82 research outputs found

    The impact of social pressure on tax compliance: A field experiment

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    We study the effect of social pressure on tax compliance, focusing on the compliance of shop sellers to the legal obligation of releasing tax receipts for each sale. We carry out a field experiment on bakeries in Italy, where a strong gap exists between the legal obligation and the actual behavior of sellers. Social pressure is manipulated by means of an explicit request for a receipt when not released. We employ an innovative approach to the identification of the treatment effect. We find that a single request for a receipt causes a 17 per cent rise in the probability of a receipt being released for a sale occurring shortly thereafter, causing on average more than two receipts to be released. We also find strong evidence of persistence in compliance decisions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

    Reliance on scientists and experts during an epidemic: Evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy

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    Research suggests trust in experts and authorities are important correlates of compliance with public health measures during infectious disease outbreaks. Empirical evidence on the dynamics of reliance on scientists and public health authorities during the early phases of an epidemic outbreak is limited. We examine these processes during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy by leveraging data from Twitter and two online surveys, including a survey experiment. We find that reliance on experts followed a curvilinear path. Both Twitter and survey data showed initial increases in information-seeking from expert sources in the three weeks after the detection of the first case. Consistent with these increases, knowledge about health information linked to COVID-19 and support for containment measures was widespread, and better knowledge was associated with stronger support for containment policies. Both knowledge and containment support were positively associated with trust in science and public health authorities. However, in the third week after the outbreak, we detected a slowdown in responsiveness to experts. These processes were corroborated with a survey experiment, which showed that those holding incorrect beliefs about COVID-19 gave no greater – or even lower – importance to information when its source was stated as coming from experts than when the source was unstated. Our results suggest weakened trust in public health authorities with prolonged exposure to the epidemic as a potential mechanism for this effect. Weakened responsiveness to expert sources may increase susceptibility to misinformation and our results call for efforts to sustain trust in adapting public health response

    Mobilizing Finance for the Just Energy Transition in the European Union

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    Minimizing the adverse social and economic consequences of the energy transition is an important social aspiration. It is the essence of the “just transition,” the connective tissue that binds together climate goals with social outcomes centered around jobs. This policy note proposes the first iteration of a just transition policy framework built around three interrelated and mutually reinforcing pillars. These include: (i) a system for determining a hierarchy of priorities for activities, sectors, or groups that are to be compensated for the negative impacts they suffer from the transition to a low-carbon economy or supported because they contribute directly to a more equitable sharing of the costs and opportunities from the transition; (ii) a fiscal transfer mechanism to allocate public funds consistent with these priorities; and (iii) financial flows enablers, a set of instruments or policy interventions to facilitate private financial flows to activities or projects that are deemed to contribute to a more just transition. The assessment provides seven key takeaways for consideration by competent authorities to strengthen further the EU just transition policy framework going forward. These are: (i) narrowing the scope of the framework by focusing on social support and/or land restoration, while encouraging private sector funding for economic revitalization projects; (ii) enhancing data collection on social impact assessment to better understand the negative effects of climate transition initiatives and prevent "social washing"; (iii) embedding just transition considerations in sustainability regulations by including relevant indicators and metrics; (iv) providing guidance on assessing just transition-related risks for financial firms in prioritized regions and sectors; (v) clarifying supervisory expectations for financial firms regarding just transition-related litigation and liability risk; (vi) encouraging the development of financial instruments for the just transition; and (vii) maximizing the role of multilateral development banks in de-risking just transition projects, especially in member countries with limited resources and capacity

    Gamma-Ray Burst observations by the high-energy charged particle detector on board the CSES-01 satellite between 2019 and 2021

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    In this paper we report the detection of five strong Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) by the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) mounted on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01), operational since 2018 on a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at a \sim 507 km altitude and 97^\circ inclination. HEPD-01 was designed to detect high-energy electrons in the energy range 3 - 100 MeV, protons in the range 30 - 300 MeV, and light nuclei in the range 30 - 300 MeV/n. Nonetheless, Monte Carlo simulations have shown HEPD-01 is sensitive to gamma-ray photons in the energy range 300 keV - 50 MeV, even if with a moderate effective area above \sim 5 MeV. A dedicated time correlation analysis between GRBs reported in literature and signals from a set of HEPD-01 trigger configuration masks has confirmed the anticipated detector sensitivity to high-energy photons. A comparison between the simultaneous time profiles of HEPD-01 electron fluxes and photons from GRB190114C, GRB190305A, GRB190928A, GRB200826B and GRB211211A has shown a remarkable similarity, in spite of the different energy ranges. The high-energy response, with peak sensitivity at about 2 MeV, and moderate effective area of the detector in the actual flight configuration explain why these five GRBs, characterised by a fluence above \sim 3 ×\times 105^{-5} erg cm2^{-2} in the energy interval 300 keV - 50 MeV, have been detected.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ

    Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

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    Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come

    Understanding Factors Associated With Psychomotor Subtypes of Delirium in Older Inpatients With Dementia

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    The Influence of Political Connection and Institutions to the Performance and Bank Loans of Private Listed Companies

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    我国有着不同于西方发达国家的制度背景和政治制度,政府对市场的管制力度较大,上市公司的高管具有一定的政治背景,其中国有企业本身大股东的政府背景性质,其政治关联很可能是与生俱来的,而民营企业政治关联的形成则具有主动性。改革开放以来,民营经济不断发展壮大,己成为我国经济增长的主要推动力量,因此,研究政治关联对民营公司的影响这一问题在中国更具有现实启发意义。 本文以民营上市公司的高级管理人员是否是前任或现任的政府官员、人大代表或政协委员来衡量公司是否具有政治关联,选取2004年—2008年中国沪深两市所有A股民营上市公司为样本,实证研究了政治关联与制度环境对民营上市公司经营绩效和银行贷款的影响。研究...Chinese current institution and political system are different from the Western developed countries. Under this system, many executives of private listed companies are relevant to politics. Therefore the study of political influence of private companies related to this issue in China is more realistic instructive. This paper focuses on whether the company has the political connection, which measu...学位:管理学硕士院系专业:管理学院财务学系_财务学学号:1762007115174
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