Empirical Evidence on the Economic Impacts of Hotel Taxes

Tourist taxes are an important source of revenue for many governments. In the United States, all states impose them in the form of hotel/motel occupancy taxes, yet there is little ex post evidence as to whether such taxes affect occupancy rates. This study uses a precise establishment-level data source to examine California's varying rates by city, enabling powerful tests. The author finds that such taxes have negligible impacts on hotel sales and employment. On the other hand, hotels/motels operating in higher tax-rate cities tended to have more financial stress in terms of lower Dun and Bradstreet credit ratings.

Start-up Nation? Slave Wealth and Entrepreneurship in Civil War Maryland

Slave property rights yielded a source of collateral as well as a coerced labor force. Using data from Dun and Bradstreet linked to the 1860 census and slave schedules in Maryland, we find that slaveowners were more likely to start businesses prior to the uncompensated 1864 emancipation, even conditional on total wealth and human capital, and this advantage disappears after emancipation. We assess a number of potential explanations, and find suggestive evidence that this is due to the superiority of slave wealth as a source of collateral for credit rather than any advantage in production. The collateral dimension of slave property magnifies its importance to historical American economic development.

The Impact Of Geographic Location, Industry Type, Number Of Employees And Years In Business On The Economic Success Of Minority Women Entrepreneurs

The topic of entrepreneurship is central in both scholarly and public policy discussions of minority businesses, yet few studies have examined the factors leading to economic success for minority women entrepreneurs. This paper partially addresses the oversight by analyzing Dun and Bradstreet data on businesses owned by Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Indian and Black women, focusing on the relationship between sales volume (the dependent variable) and number of employees, years in business, race and industry type (the independent variables). The results from this paper add a new dimension to this line of research, building on previous studies that document the growing significance of entrepreneurship among minority women. The results show that there is indeed an impact on sales volume by number of employees, years in business, race and industry type.

A Model of Excellence for Training Managers And Non-Supervisory Employees In The Food Service Industry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived effectiveness of instructional techniques used when training management and non-supervisory employees in the food service industry. Surveys were sent to 716 training directors of the largest food service organizations in the United States as listed by Dun and Bradstreet. A 72.5 percent response rate was achieved with the use of two follow-up mailings. The results of the factor analysis produced an eight factor structure of effective approaches for training employees in the food service industry.