–09 special budgets focused only on economic stimulus, whereas the 2020 special budgets covered COVID-19 treatments, bailouts and economic stimulus. In 2020, the Taiwanese government devised targeted bailout plans for industries and individuals most affected by the pandemic and created the Triple Stimulus Vouchers to boost the economy. Since the special budgets were largely funded through borrowing, the authors pointed out concerns for fiscal sustainability and intergenerational equity.Originality/valueCOVID-19 has changed how the world functions massively. This work adds to the literature on COVID-19 by providing Taiwan's budgetary responses to the pandemic. This work also identifies ways for Taiwan to improve the existing budgetary system and discusses lessons for other countries.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayana Muttur Ranganathan

Purpose Population ageing, extended coverage of beneficiaries and rise in benefit levels of a public-funded universal social pension scheme (USPS) for elderly individuals may exert fiscal pressures on India’s General Government. Using accounting frameworks, this paper aims at an assessment of public expenditure requirements of USPS scenarios in the short term and their long-term implications for fiscal sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Short-term public expenditure requirements are quantified for the current pension scheme and proposed USPS scenarios, if pension benefits are adjustable for official poverty line, per capita income, the inflation rate and income elasticity of public pension expenditure. Long-term fiscal sustainability is determined by the methodology of generational accounting. Findings Public expenditure requirements for the USPS scenarios are remarkably higher as compared to the current expenditure on the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS). Short-term analyses offer economic justifications for an increase in pension benefits either by a single adjustment factor or combined adjustment factors but at a cost of remarkable increase in public expenditure requirements. Long-term analyses show that the IGNOAPS and proposed USPS scenarios are fiscally sustainable but sensitive to five parameters (productivity growth, inflation rate, discount rate, income elasticity public pension expenditure and income elasticity of health expenditure). A policy mix of these parameters leads to fiscal sustainability of the IGNOAPS and proposed USPS scenarios with differential impacts on inter-generational distribution of welfare by tax and transfer adjustments. Research limitations/implications Application of the generational accounting methodology is new for India’s pension economics and may have applicability and relevance for future extensions and analyses of other fiscal policy issues. This paper sets a benchmark for such extensions and applications. Practical implications The analyses and implications offer economic justifications for increase in levels of pension benefits by the current pension scheme and proposed USPS scenarios, introduction of sustainable USPS scenarios under current fiscal policies and choice of design parameters for a fiscally sustainable USPS. Social implications Social pensions have implications for providing income security and livelihood benefits for all elderly civilians in society. Originality/value The paper adds to the existing knowledge on economic analyses and fiscal implications of India’s old age pension policies in general and social pension policies in particular. Subject to the comparability of socio-economic structures and pension programmes, the methodology and public policy analyses of this paper may be of relevance and applicability for developing countries in Asia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Alan Fun-Foo Chan ◽  
Keng-Kok Tee ◽  
Thanuja Rathakrishnan ◽  
Jo Ann Ho ◽  
Siew-Imm Ng

Learning outcomes After attempting the case, users are able to: analyse issues and problems faced by a call centre in Malaysia. Determine the root causes of the problems faced by call centre employees and generate alternative solutions to solve the problems faced by the company and to ensure the sustainability of the business. Case overview/synopsis This case was about the challenges faced by Daniel, the General Manager of an integrated security protection system company, Secure First (SF). Despite investing in the latest security technologies, conducting a major overhaul of the procedures, introducing an enhanced digital system at the call centre and providing training to the call agents, it was on the verge of losing its important long-term client due to its substandard performance. The client experienced major losses due to break-ins. After a thorough investigation, the problem surfaced in their call centre. Most of the staff were not familiar with the newly adopted system. The circumstances worsened when many of the call centre’s senior employees were tendering their resignations. The case discusses the aspect of employee satisfaction, staff performance that led to the turnover issue amongst employees in a call centre. The case explores what short-term and long-term strategies could Daniel suggest to change the call centre’s course to retain SF’s key account in times of desperation. Complexity academic level This case has a moderate level of difficulty and may be used in undergraduate students. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 6: Human resource management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Navendu Prakash ◽  
Shveta Singh ◽  
Seema Sharma

