Broadening the Complexity-theoretic Analysis of Manipulative Attacks in Group Identification

In the Group Identification problem, we are given a set of individuals and are asked to identify a socially qualified subset among them. Each individual in the set has an opinion about who should be considered socially qualified. There are several different rules that can be used to determine the socially qualified subset based on these mutual opinions. In a manipulative attack, an outsider attempts to exploit the way the used rule works, with the goal of changing the outcome of the selection process to their liking. In recent years, the complexity of group control and bribery based manipulative attacks in Group Identification has been the subject of intense research. However, the picture is far from complete, and there remain many open questions related to what exactly makes certain problems hard, or certain rules immune to some attacks. Supplementing previous results, we examine the complexity of group microbribery on so-called protective problem instances; that is, instances where all individuals from the constructive target set are already socially qualified initially. In addition, we study a relaxed variant of group control by deleting individuals for the consent rules, the consensus-start-respecting rule, and the liberal-start-respecting rule. Based on existing literature, we also formalize three new social rules of the iterative consensus type, and we provide a comprehensive complexity-theoretic analysis of group control and bribery problems for these rules.Comment: 93 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

No. 14: Policing Migration: Immigration Enforcement and Human Rights in South Africa

This paper examines reported incidents of human rights abuses and violence directed towards foreigners where government employees have been the perpetrators. We discuss both direct human rights abuses and incidents of violence (with examples drawn from policing exercises such as “Operation Crackdown” and from the detention of undocumented migrants) and institutional violence (such as migration policy development and other executive actions promoting or at least failing to prevent victimisation of foreigners). In many of the reported incidents, law enforcement officials have been the direct perpetrators of the human rights violations. The South African government is legally responsible for ensuring adherence to national and international human rights standards and the Constitution. We argue that the South African government needs to ensure that laws are adhered to but also to create a clear framework to guide and legally underpin police and immigration conduct to prevent human rights abuses. We also scrutinise the involvement of non-Governmental organisations and the South African Human Rights Commission in their attempts to prevent unlawful arrests and to improve the conditions of detention. In exploring the treatment of foreigners in South Africa, it is important to define some of the concepts to be used. This is particularly important because our definition of these terms differs from that in common usage. In much of South Africa, the term “foreigner” is regularly used to portray a coherent and uniform group of people without South African citizenship. However, this definition not only disregards the internal diversity and complexity among foreign citizens in South Africa, but also risks ignoring the significant difference between documented and undocumented migrants. There are various categories of documented non-nationals in South Africa, including refugees, asylum seekers and people with temporary and permanent residence who are legally in the country. These persons have applied for and been granted permission to reside in South Africa for a specific period. A significant group of non-South African citizens also present in the country are undocumented migrants or “illegal foreigners.” Undocumented migrants have not been granted permission to reside in South Africa. By law, they are therefore under some degree of command to leave the country, either by force or voluntarily. Although the difference between documented and undocumented migrants is relatively clearly defined in terms of legality, the two categories are persistently tangled and often ignored in practice by law enforcers. Documented migrants, especially black foreigners, are often incorrectly perceived a priori as being illegally in the country and treated as such. Direct human rights abuses and violations directed towards foreigners are often the combined result of xenophobia and other overlapping attitudes of hostility towards foreigners (Crush 2000). We argue that such actions towards foreigners stem from a social status of being black and foreign, a status that does not necessarily equate to a status of being illegally in the country. The forms of human rights abuse and violence are not exclusively about physical harm but also incorporate instances of psychological and emotional harm inflicted upon victims. Bringing in the concept of victim integrity broadens this category further. For example, extreme force used by police that clearly exceeds the amount of necessary force violates that integrity of the victim and is therefore unjustifiable. When the state, or any agent of the state, initiates this action, state-supported violence is at issue. When violence is persistent and patterned it may be termed institutionalised. To term such negative aspects of South African policy “institutionalised” requires a sensitive understanding of South Africa’s migration policy development and the policy context in which it operates. It has become international practice for governments—and South Africa is no exception—to control migration through restrictive immigration policies. Some of these policies include excessive visa requirements and other deterrent measures such as punitive and arbitrary detention, carrier sanctions, rejection at borders and large repatriation programmes. Some of these measures may be lawful; others are not. In any event, the enforcement of such policies generates a range of institutional points at which violence might occur. The potential for human rights abuse and violation directed towards foreigners spans the entire criminal justice and immigration regime, ranging from the first contact with the arresting police officer to the final physical departure from the country in the deportation process. While the police serve various functions regarding the enforcement of immigration law, such as arrest and initial detention, the Department of Home Affairs retains ultimate responsibility for the granting of legal status to foreigners, the renewing of permits and the deportation of undocumented migrants. This paper examines the roles that the police and the Department of Home Affairs have played in the treatment of foreigners since 1994 (between 1994 and 2002)

