Profit shifting and the tax response of multinational banks in eastern Europe

The aim of the paper is to measure the amount of profit shifting within the banking sector in Eastern European countries. The paper uses firm-level bank data from the Bankscope database of multinational subsidiary banks operating in Eastern Europe for a period of 10 years (2006-2015). An empirical analysis is performed on the panel data to identify the profit-shifting activities of these banks. Focusing on the banking sector of Eastern European countries, which are a microcosm of the European Union, substantial evidence of profit shifting is found and confirms that banks have enhanced tax-planning opportunities similar to firms from different jurisdictions. The paper also seeks to contribute to recommendations on how fair and sustainable taxation and social policy reforms can increase the economic stability of the EU member states.O

Discretionary disclosure of listed non-financial firms in an emerging market: Evidence from Ghana

The main objectives of this study are to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure of listed non-financial firms in Ghana. The paper also seeks to identify the corporate governance attributes that influence voluntary disclosure, and finally, it rated the importance of voluntary items in the annual reports from the viewpoint of investors in Ghana. The paper makes use of 2013 to 2016 annual reports for 17 firms. The corporate governance attributes examined are board size, the proportion of independent non-executive directors on the board, blockholder ownership and the audit committee. Five control variables were also used to support the study. We developed a total of 66 voluntary items. Both the simple frequency distribution and Stata software were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed a mean of 32.7% as the level of voluntary disclosure. Board size, block holder ownership and audit committee had a positive association but only board size was statistically significant. The proportion of independent non-executive directors had an insignificant negative relationship. Concerning the rating of the importance of the voluntary items, items under financial information were more of concern to investors. There are benefits that the findings provide which will be useful to investors, preparers of financial statements and regulators. The study reveals the corporate governance attribute(s) that influence corporate disclosure and points out the level of transparency if the level of disclosure is used as a proxy.O

Household cost of chronic kidney disease care among patients presenting at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a major effect on global health, both as a direct cause of morbidity and mortality and as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study was carried out to determine the household cost of CKD care among patients receiving treatment at a tertiary healthcare facility in Ghana. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted over a period of three months. The estimated household cost of CKD care was made up of direct and indirect cost of treating the condition. The direct cost was divided into direct medical cost and direct non-medical cost. The direct medical cost included cost of medication, outpatient consultations, cost of dialysis, diagnostic investigations (including laboratory investigations), and ultrasound and computed tomography requests. The direct non-medical cost included cost of feeding and transportation. The indirect cost was based on the total time lost to productivity. Results: A total of 224 patients were included in the study. The mean ±SD age of the patients was 49.62 ±15.37 years. The overall average monthly cost of CKD care for the 224 patients was GH₵ (US$) 1,121.42 (198.63), making up of 87.70% direct cost and 12.30% indirect cost. The cost incurred by CKD patients on dialysis was significantly higher and almost four times higher than that of the end stage non-dialysis CKD patients

Pobreza e HIV/AIDS: aspectos antropológicos e sociológicos Poverty and HIV/AIDS: anthropological and sociological aspects

A partir da perspectiva das várias epidemias de HIV/AIDS que coexistem em mesmo espaço, bem como dos dados epidemiológicos do Brasil, acredita-se serem observáveis as variações já descritas alhures - feminilização, pauperização, juvenilização e interiorização - como resultado das profundas desigualdades da sociedade brasileira. Foram examinadas as contribuições de três vertentes de análise dos aspectos sócio-econômicos da AIDS: 1) pesquisas e teorias sociológicas a respeito do impacto da reestruturação econômica e transformação social global recentes e sua relação com a saúde pública; 2) literatura transcultural e transnacional em antropologia e sociologia dedicada aos fatores estruturais que conformam o curso da epidemia em diferentes conjunturas; e 3) corpo de pesquisas antropológicas e sociológicas concernentes aos efeitos sinérgicos do HIV/AIDS, exclusão social, e problemas sociais associados nos bolsões de extrema pobreza encontrados nas grandes cidades de países centrais. Conclui-se que as políticas de prevenção do HIV/AIDS devem abordar, de forma integrada, as várias dimensões que determinam as diferenciadas vulnerabilidades à epidemia, dependendo, portanto, de transformações sociais substantivas.<br>Focusing on the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a summation of several epidemics coexisting in the same space and drawing on Brazilian epidemiological data, we argue that the epidemic there shows variations already described elsewhere, such as feminization, pauperization, juvenization and interiorization, as a result of the deep inequalities characteristic of Brazilian society. We then examine the contributions of three bodies of sociological and anthropological literature related to HIV/AIDS: 1) sociological research and theory on the impact of recent global economic restructuring and social transformation, and its relationship to public health issues; 2) the cross-cultural and cross-national anthropological and sociological literature on structural factors shaping the course of the epidemic in different settings; and 3) the body of anthropological and sociological research on the synergistic effects of HIV/AIDS, social exclusion, and related social problems in pockets of extreme poverty in the large cities of core countries. We conclude that prevention policies for HIV/AIDS should deal comprehensively with diverse dimensions that determine differential vulnerabilities to the epidemic, thus requiring substantial social transformations

Evaluation of prognostic risk models for postoperative pulmonary complications in adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and international external validation cohort study

Background Stratifying risk of postoperative pulmonary complications after major abdominal surgery allows clinicians to modify risk through targeted interventions and enhanced monitoring. In this study, we aimed to identify and validate prognostic models against a new consensus definition of postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods We did a systematic review and international external validation cohort study. The systematic review was done in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched MEDLINE and Embase on March 1, 2020, for articles published in English that reported on risk prediction models for postoperative pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery. External validation of existing models was done within a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing major abdominal surgery. Data were collected between Jan 1, 2019, and April 30, 2019, in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Discriminative ability and prognostic accuracy summary statistics were compared between models for the 30-day postoperative pulmonary complication rate as defined by the Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine Core Outcome Measures in Perioperative and Anaesthetic Care (StEP-COMPAC). Model performance was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCC). Findings In total, we identified 2903 records from our literature search; of which, 2514 (86·6%) unique records were screened, 121 (4·8%) of 2514 full texts were assessed for eligibility, and 29 unique prognostic models were identified. Nine (31·0%) of 29 models had score development reported only, 19 (65·5%) had undergone internal validation, and only four (13·8%) had been externally validated. Data to validate six eligible models were collected in the international external validation cohort study. Data from 11 591 patients were available, with an overall postoperative pulmonary complication rate of 7·8% (n=903). None of the six models showed good discrimination (defined as AUROCC ≥0·70) for identifying postoperative pulmonary complications, with the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia score showing the best discrimination (AUROCC 0·700 [95% CI 0·683–0·717]). Interpretation In the pre-COVID-19 pandemic data, variability in the risk of pulmonary complications (StEP-COMPAC definition) following major abdominal surgery was poorly described by existing prognostication tools. To improve surgical safety during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery and beyond, novel risk stratification tools are required. Funding British Journal of Surgery Society