THE PREVALENCE OF STUNTING, POVERTY, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDONESIA: A PANEL DATA DYNAMIC CAUSALITY ANALYSIS

In recent years, policy discussions and debates have emphasised the efficiency of development policies to translate economic growth into sustainable economic development. One of the main aspects in this regard is achieving improvement in child nutrition through economic development. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of literature that empirically verifies the causality between stunting, poverty, and economic growth in 34 provinces in Indonesia using Klassen’s typology analysis and Panel VECM. This study indicates that the prevalence of stunting has a direct causality towards poverty and economic growth in the long-term by 0.02%. Handling high the prevalence of stunting needs to be focused on in all provinces in Indonesia. Poverty directly affects the stunting prevalence and economic growth in the long-term by 0.06%. The percentage of the population, poverty outside Java, including Nusa Tenggara, Moluccas, and Papua, is also higher than in Java. Therefore, efforts to tackle poverty should be more focused on these areas. Economic growth has a direct causality to the prevalence of stunting and poverty by 0.57%. It proves that the country’s economic growth is accompanied by socioeconomic development and improving the poor’s livelihoods and welfare. Can also recommend specific nutrition and sensitive nutrition interventions to impact the massive reduction of stunting in Indonesia.Keywords: Stunting, Poverty, Economic Growth, IndonesiaJEL: I10; I18; I32; O10; O15; P36

Taxes, Expenditure and Development Nexus: A Panel VECM Analysis on Romanian NUTS2 Regions

The investigation starts with the computation of the Socio-Economic Development Index (SEDI index) with data for Romania. Based on the index values, the long-run relationship between taxes and expenditure is assessed, for Romanian NUTS2 regions from 2000 to 2016. According to the results, there is a Granger causality relationship from budget revenue and expenditure to SEDI. The results emphasize the significant impact of taxes and expenditure on socio-economic development. The paper underlines the need for effective public strategies to be implemented by the authorities at the regional level, which may propel the socio-economic development. The results support the fiscal synchronization hypothesis.

The effect of card payments on VAT revenue in the euro area: evidence from a panel VECM

PurposeA growing amount of micro-data analyses has highlighted the importance of information trails, such as generated by card transactions, for improving tax compliance. Yet, time series evidence indicating a positive effect of card payments on VAT revenue performance has been scarce. This paper revisits the question of the effect of card payments on VAT revenue by using annual and quarterly panel data for the 19 euro area member states, covering the period 2000–2016.Design/methodology/approachA panel VECM is employed in order to address endogeneity issues and to account for common stochastic trends, which, is shown to be crucial in revealing the anticipated positive effect of card use on the performance of VAT.FindingsThe analysis confirms that a higher share of card payments in private consumption increases VAT revenue and the efficiency of revenue collection. Higher gains are estimated for countries with above average self-employment.Originality/valueThe contribution of the paper is twofold. First, to our knowledge it provides the first confirmation of the well-established literature on information trails using aggregate macroeconomic time series in a multi-country setting. Second, it has very timely policy implications, as low-hanging fruit are identified in euro-area economies with much to gain from strengthening the credibility of their fiscal performance, such as Greece.