Trade Facilitation Needs and Customs Valuation in Fiji

In line with most developing countries, the last decade has seen Fiji adopt an export oriented, outward-looking approach to trade relations. Import restrictions have been largely lifted in favour of export promotion, and as such Fiji now has a more liberalized or open economy with increased volumes of both exports and importsTrade Facilitation, Customs Valuation, Fiji

Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? - firm-level evidence

Exploiting a unique data set containing information about the estimated bribe payments of Ugandan firms, the authors study the relationship between bribe payments, taxes, and firm growth in Uganda for the period 1995-97. Using industry-location averages to circumvent the potential problem of endogeneity, and to deal with issues of measurement error, they find that both the rate of taxation, and the rate of bribery are negatively correlated with firm growth. For the full data set, a one percentage point increase in the bribery rate is associated with three percentage point reduction in firm growth - an effect about three times that of taxation. Moreover, after excluding outliers, the authors find that bribery has a much greater negative impact on growth, and taxation a considerably smaller one. This provides some validation of firm-level theories of corruption, which posit that corruption retards development, even more than taxation does.Governance Indicators,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Corruption&Anitcorruption Law,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Achieving Shared Growth

The Complexity of Corruption: Nature and Ethical Suggestions

Corruption is a well-established research topic which increasingly attracts interest, as attested by a growing body of literature. Nevertheless, disagreements persist not only about how to curve it, but even about its definition, causes and consequences. Such a lack of consensus reflects the complexity of the problem, a feature which is often cited but rarely analyzed. This paper aims to fill that gap. In particular, we first address the nature of corruption’s complexity by offering and analyzing an inventory of “generators of complexity” compiled from the available literature. Secondly, our paper draws from the key conclusions of that analysis to shed some light on the complex role played by corporations on corruption. Finally, we suggest that ethical aspects have to be considered in order to clarify many complex dilemmas around corruption and illuminate the corporate role in both domestic and foreign business activity.

Expanding research on corporate corruption, management and organizations

In this special issue introduction, we briefly describe a variety of research paths researchers have followed to study the multifaceted phenomenon of corruption. Furthermore, we classify the papers included in this special issue according to their contribution to these research paths and briefly preview them. Finally, drawing on these four research paths and the papers included in this special issue, we propose a six-item agenda for future research on corruption

The Consequences of Poor Tax Administration: Collections, Growth, and Corruption

This dissertation examines three different aspects of tax administration\u27s effect on tax revenue collection, economic growth, and tax evasion. By understanding the role of good tax administration, policymakers can pursue effective tax reform, increase tax revenues efficiently, and minimize the impact on taxpayers. The first study examines shortfalls in tax revenue, or the tax gap. The tax gap arises for a variety of reasons and understanding the root causes of the gap is a necessary first step in reducing or eliminating the gap. This study examines the contribution of four factors to the tax gap: willful tax evasion, errors in filing taxes, incompetence in the tax administration, and tax collector corruption. By combining firm level data from 79 countries with macroeconomic variables, this study finds that complexity leading to unintentional tax evasion and poor tax administration are significant drivers of the tax gap. Tax reform that reduces tax code complexity and increases the quality of tax administration services provides the largest marginal gains in reducing the tax gap. The second study uses the same data set to examine the effects of tax enforcement measures and tax revenue shortfall on economic growth. Lower tax revenues have a theoretically mixed effect on growth as they create more disposable income for investment, but simultaniously reduce funds for public goods.This study finds that while increased enforcement measures reduce growth, high tax revenue collection serve to increase growth. The results suggest that reforms focusing on increasing revenue without resorting to greater enforcement measures are desirable. The final aspect of tax administration this work examines the the relationship between corrupt tax administration and tax evasion. Since this relationship is endogenous, causality is difficult to determine. Using an instrumental variable approach as well as propensity score matching, this study suggests that corruption drives evasion. As a result, policy makers should focus on ensuring an honest tax administration, thereby addressing both issues simultaneously. Taken together, the results of this dissertation argue for tax reforms to focus on creating a high quality tax administration that focuses on a service paradigm of tax collection. Under the service paradigm, tax authorities provide greater assistance to tax payers, creating conditions favorable for compliance without relying on coercive enforcement measures