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1 – 10 of over 4000Rafael Terra and Enlinson Mattos
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role played by the geographic distance between the poor and non‐poor in the local demand for income redistribution and, in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role played by the geographic distance between the poor and non‐poor in the local demand for income redistribution and, in particular, to provide an empirical test of the geographically limited altruism model proposed by Pauly, incorporating the possibility of participation costs associated with the provision of transfers.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors motivate the discussion by allowing for an “iceberg cost” as participation for the poor individuals in Pauly's original model. Next, using data from the 2000 Brazilian Census and a panel based on the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) from 2001 to 2007, the authors estimate the effect of the proximity between poor and non‐poor on the demand for redistribution.
Findings
All of the authors' distance‐related explanatory variables indicate that an increased proximity between poor and non‐poor is associated with better targeting of the programs (demand for redistribution). For instance, a one‐hour increase in the time spent commuting by the poor reduces the targeting by 3.158 percentage points. This result is similar to that of Ashworth et al., but is definitely not due to the program leakages. To empirically disentangle participation costs and spatially restricted altruism effects, an additional test is conducted using unique panel data based on the 2004 and 2006 PNAD, which assess the number of benefits and the average benefit value received by beneficiaries. The estimates suggest that both cost and altruism play important roles in the demand for redistribution and might reduce targeting in Brazil. Lastly, the results indicate that “size matters”; i.e. the budget for redistribution has a positive impact on targeting.
Practical implications
Our results suggest that a totally centralized supply of transfers may be more inefficient than local redistribution in terms of targeting, either due to higher participation costs or because of the eventual greater geographical distance between the national median voter and poor individuals. However, a partial role for the federal government, such as providing funds for redistribution, seems to improve targeting.
Originality/value
In particular, the paper provides an empirical test for the geographically limited altruism model proposed by Pauly, incorporating the possibility of participation costs associated with the provision of transfers. The authors motivate this discussion by adding the possibility of distance‐related “iceberg costs” of delivering benefits to poor individuals and show that these two effects of distance may act to lower the demand for transfers, making it difficult to distinguish between the two effects. These two effects of distance act by lowering the demand for transfers, making it difficult to disentangle the effect of altruism from the effect of cost. The authors' empirical strategy seems to allow to identify each of them and to provide a suggestion on whether it is advantageous to carry out redistribution at the local level.
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Julian Strizek, Alexandra Karden and João Matias
The purpose of this paper is to assess the relevance of cryptomarkets, characteristics of purchasers and possibilities for survey research by approaching users directly on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the relevance of cryptomarkets, characteristics of purchasers and possibilities for survey research by approaching users directly on cryptomarkets.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-country comparison of the results from the European Web Survey on Drugs (EWSD) and summarizing lessons learned during the data collection was carried out.
Findings
Purchasers of drugs on cryptomarkets are still a rather small segment of all drug purchasers, and most people who use cryptomarkets also use other sources of supply to buy drugs. The percentage of people using cryptomarkets is unevenly distributed across countries and substances. Purchasers on cryptomarkets in most countries are more likely to be men and more likely, on average, to use more substances. Other characteristics such as age or place of residence do not show a consistent pattern across countries. Recruitment of respondents on cryptomarkets calls for specific techniques and procedures. Specific attention should be paid to build trust and guarantee credibility and anonymity.
Research limitations/implications
Interpretation of the quantitative results is limited by nonprobabilistic sampling and different recruitment strategies in different countries.
Practical implications
Users of cryptomarkets show some specific characteristics, providing a challenge for research and prevention agencies to keep up with digital technology. Increasing knowledge about characteristics of users of cryptomarkets may help to create adequate responses for harm reduction measures in different supply settings. However, collecting self-reported data from users on cryptomarkets is limited owing to significant privacy concerns and requires specific skills and strategies.
Originality/value
The EWSD provides a rare opportunity for detailed analyses of consumption patterns and characteristics of active drug users across several European countries. Furthermore, experiences of a new recruitment strategy are discussed.
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Annie Tubadji and Nataly Gnezdilova
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between redistribution, convergence and local cultural capital (as defined by culture-based development concept).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between redistribution, convergence and local cultural capital (as defined by culture-based development concept).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper infers the basic mechanism of the cultural dependence of convergence and inequality – through an empirical test for the case of the “German job miracle” during the current crisis. Two empirical questions are asked: first, is local income inequality associated with local cultural capital and second, is the negative convergence between East and West Germany during the crisis related to culturally sensitive employers’ preference for job preservation vs job loss. An OLS enquiry and two deeper estimation methods (a logit model and a 3SLS simultaneous equations model) are alternatively applied in order to triangulate the empirical results.
Findings
The findings support the existence of cultural effect on local income inequality and cultural path dependence of employers’ preferences for job preservation vs job loss in a condition of economic shock.
Originality/value
The paper provides both theoretical reasoning and empirical illustration of the significance of the cultural effect on human preferences which may or may not allow for redistribution and convergence between localities.
