scholarly journals The Impact of Plastic Money Use on VAT Compliance: Evidence from EU Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 239 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Amakoe D. Alognon ◽  
◽  
Antonios M. Koumpias ◽  
Jorge Martínez-Vázquez ◽  
◽  
...  

This paper examines the impact of credit and debit card usage on VAT compliance using annual national level data for 26 European Union countries from 2000 to 2016. Exploiting spatio temporal variation in plastic money use along with an instrumental variables approach, we find that a 1% increase in card payments reduces VAT gaps 0.51 percentage points whereas a 1% increase in cash withdrawals increases VAT gaps by 0.6 percentage points. Our contribution lies in using more adequate measures of VAT compliance gap and in accounting for potential confounders such as the ex-ante enforcement capacity of tax administrations.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa ◽  
Amirabbas Mofidi ◽  
Swenneke van den Heuvel ◽  
Thijmen van Bree ◽  
Frithjof Michaelsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Estimates of the economic burden of work injuries and diseases can help policymakers prioritize occupational health and safety policies and interventions in order to best allocate scarce resources. Several attempts have been made to estimate these economic burdens at the national level, but most have not included a comprehensive list of cost components, and none have attempted to implement a standard approach across several countries. The aim of our study is to develop a framework for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for selected European Union countries. Methods We develop an incidence cost framework using a bottom-up approach to estimate the societal burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for five European Union countries. Three broad categories of costs are considered—direct healthcare, indirect productivity and intangible health-related quality of life costs. We begin with data on newly diagnosed work injuries and diseases from calendar year 2015. We consider lifetime costs for cases across all categories and incurred by all stakeholders. Sensitivity analysis is undertaken for key parameters. Results Indirect costs are the largest part of the economic burden, then direct costs and intangible costs. As a percentage of GDP, the highest overall costs are for Poland (10.4%), then Italy (6.7%), The Netherlands (3.6%), Germany (3.3%) and Finland (2.7%). The Netherlands has the highest per case costs (€75,342), then Italy (€58,411), Germany (€44,919), Finland (€43,069) and Poland (€38,918). Costs per working-age population are highest for Italy (€4956), then The Netherlands (€2930), Poland (€2793), Germany (€2527) and Finland (€2331). Conclusions Our framework serves as a template for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases across countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Results can assist policymakers with identifying health and safety priority areas based on the magnitude of components, particularly when stratified by key characteristics such as industry, injury/disease, age and sex. Case costing can serve as an input into the economic evaluation of prevention initiatives. Comparisons across countries provide insights into the relevant performance of health and safety systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Hartmut Müller ◽  
Marije Louwsma

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M. Alonso ◽  
Judith Clifton ◽  
Daniel Díaz-Fuentes

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-139
Author(s):  
Zigmas Lydeka ◽  
Akvile Karaliute

Innovation and unemployment are two economic elements related to each other that have been constantly analyzed in the economic debates from the beginning of the 21st century. A classical question is whether innovation creates or destroys jobs. The conventional approach contemplates innovation as a transformation instrument of an economy, resulting in economic growth and jobs creation. Another approach points out to various mechanisms which can compensate the primary effect of innovations and cause an ultimate effect of innovations on labour demand to be unclear. In view of the fact that there are many different explanations about the impact of innovations on labour demand, this paper, after the analysis of theoretical and empirical scientific literature in this field, provides an empirical analysis with unemployment as the dependent variable. The authors use data from 28 European Union countries for the period of 1992–2016 and pursue to research how technological innovations affect unemployment rate. There are two core independent variables – expenditure on R&D (research and development) and number of patent applications – as the main proxies for technological innovations. Control variables that affect unemployment are included to the model as well. The model was estimated using a dynamic two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM-SYS) of a panel data system. After the composition of 12 different estimations of the model, the results suggest that, in some cases, technological innovations affect unemployment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasheda Khanam

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of child health (measured by nutritional status) on schooling performance of Bangladeshi children. Design/methodology/approach – The data set used in this study comes from a survey titled “Micronutrient and Gender Study (MNGS) in Bangladesh”. The survey was administered by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The author controls for the potential endogeneity of child health by an instrumental variables approach. The results indicate that the impact of child health on school achievement will be overestimated if endogeneity of child health is ignored. Findings – The results reveal that child health has significant effects on school enrolment and grade attainment, although it does not affect the current school attendance. The impact of child health is stronger for school enrolment compared to grade attainment. Originality/value – This study improves the understanding on the relationship between child health and schooling in several ways. First, the author controls for the potential endogeneity of child health by an instrumental variables approach. The chosen instrumental variables (i.e. heights of father and mother) are strong predictors of child health and satisfy the validity test. Second, this study examines the effects of child health on wide ranges of schooling measures: enrolment, attendance and attainment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 12) ◽  
pp. 550-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Tłuczak

