China's tax cuts seek growth boost and poverty relief

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Poverty Relief ◽  
Government Work ◽  
People's Congress ◽  
Income Tax Reform

Subject Income tax reform in China. Significance As promised by Prime Minister Li Keqiang in his 2018 Government Work Report, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has passed on August 31 an amendment to China's individual income tax. It slashes tax for low-income and middle-income earners, in an effort to keep up with the rapid increase in living costs and better redistribute wealth in one of the most unequal countries in the world, with a Gini coefficient for income of about 0.40. Impacts Recent comments by the Constitution and Law Committee signal that the law may soon be amended again. Important changes to residency rules will have an impact on foreign nationals living in China. New tax residence and anti-avoidance rules will eliminate loopholes and allow for a more efficient tax collection.

Algeria aims to put its finances on a sustainable path

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
Price Increases ◽  
Investment Law ◽  
Subsidy Reform

Significance The prime minister and finance minister, Aymane Benabderrahmane, has loaded some substantive policy reforms into the 2022 budget law, including a provision for reform of the subsidy system, revisions to the investment law and changes to income tax. Impacts There is a high risk that within the next five years there will be a slump in oil and gas prices. Algeria’s heavy reliance on hydrocarbons makes it particularly vulnerable once momentum builds up for global decarbonisation. Subsidy reform will entail price increases, even if they are gradually applied.

Exploring changes of governance discourse of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20
Author(s):  
Hui-Wen Deng ◽  
Kwok Wah Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Rubber Stamp ◽  
People's Congress

Purpose The National People’s Congress (NPC) of People’s Republic of China, the highest organ of state power, is popularly seen as a rubber-stamp entity. However, it has been substantially evolving its roles to accommodate the governance discourses within China’s political system over the decades. This study aims to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC within China’s political system through which to offer a thorough understanding of the NPC’s evolving substantial role in current China. Design/methodology/approach This study deploys a historical approach to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC that has seen a growing importance in China’s political agenda, as argued by this study. Findings The authors find that the NPC has been substantially evolving its role within China’s political system in which the Chinese Communist Party has created different governance discourses. Besides, the NPC and its Standing Committee have asserted its authority as a substantial actor within China’s political system. The NPC is no longer functioned as a rubber-stamp institution, though it is still popularized as a rubber stamp by many scholars. Research limitations/implications This study is a historical elaboration on the development of NPC under three governance discourses. It might be, to some extent, relatively descriptive in nature. Originality/value This study, therefore, sheds some light on a revisit on the governance discourses in current China.

Budget gains may mask Serbia's slow structural reform

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Income Tax ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
To Come ◽  
Progressive Party

Significance The cabinet enters office just in time to host a fresh visit from the IMF, expected later this month. Despite another landslide victory in parliamentary elections on April 24, Prime Minister and Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader Aleksandar Vucic has been in no rush to form his next government. With parliament dissolved in early March, this has been a wasted year for reforms, economic or other. The next government must start working effectively if it is to make up for this, even partly. Impacts Dusan Vujovic, confirmed as finance minister, will remain the focal point for implementing the SBA. A new law on financing local government is likely to be adopted in late August or early September. This will transfer a portion of revenues from income tax from local authorities to the central government. The new government will need to come up with a less ambitious plan for public sector redundancies in 2016 and 2017.

Taxes alone will not close the wealth gap in Africa

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Revenue Sources ◽  
Low Incomes ◽  
Political Patronage ◽  
Per Capita

Subject Taxation effects on inequality in Africa. Significance Economic inequalities in African countries have failed to decline significantly despite gradual growth in per capita GDP over the past several years. Progressive taxation is weak in many countries, but improving this source of revenue alone will not close the inequality gap for some of the world's poorest. Impacts Political patronage and fear of elite emigration will discourage politicians from proposing progressive taxes. If introduced, higher taxes would only reduce inequality if collected transparently and invested in services for those with low incomes. Low income tax rates will limit revenue flows to fund major infrastructure projects, especially if other revenue sources are depressed.

Multilateral governance will advance despite obstacles

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
System Reform ◽  
Government Ownership ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Host Government ◽  
Risk Insurance

Subject Reforming the multilateral development banks. Significance The multilateral development bank (MDB) system has resisted pressure on the international order from US nationalism, but the multiplication of MDBs has considerably reduced their collective effectiveness. This fragmentation is preventing them from adapting to global challenges and harnessing private capital for development. The World Bank spring meeting will consider the proposals that the G20 is exploring. Most do not entail institutional change, but others could pave the way for significant reforms. Impacts The ongoing debate about the World Bank’s need for a capital increase will be peripheral to the larger discussion on MDB system reform. If implemented, a cross-MDB risk insurance platform would create a one-stop shop for investors and opportunities for private reinsurers. System-wide securitisation would create new asset classes and expand opportunities for institutional investors. In-country MDB coordination platforms would boost host government ownership of projects in middle-income and stable low-income countries. Estimates suggest that one dollar of capital paid into MDBs can translate into 50 dollars of public investment if allocated effectively.