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Redistributive policies aim to reduce income disparities and improve social equity. This study investigates whether redistributive effects that successfully diminish objective…
Abstract
Purpose
Redistributive policies aim to reduce income disparities and improve social equity. This study investigates whether redistributive effects that successfully diminish objective income inequality also effectively alter people’s perceptions of inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing data from the 2018 China Household Income Survey (CHIP), comprising 56,167 individuals, this study applies ordered probability regression (Oprobit) and ordinary least squares (OLS) for analysis. To address potential biases in estimates, we employed the generalized propensity score matching (GPSM) method to estimate the treatment effect of transfer income on perceptions of inequality.
Findings
The results indicate that while China’s redistribution policies effectively reduce income disparities, they do not improve perceptions of inequality. Individuals exhibit biased attitudes toward redistributive policies. Specifically, perceptions of inequality are insensitive to the overall redistributive effect; the relationship is negative among the poor but positive among the rich. This contradictory pattern may be attributed to perceived income losses among the rich and gains among the poor.
Social implications
The findings have important implications for policy development. Redistribution policies should not only aim to mitigate income disparities but also address and improve people’s perceptions of inequality.
Originality/value
Existing literature has largely overlooked the impact of redistribution on perceived income inequality. This study represents an early effort to explore whether redistributive policies that reduce income inequality also influence people’s perceptions of inequality.
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Federal systems are often more sophisticated than assumed in the literature. In many cases, at least three tiers of government are involved in federal decision making. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Federal systems are often more sophisticated than assumed in the literature. In many cases, at least three tiers of government are involved in federal decision making. The purpose of this paper is to cast some light on this increasingly important issue in fiscal federalism.
Design/methodology/approach
In a model with three tiers of government, the author analyzes corrective policies in the presence of fiscal externalities generated by federal redistribution.
Findings
The author identifies an additional qualitative incentive effect, particularly for intermediate governments. They behave strategically to attract additional redistribution funds from outside, though still using corrective policies to provide investment incentives toward their own regions. The results also suggest that differently from the USA the federal system of the EU may lead to inefficiently low regional investment.
Originality/value
The presented model is a first step toward analyzing strategic behavior and the effect of corrective policies in more complicated federal set ups with three tiers of government involved. This is relevant for federal structures such as Germany or the USA, as well as for government interactions at the international level.
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Central to Martha Nussbaum's development of the capability approach into a theory of social and global justice is her addition of the notion of a capability threshold below which…
Abstract
Purpose
Central to Martha Nussbaum's development of the capability approach into a theory of social and global justice is her addition of the notion of a capability threshold below which no dignified human life can be lived. This capability threshold identifies a standard for distributive justice that any decent political order must secure for all citizens. It is this threshold that is the intended focus of this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
Examining her most recent statement of the capability approach, Nussbaum's arguments that the threshold should be locally set by each nation in accordance with their history and traditions, and that all nations currently fail to satisfy the threshold condition, are assessed.
Findings
This paper shows that if Nussbaum's arguments are accepted, then the central function of a threshold as a tool of discrimination is undermined. If all nations fail to meet their locally set threshold, then there is no clear basis for the global redistribution that Nussbaum regards as necessary. Indeed, what basis there is could even justify counter‐intuitive redistribution from poorer to richer nations.
Originality/value
This paper concludes that if the capability approach is to be developed into a theory of social justice, then, rather than being set locally at different levels, the capability threshold may need to be a genuinely global one. Only then can the threshold discriminate between unjust political orders and those that are at least minimally just.
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Attempts to place the debate over the introduction of the communitycharge in the more analytical framework of economic theory. Argues thatthe community charge has disadvantages in…
Abstract
Attempts to place the debate over the introduction of the community charge in the more analytical framework of economic theory. Argues that the community charge has disadvantages in terms both of equity and efficiency. Considers the wider effects of the abolition of domestic rates on the housing market. Using a case study, examines the feasibility of an alternative local taxation system based on capital values.
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Cécile Renouard and Hervé Lado
The international awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and the socio‐political context of emerging countries are increasing the pressure on businesses…
Abstract
Purpose
The international awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and the socio‐political context of emerging countries are increasing the pressure on businesses, including multinational corporations, to take another look at their societal role. In a context of state failure (immature institutions), paying taxes can guarantee neither the peaceful management of company operations nor the sustainable development of local communities. Moreover, multinationals have experienced that making resources and opportunities available to local communities is not enough. The Niger Delta in Nigeria is, in this regard, a textbook case that demonstrates the challenge of achieving sustainable development in the context of acute inequalities. This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on fieldwork – quantitative and qualitative surveys – carried out in Nigeria for the past seven years, the paper builds on initiatives and approaches undertaken by Total, Agip and NPDC/Shell, consistent with their understanding of their role in society.
Findings
Inequalities and imbalances (income, gender, inter‐regional, sector‐based) ferment frustrations and nurture insecurity and violence in the Niger Delta, therefore hindering sustainable development. As far as the relationship between oil companies and communities is concerned, the authors argue that oil multinationals have to foster an approach that targets the reduction of those exceptional inequalities for which they are partly responsible, as revealed with the “double effect” principle.
Originality/value
Whereas CSR has been so far mainly studied as a management issue, this paper brings broader views and analyzes ethical, cultural and economic dynamics that underlie the acceptability of companies in their environment, in the specific context of the Niger Delta.
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