Models and methods of spatial econometrics are gaining more and more popularity. Their advantage is the opportunity to examine the interrelationships between individual territorial units. These methods, apart from the own potential of the region, take into account the impact of neighbouring objects and location in space. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between the potential and the level of competitiveness of individual European Union countries in the field of slaughter cattle production. In addition, the paper attempts to determine the specialisation of individual EU countries in the production of slaughter animals by sector. The analysis covered the years 2010–2016, using Eurostat data. The obtained results allow indicating countries in which there is a strong concentration of income potential (Sweden, Spain, Great Britain, France and Belgium). Countries in which the highest values of the potential quotients in the entire European Union are distinguished (Poland, Finland and Belgium).<br />


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 2235042X2097116
Author(s):  
Jason Gurney ◽  
James Stanley ◽  
Diana Sarfati

Objective: The burden of chronic disease is not evenly shared within our society. In this manuscript, we use comprehensive national-level data to compare morbidity burden between ethnic groups in New Zealand. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of morbidity among all New Zealanders aged 18+ (n = 3,296,837), stratified by ethnic group (Māori, Pacific, Asian, Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, European/Other), using national-level hospitalisation and pharmaceutical data and two measures of morbidity (the M3 and P3 indices). Results and Conclusions: We observed substantial disparities for Māori and Pacific peoples compared to other ethnic groups for the vast majority of commonly-diagnosed morbidities. These disparities appeared strongest for the most-common conditions – meaning that Māori and Pacific peoples disproportionately shoulder an increased burden of these key conditions. We also observed that prevalence of these conditions emerged at earlier ages, meaning that Māori and Pacific peoples also experience a disproportionate impact of individual conditions on the quality and quantity of life. Finally, we observed strong disparities in the prevalence of conditions that may exacerbate the impact of COVID-19, such as chronic pulmonary, liver or renal disease. The substantial inequities we have presented here have been created and perpetuated by the social determinants of health, including institutionalised racism: thus solutions will require addressing these systemic issues as well as addressing inequities in individual-level care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A17.3-A18
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa ◽  
Amirabbas Mofidi ◽  
Young Jung ◽  
Thijmen van Bree ◽  
Swenneke van den Heuvel ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to estimate the economic burden of occupational injuries and diseases in five European Union countries for the reference year 2015.We used a ‘bottom up’ approach to estimate the economic burden from a societal perspective for Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Poland. Three broad cost categories were considered—direct health care, indirect productivity, and intangible health-related quality of life costs. The methods started with data on newly diagnosed occupational injuries and diseases from calendar year 2015. We considered lifetime costs for cases across all cost categories. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to assess the impact of key parameters.Indirect costs represent the largest proportion of total costs (with the exception is Poland), ranging from 66% for The Netherland to 43% for Poland. Intangible costs are the second highest, ranging from 49% for Poland to 21% for Finland and The Netherlands. Direct costs range from 16% for Finland to 8% for Poland.Average per case costing is highest for The Netherlands (€75,342), followed by Italy (€58,411), German (€44,919), Finland (€43,069) and lastly Poland (€38,918). Total costs as a percentage of GDP are highest for Poland (10.4%), followed by Italy (6.7%), The Netherlands (3.6%), Germany (3.3%) and lastly Finland (2.7%). In terms of costs per working population, the value is highest for Italy (€4,956), followed by The Netherland (€2,930), Poland (€2,793), Germany (€2,527) and lastly Finland (€2,331).The economic burden of occupational injuries and diseases in the countries considered are substantial, despite efforts to reduce adverse workplace exposures. Our case costs and total economic burden estimates provide a basis for undertaking economic evaluations of prevention efforts and can serve as a template for monitoring and evaluation at the country level. We advance the methods on several fronts.


Author(s):  
Marcin Wiśniewski ◽  
Urszula Religioni ◽  
Piotr Merks

Community pharmacies are the primary entities providing drugs to individual patients in Poland. The pharmacy market has been changing for many years due to significant changes in market regulations. These changes significantly affect the profitability of pharmacies, which may impact the quality of pharmacotherapy. The small number of pharmacies, which resulted from changes in the law in 2017, can influence the level of patient care. The article presents the community pharmacies market in Poland. Particular attention is paid to the legal regulations affecting community pharmacies and the impact of these regulations on the overall shape of the market. The Polish system’s specificity, including the pharmacy market indicators, has been compared with data from other European Union countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Marta Miedzińska

The foundations and the operating framework of the institutions of the European Union and its Member States are determined by legal acts established at the EU level. The legal bases at the EU level contain key standards in the scope of protection of the financial interests of the European Union and are the main determinants for the individual EU countries when their legal institutions create legal bases at the national level. The aim of this article is to present the main legal basis for the protection of the financial interests of the European Union at the EU level, which will help to examine the impact of these provisions on detecting irregularities and fraud in the EU.


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