Multidimensional poverty in urban Brazil: income, assets and expenses

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Golgher
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Logistic Function ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Expenditures ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Multidimensional Deprivation ◽  
Information Assets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present deprivation in urban Brazil in a multidimensional perspective with dimensions related to household’s objective information, assets in the household, subjective evaluation concerning the dwelling and expenses. Design/methodology/approach – The author used factorial analysis applied to the Brazilian Household Budget Survey. Most dimensions showed a positive correlation with income, while for others it was not observed any significant difference between income ranges. Some types of deprivation specially touched low-income households, while other dimensions differentiated middle-income households, or even higher income households. The author applied a fuzzy perspective to define deprivation membership in each dimension with the use of a modified logistic function. The author observed that households with similar income faced different levels of deprivation in many dimensions. Findings – The author showed that there were significant differences in household’s expense preferences and profiles linked to these findings. Households with high levels of food deprivation relatively spend more on household’s rent, taxes and services, indicating that shelter and then food in the household are the very basic goods. Larger relative expenses with food in the household indicated higher levels of deprivation in all other dimensions, indicating that due to these higher food expenditures, the households could not overcome the deprivation in other dimensions. Households that spend more on smoke and gambling faced higher deprivation in most dimensions, suggesting different expenses priorities, less household oriented. Originality/value – To the best of the knowledge, this is the first attempt to link multidimensional deprivation and expenses profile for Brazilian data.

scholarly journals The comparative economics of financial access in gender economic inclusion

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simplice Asongu ◽  
Rexon Nting
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Financial Access ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Origins ◽  
Gender Inclusion

PurposeThe study has investigated the comparative importance of financial access in promoting gender inclusion in African countries.Design/methodology/approachGender inclusion is proxied by the female labour participation rate while financial channels include: financial system deposits and private domestic credit. The empirical evidence is based on non-contemporary fixed effects regressions.FindingsIn order to provide more implications on comparative relevance, the dataset is categorised into income levels (middle income versus (vs.) low income); legal origins (French civil law vs. English common law); religious domination (Islam vs. Christianity); openness to sea (coastal vs. landlocked); resource-wealth (oil-poor vs. oil-rich) and political stability (stable vs. unstable). Six main hypotheses are tested, notably, that middle income, English common law, Christianity, coastal, oil-rich and stable countries enjoy better levels of “financial access”-induced gender inclusion compared to respectively, low income, French civil law, Islam, landlocked, oil-poor and unstable countries. All six tested hypotheses are validated.Originality/valueThis is the first study on the comparative importance of financial access in gender economic participation.

scholarly journals Is export-led growth hypothesis still valid for sub-Saharan African countries? New evidence from panel data analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Granger Causality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Panel Granger Causality ◽  
Causality Model ◽  
Ssa Countries

PurposeThis study examines the causal relationship between exports and economic growth in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during the period 1980 to 2017. The study also examines whether the causality between these two macroeconomic variables depends on the countries' stage of development as proxied by their per capita income.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a panel cointegration test and panel Granger-causality model to examine the link between exports and growth. The study also incorporates external debt as an intermittent variable in a bivariate setting between exports and economic growth, thereby creating a dynamic multivariate panel Granger-causality model.FindingsAlthough the study found the existence of a long-run relationship between exports and economic growth, the study failed to find any export-led growth response in both low-income and middle-income countries. Instead, the study found evidence of a bidirectional causality and a neutrality response in middle-income and low-income countries, respectively. The study, therefore, concludes that the benefits of an export-led growth hypothesis may have been oversold, and that the strategy may not be desirable to some low-income developing countries.Practical implicationsThese findings have important policy implications as they indicate that the causality between exports and economic growth in SSA countries varies with the countries' stage of development. Consistent with the contemporary literature, the study cautions low-income SSA countries against over-relying on an export-led growth strategy to achieve a sustained growth path as no causality between exports and economic growth has been found to exist in those countries. Instead, such countries should consider pursuing new growth strategies by building the domestic demand side of their economies alongside their export promotion strategies in order to expand the real sector of their economies. For middle-income countries, the study recommends that both export promotion strategies and pro-growth policies should be intensified as economic growth and exports have been found to reinforce each other in those countries.Originality/valueUnlike the previous studies, the current study disaggregated the full sample of SSA countries into two subsets – one comprising of low-income countries and the other consisting of middle-income countries. In addition, the study uses a multivariate Granger-causality model in order to address the emission-of-variable bias. To our knowledge, this may be the first study of its kind in recent years to examine in detail the causal relationship between exports and economic growth in SSA countries using an ECM-based multivariate panel Granger-causality model.

Prospects for East Asia in the second quarter

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Significant Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Military Exercises ◽  
People's Congress ◽  
Economic Outlook

Subject Prospects for East Asia in the second quarter of 2015. Significance Pronouncements made at the National People's Congress (NPC), which opened in Beijing yesterday, will give pointers on policy during the coming months. Debt has become a significant issue in the assessment of China's economic outlook. In Japan, nationwide local elections in April could see setbacks for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, hit in recent days by political funding scandals. Meanwhile, annual large-scale military exercises have just begun in South Korea, antagonising Pyongyang.

New Ethiopian cabinet gears up for next economic plan

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Middle Income Country ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Enterprises

Subject Ethiopia's new government line-up. Significance Following his re-election for a five-year term in early October, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced a cabinet reshuffle. The changes come amid final preparations for the second phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), an ambitious development strategy that seeks to turn Ethiopia into a middle-income country by 2025. Impacts Ethiopia is likely to issue a new euro-bond to mobilise additional funds for GTP II. Sovereign debt levels are manageable, but off-budget loans to state enterprises may cause future distress. Low oil prices are beneficial for managing balance-of-payments and foreign-exchange strains.

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