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1 – 10 of over 34000Johan Christiaens, Jan Rommel, Allan Barton and Patricia Everaert
In recent years, accrual accounting has become increasingly popular in many governments. Yet some questions remain unresolved. Previous literature questioned whether all…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, accrual accounting has become increasingly popular in many governments. Yet some questions remain unresolved. Previous literature questioned whether all governmental assets should be capitalized. Whereas those studies mostly focussed separately on a limited number of assets, such as infrastructure, military assets or heritage assets, the purpose of this paper is to expand these views by taking a holistic approach to their treatment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a literature review combined with archival data, being the IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards).
Findings
The analysis distinguishes between the business and government sectors of the economy and argues that business accounting for assets cannot be applied to the public sector without significant modification. Secondly, within the public sector, it is argued that “businesslike assets” (such as normal buildings and equipment) should be distinguished from “specific governmental assets” (such as art galleries), where the latter should be reported off balance sheet as community assets held in trust by governments for community enjoyment.
Practical implications
The current paper presents a solution for recognizing capital assets in different situations.
Originality/value
The paper reveals some basic differences in points of view between the governmental dimension versus a businesslike dimension in considering capital assets.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Studies concerning Soviet taxation demonstrate a diversity of opinions on the nature of turnover taxes. Four major views on the subject have emerged: (1) turnover taxes are simply…
Abstract
Studies concerning Soviet taxation demonstrate a diversity of opinions on the nature of turnover taxes. Four major views on the subject have emerged: (1) turnover taxes are simply a sales (excise) tax on articles' of consumption sold to the Soviet consumer; (2) not all turnover taxes are a sales tax, some of them are a substitute for rent on production of certain industrial materials; (3) in addition to being a sales (excise) tax on consumer goods and rent on some industrial materials, there exists a third type of turnover tax which is levied on agricultural production of the peasantry; (4) turnover taxes are a portion of the surplus product produced in industry and agriculture.
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
This study aims to examine dynamic interactions among economic growth, geography and the housing market with public goods financed by the government. A general dynamic equilibrium…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine dynamic interactions among economic growth, geography and the housing market with public goods financed by the government. A general dynamic equilibrium model of an isolated economy with economic geography, local public goods and capital accumulation is to be constructed. The economy has three sectors, supplying industrial goods, housing, and local public goods. The model synthesizes the main ideas in neoclassical growth theory, the Alonso urban model, and the Muth housing model in an alternative framework to the traditional growth theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The model is based on the neoclassical growth theory with an alternative approach to household behavior. The paper shows how to solve the dynamics of the economic system and simulate the model to demonstrate dynamic interactions among economic growth, housing market, residential distribution and public goods over time and space.
Findings
The paper simulates equilibrium and motion of the spatial economy with Cobb‐Douglas production and utility functions. The simulation demonstrates, for example, that, as the tax rate on the land income is increased, the total capital stocks and the stocks employed by the three sectors are increased, the rate of interest falls and the output of the industrial sector and the wage rate are increased, the land devoted to local public goods falls and the land rent and housing rent rise over space, the consumption level of the industrial goods and the total expenditures on the public goods are increased.
Practical implications
The paper provides some possible implications of the model for complicated consequences of government policy over time and space. In particular, the paper shows that a change in government policy not only has a macroeconomic impact over time, but also affects the economic geography of the national economy.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into the linkage among growth, national public policies and economic geography.
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Xiangkang Yin and Xiangshuo Yin
Although economic theory generally does not support government intervention in international trade, casual observation shows that many developing countries adopt certain trade…
Abstract
Purpose
Although economic theory generally does not support government intervention in international trade, casual observation shows that many developing countries adopt certain trade policies to promote their exports. The objective of this paper is to answer the question that whether developing countries can benefit from export promotion.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper considers a developing country which has to import new technology from the world market to improve its productivity. If it has certain economic rigidities, the country is short of foreign exchange and domestic firms cannot import an adequate amount of new technology. Even if there is no rigidity, domestic firms may not have sufficient incentive to invest in new technology. Therefore, the government can step in to subsidize exports. Through an analytical model, this paper investigates in what conditions the measures of export promotion can stimulate production and employment, and improve efficiency and social welfare.
Findings
This paper analyzes two effects of export promotion: raising the incentive of capital investment and reducing capital goods shortage caused by foreign exchange constraint. These effects might be the economic rationale for developing country governments to promote exports. It is found that export promotion can definitely raise employment and productivity, but whether these measures can stimulate the supply to the domestic market and improve domestic welfare depends on the sufficient and necessary condition given in the paper.
Originality/value
Establishes an analytical model to investigate in what conditions the measures of export promotion such as export subsidies and domestic currency devaluation can stimulate production and employment, and can improve efficiency and social welfare.
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Recently published studies stress the importance of trade in intermediate goods. The literature on determinants of trade, however, have largely focused on the sources of…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently published studies stress the importance of trade in intermediate goods. The literature on determinants of trade, however, have largely focused on the sources of comparative advantage in determining aggregate trade flows rather than trade in intermediate goods. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of institutional quality and trade costs to explain the determinants of trade in intermediates.