PurposeThis paper empirically examines the short-term and long-term associations between risk, capital and efficiency (R-C-E) in the Indian banking sector across 2008–2019 to answer the presence of causation or contemporaneousness in the R-C-E nexus.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on three objectives. First, the authors determine short-term causality in the risk–efficiency relationship by studying the simultaneous influence of a wide array of banking risks on DEA-based technical and cost efficiency in static and dynamic situations. Second, the authors introduce bank capital and contemporaneously determine the interplay between R-C-E using seemingly unrelated regression equation (SURE) and three-staged least squares (3SLS). Last, the authors assess stability in inter-temporal associations using Granger causality in an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) generalized method of moments (GMM) framework.FindingsThe authors contend that high capital buffers reduce insolvency risk and increase bank stability. Technically efficient banks carry lesser equity buffers, suggesting a trade-off between capital and efficiency. However, capitalization makes banks more technically efficient but not cost-efficient, implying that over-capitalization creates cost inefficiencies, which, in line with the cost skimping hypothesis, forces banks to undertake risk. Concerning causal relationships, the authors conclude that inefficiency Granger-causes insolvency and increases bank risk. Further, steady increases in capital precede technical and cost efficiency improvements. The converse also holds as more efficient banks depict temporal increases in capitalization levels.Originality/valueThe paper is perhaps the first that acknowledges the influence of the “time” perspective on the R-C-E nexus in an emerging economy and advocates that prudential regulations must focus on short-term and long-term intricacies among the triumvirate to foster a stable banking environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Unsal

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how firms’ relationships with employees define their debt maturity. The authors empirically test the role of employee litigations in influencing firms’ choice of short-term versus long-term debt. The authors study employee relations by analyzing the importance of the workplace environment on capital structure. Design/methodology/approach The author’s test hypotheses using a sample of US publicly traded firms between 2000 and 2017, including 3,056 unique firms with 4,256 unique chief executive officer, adopting the fixed effect panel model. Findings The authors document that employee litigations have a significant negative effect on the use of short-term debt and a significant positive affect on long-term debt. Employee litigations, along with legal fees, outcomes and charging parties, matter the most in explaining debt maturity. In addition, frequently sued firms abandon the short-term debt market and use less shareholders’ equity to finance their operations while relying more on the longer debt market. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of employee mistreatment in debt maturity choice. The study extends the lawsuit and finance literature by examining unique, hand-collected data sets of employee lawsuits, allegations, violations, settlements, charging parties, case outcomes and case durations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lakshminarayana Kompella

Purpose This paper aims to explain transitions in a socio-technical system characterized by non-economic entities that influence economic activity, i.e. embeddedness and coalitions. The selected socio-technical system is an Indian electric network with an interventionist policy. Its embeddedness and coalitions drive the transition. The insights from such analysis expand socio-technical transition theory and provide valuable insights to practitioners in their policymaking. Design/methodology/approach The authors need to observe the effects of non-economic institutions in their setting. Moreover, in India, the regional policies influence decision-making; therefore, selected two Indian states. The two Indian states, along with their non-economic entities, provided diverse analytic and heuristic views. Findings The findings show that coalitions, with their embeddedness in the absence of any mediating policy systems, act as external pressures and influence innovation and the socio-technical system’s transition trajectory. Their coalitions’ embeddedness follows a shaping, not selection logic. Thereby influence innovations in cumulating as stable designs. Such an approach provides benefits in the short-term but not in the long-term. Research limitations/implications The study selected two states and examined two of the four trajectories. By considering other states, the authors can obtain more renewable energy investments and further insights into the transformational trajectory. Practical implications The study highlights the coalition dynamics specific to the Indian electric power network and its transition trajectories. The non-economic entities influenced transition trajectories, innovation and policymaking of the socio-technical system. Originality/value The study expands the socio-technical transition theory by including embeddedness. The embeddedness brings a shaping logic instead of a selection logic.


Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1894-1912
Author(s):  
Samra Chaudary

Purpose The paper takes a behavioral approach by making use of the prospect theory to unveil the impact of salience on short-term and long-term investment decisions. This paper aims to investigate the group differences for two types of investors’ groups, i.e. individual investors and professional investors. Design/methodology/approach The study uses partial least square-based structural equation modeling technique, measurement invariance test and multigroup analysis test on a unique data set of 277 active equity traders which included professional money managers and individual investors. Findings Results showed that salience has a significant positive impact on both short-term and long-term investment decisions. The impact was almost 1.5 times higher for long-term investment decision as compared to short-term decision. Furthermore, multigroup analysis revealed that the two groups (individual investors and professional investors) were statistically significantly different from each other. Research limitations/implications The study has implications for financial regulators, money managers and individual investors as it was found that individual investors suffer more with salience heuristic and may end up with sub-optimal portfolios due to inefficient diversification. Thus, investors should be cautious in fully relying on salience and avoid such bias to improve investment returns. Practical implications The study concludes with a discussion of policy and regulatory implications on how to minimize salience bias to achieve optimum and diversified portfolios. Originality/value The study has significantly contributed to the growing body of applied behavioral research in the discipline of finance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Rodgers ◽  
Jiju Antony ◽  
Zhen He ◽  
Elizabeth A. Cudney ◽  
Chad Laux