Design/methodology/approach
The simple model is based on the model of comparative advantage in the gravity framework used by Eaton and Kortum (2002) and Chor (2010) to relate trade flows of intermediate goods to institutional parameters, factor endowments and geography. The empirical tests use a data set containing 172 countries and 17 industries spanning ten years.
Findings
The results confirm the theoretical prediction that a country with higher institutional quality has a comparative advantage in institution-intensive goods and trade costs have a negative effect on trade. The author further finds that these effects are stronger in share of trade in intermediate goods vis-à-vis final goods.
Originality/value
To highlight the distinct nature of trade in intermediate goods, the author separates industry trade flows as intermediate input trade and final goods (consumption goods) trade to compare the importance of different sources of comparative advantage among different types of trade flows. Unlike Eaton and Kortum (2002) and Chor (2010) who used cross-sectional data for final goods trade, the ten-year industry-level panel data are used to compare the relative importance of institutions and geography as determinants in trade in intermediate goods compared to final goods trade and capture the macroeconomic time variant factors as well as industry–country pair characteristics. A significant caveat in gravity regression is that an empirical finding may often be driven by omitted variables. Inclusion of a set of country variables such as GDP, production costs and institutional level may still allow omitted variables to bias the estimation. To avoid this problem, the author includes a fixed effect of exporter and importer as well as industry and year, instead of a set of country characteristics.
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Moumita Basu and Ranjanendra Narayan Nag
This is a theoretical paper in the field of structuralist macroeconomics. The paper focuses on commodity price fluctuation which has emerged as one of the major macroeconomic…
Abstract
Purpose
This is a theoretical paper in the field of structuralist macroeconomics. The paper focuses on commodity price fluctuation which has emerged as one of the major macroeconomic factors with significant bearing on the relationship between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a dual economy model consisting of an agricultural sector and an industrial sector. The commodity price is subject to the fluctuations due to the fact that stock of primary goods is an asset which is sensitive to speculations. The paper considers a standard methodology of dynamic adjustment process involving change in stock of agricultural goods and price of agricultural goods under perfect foresight. The saddle path properties of the equilibrium are also examined.
Findings
The paper shows that the balanced budget fiscal expansion, capital account liberalization and the agricultural expansion lead to expansion of the industrial sector as well as level of employment. The increase in world interest rate may lead to contraction of the industrial sector and depress employment.
Originality/value
We will consider the openness of the economy in explaining how different macroeconomic policies and capital account liberalization generate multiple cross effects on the inter-connectedness between agricultural and the non-agricultural sector. The paper will discuss the issue of employment generation in conjunction with commodity price fluctuation. We depart from the literature by using Taylor rule under which interest rate is fixed by the Central Bank such that money supply becomes endogenous.
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The controversy between Hayek and Keynes in the 1930s is probably one of the best‐known disputes in economics and several comments have been made on this episode (Hicks, 1967;…
Abstract
The controversy between Hayek and Keynes in the 1930s is probably one of the best‐known disputes in economics and several comments have been made on this episode (Hicks, 1967; Machlup, 1977; Fletcher, 1987). In the assessments little attention has been paid to the development of the ideas of the two economists, to the views they had in common and to the influence they had on each other. These aspects will be taken into consideration in this contribution with the aim of extending our knowledge of the fundamental points of disagreement between them. The crucial question is how it came about that Hayek and Keynes, who for some time studied very similar monetary problems, ended as such fierce opponents on the question of how a modern capitalist system works. Keynes went as far as denying that the market system is self‐adjusting, whereas Hayek, especially in his later writings, propounded the view that markets constitute an efficient mechanism for the satisfaction of human needs.
Roland Bardy and Maurizio Massaro
This paper seeks to present a model which connects performance measurement at the business level to the concept of public goods usage, and thus incites a linkage between the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to present a model which connects performance measurement at the business level to the concept of public goods usage, and thus incites a linkage between the micro- and macro-economic aspects of sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents the essentials of a public goods cost perspective in order to agitate discussion between statisticians, standard-setters for business reporting and practitioners who wish to explore new approaches in the topic of building performance indicators.
Findings
The paper illustrates what has been achieved in measuring the outcomes of sustainable development efforts and what still needs to be done in order to arrive at aggregate values for national and global commons.
Research limitations/implications
The viability of the concept will depend on the co-operation of businesses and national statistics which test the feasibility of the proposed micro-macro-link through numerical studies. As the paper is published, efforts are under way with a piloting group to initiate a pertinent study, but the results have yet to be attained.
Practical implications
For practitioners in both the statistics profession and management accounting who are concerned with measurement of socioeconomic and environmental phenomena, this attempt at integrating sustainable development indicators to the managerial control system of companies might provide a valuable proposition. It also is a helpful contribution to the ongoing debate about the value and credibility of sustainability reporting.
Social implications
If businesses make no attempts to exhibit numerically how they contribute to preserve and expand the societal commons, they will be confronted with ever-growing agitation from pressure groups and they might be bypassed in the discussion on the issue of sustainability parameters that those groups are advocating.
Originality/value
This is the first academic paper that demonstrates a reporting model that unites business accounts and national accounts.
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