Purpose The purpose of this paper, builds on previous studies that explored the research patterns over 15 years, is to consider the current status of the integration of Lean and Six Sigma. More specifically, this research addresses whether Lean and Six Sigma are stronger together and explores the reasons why Lean researchers and practitioners may be less likely to integrate Six Sigma in their work. Design/methodology/approach The research utilises a survey of 25 established and respected academics and practitioners from 16 countries. The questionnaire is analysed using a direct content approach and coded in NVivo. Findings The findings suggest that challenges may lie in the perception and understanding of statistics as well as short-term rather than long-term focus on improvement. The findings also suggest that academics and practitioners believe that Lean Six Sigma has developed over time and will continue to develop and improve as a methodology rather than being replaced with a new methodology. Research limitations/implications The survey has a sample size of 25, albeit all respondents are established and very experienced practitioners and academics. Practical implications For organisations that are introducing or refreshing their continuous improvement initiatives, this research identifies some of the challenges and provides the opportunity to address them to maximise the opportunities for success and sustainability. Originality/value The value of this paper is that it further addresses the debate over the integration of Lean and Six Sigma for many organisations which still employ Lean alone, but beyond this it explores how they will continue to develop and whether they are a permanent edition to the quality management landscape or a transition to something else.


2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zofia Czosnyka ◽  
Marek Czosnyka ◽  
John D. Pickard

Abstract Object. The appearance of numerous B waves during intracranial pressure (ICP) registration in patients with idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome (IAHS) is considered to predict good outcome after shunt surgery. The aim of this study was to describe which physical parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system B-waves reflect and to find a method that could replace long-term B-wave analysis. Methods. Ten patients with IAHS were subjected to long-term registration of ICP and a lumbar constant-pressure infusion test. The B-wave presence, CSF outflow resistance (Rout), and relative pulse pressure coefficient (RPPC) were assessed using computerized analysis. The RPPC was introduced as a parameter reflecting the joint effect of elastance and pulsatory volume changes on ICP and was determined by relating ICP pulse amplitudes to mean ICP. Conclusions. The B-wave presence on ICP registration correlates strongly with RPPC (r = 0.91, p < 0.001, 10 patients) but not with CSF Rout. This correlation indicates that B waves—like RPPC—primarily reflect the ability of the CSF system to reallocate and store liquid rather than absorb it. The RPPC-assessing lumbar short-term CSF pulse pressure method could replace the intracranial long-term B-wave analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 592-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Ali Chandio ◽  
Yuansheng Jiang ◽  
Feng Wei ◽  
Xu Guangshun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of short-term loan (STL) vs long-term loan (LTL) on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The econometric estimation is based on cross-sectional data collected in 2016 from 18 villages in three districts, i.e. Shikarpur, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan. The sample data set consist of 180 wheat farmers. The collected data were analyzed through different econometric techniques like Cobb–Douglas production function and Instrumental variables (two-stage least squares) approach. Findings This study reconfirmed that agricultural credit has a positive and highly significant effect on wheat productivity, while the short-term loan has a stronger effect on wheat productivity than the long-term loan. The reasons behind the phenomenon may be the significantly higher usage of agricultural inputs like seeds of improved variety and fertilizers which can be transformed into the wheat yield in the same year. However, the LTL users have significantly higher investments in land preparation, irrigation and plant protection, which may lead to higher wheat production in the coming years. Research limitations/implications In the present study, only those wheat farmers were considered who obtained agricultural loans from formal financial institutions like Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and Khushhali Bank. However, in the rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan, a considerable proportion of small-scale farmers take credit from informal financial channels. Therefore future researchers should consider the informal credits as well. Originality/value This is the first paper to examine the effects of agricultural credit on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. This paper will be an important addition to the emerging literature regarding effects of credit studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Kober ◽  
Paul J. Thambar

PurposeThis paper presents paradox theory as a useful theoretical lens for researchers exploring crises such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The authors argue that paradox theory, which emphasizes a “both/and” as opposed to an “either/or” approach, is ideally suited for management control systems (MCS) research on crises.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a revelatory case approach to provide empirical examples of the insights that paradox theory can provide.FindingsThis paper highlights how MCS can be used to simultaneously manage short-term/operational and long-term/strategic objectives to navigate a crisis. Furthermore, it highlights how MCS can be mobilized during crises to identify and embrace opportunities.Practical implicationsThis paper illustrates the importance of MCS focusing on not just the short-term, but also the long-term, and managing multiple objectives in assisting organizations to survive crisis.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the benefits of using paradox theory to understand the role of MCS in helping organizations manage crises and to use a crisis as a source of opportunity.


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