The Effect of Fiscal Policy and Corruption Control Mechanisms on Firm Growth and Social Welfare: Theory and Evidence

The paper investigates the conflict that arises between the government, its bureaucrats and businesses in the tax collection process. We examine the effect of fiscal policy and corruption control mechanisms on the prevalence of tax evasion and corruption behaviour, and their impact on firm growth and social welfare. We first model a situation where bureaucrats are homogeneous and have complete negotiating power over the firms with which they interact. We show that in such a situation the government can set an optimal tax rate and put in place a corruption control mechanism involving detection of corrupt bureaucrats within the framework of a no-corruption equilibrium. However, when the public administration is composed of heterogeneous types of bureaucrats with the specific ability to impose red tape costs on firms, we show, like Acemoglu and Verdier (2000), that it might be best for the government to allow a certain level of corruption, given the cost of monitoring activities. We also show that the government could face lose-lose as well as win-win situations in the conduct of its fiscal policies. We then verify the predictions of the model using firm-level data collected from 243 businesses in Uganda. We test the effect of monitoring on bribe and tax payments. We also test the effect of tax rates and corruption control mechanisms on firm growth. We compare the effect of actual corruption (as measured by bribe payments) with the effect of government corruption expectations on firms’ growth.Corruption, Tax evasion, Tax administration, Firm growth

Places et agents : les divisions ethnique et sexuelle du travail au Québec de 1931 à 1981

La distribution socio-professionnelle de la population active québécoise s’est transformée au cours du vingtième siècle, comme on peut le constater à l’aide des données des recensements canadiens de 1931 à 1981, offrant une codification des occupations comparable. De même, la composition sexuelle et ethnique de la main-d’oeuvre a considérablement évolué au cours de cette période. Les auteurs analysent la façon dont ces clivages sexuel et ethnique sont mis à contribution, à différents moments, pour assigner des agents aux différentes places dans la division du travail ; il s’agit en particulier de voir comment les groupes dominés définis par ces deux clivages sont utilisés pour remplir les fonctions inférieures dans la hiérarchie des emplois. L’usage de modèles complexes, du type log-linéaire, permet de distinguer d’une part des effets bruts, traduisant la réalité vécue des groupes sexuels et ethniques sur le marché du travail, et d’autre part les effets nets, correspondant aux règles plus ou moins permanentes, mais moins évidentes, régissant l’accès de ces groupes aux divers emplois.The socio-professional distribution of Quebec's total labour force has changed during the twentieth century, as one can observe from the 1931 to 1981 Canadian censuses that provide comparative occupation codes. As well, the sexual and ethnic composition of the labour force has changed substantially during this period. The authors analyse the manner in which these sexual and ethnic cleavages are, at various moments, called upon to assign agents to different places in the division of labour; in particular, it is a matter of seeing how the dominated groups, defined by these two cleavages, are used to fulfill the lower functions of the work hierarchy. The use of complex models of the linear log type, makes it possible to distinguish, on the one hand, crude effects relating the reality experienced by sexual and ethnic groups in the labour force; and on the other hand, the net effects corresponding to the more or less permanent, but less evident, rules which govern these groups' access to the various jobs.La distributión socio-profesional de la población activa de Quebec se ha ido transformando durante el siglo XX. Esto Io atestigua la información recogida en los censos canadienses de 1931 a 1981, que presentan una codificación semejante de la ocupación. Del mismo modo, la composición sexual y étnica de la mano de obra ha cambiado considerablemente en el curso de este período. Los autores analizan la forma en la que estos conjuntos discriminatorios, étnico y sexual, echan mano de agentes, en diferentes mornentos, para ocupar las vacantes diversas dentro de la división del trabajo; especificamente, se trata de enterarse cómo los grupos dominados, definidos por estos dos factores de segregación, son asimilados para cubrir las funciones inferiores dentro de la jerarquía del empleo. La utilización de modelos complejos, tipo logo-lineal, permiten distinguir, por un lado, los efectos brutos, que reflejan la vivencia de los grupos sexuales y étnicos dentro del mercado de trabajo, y por el otro, los efectos netos, que corresponden a las normas más o menos permanentes, pero menos evidentes que regulan el acceso de estos grupos a los diverses empleos

Formes de Whitney et primitives relatives de formes diff\'erentielles sous-analytiques

Let $X$ be a real-analytic manifold and $g\colon X\to{\mathbf R}^n$ a proper triangulable subanalytic map. Given a subanalytic $r$-form $\omega$ on $X$ whose pull-back to every non singular fiber of $g$ is exact, we show tha $\omega$ has a relative primitive: there is a subanalytic $(r-1)$-form $\Omega$ such that $dg\Lambda (\omega-d\Omega)=0$. The proof uses a subanalytic triangulation to translate the problem in terms of "relative Whitney forms" associated to prisms. Using the combinatorics of Whitney forms, we show that the result ultimately follows from the subanaliticity of solutions of a special linear partial differential equation. The work was inspired by a question of Fran\c{c}ois Treves

Europe se prive des moyens de lutter contre le chômage.

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Behavior of a GPI-anchored protein in phospholipid monolayers at the air–water interface

AbstractThe interaction between alkaline phosphatase (AP), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein (AP-GPI), and phospholipids was monitored using Langmuir isotherms and PM-IRRAS spectroscopy. AP-GPI was injected under C16 phospholipid monolayers with either a neutral polar head (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine monohydrate (DPPC)) or an anionic polar head (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DPPS)). The increase in molecular area due to the injection of protein depended on the surface pressure and the type of phospholipid. At all surface pressures, it was highest in the case of DPPS monolayers. The surface elasticity coefficient E, determined from the π–A diagrams, allowed to deduct that the AP-GPI–phospholipid mixtures presented a molecular arrangement less condensed than the corresponding pure phospholipid films. PM-IRRAS spectra suggested different protein–lipid interactions as a function of the nature of the lipids. AP-GPI modified the organization of the DPPS deuterated chains whereas AP-GPI affected only the polar group of DPPC at low surface pressure (8 mN/m). Different protein hydration layers between the DPPC and DPPS monolayers were suggested to explain these results. PM-IRRAS spectra of AP-GPI in the presence of lipids showed a shape similar to those collected for pure AP-GPI, indicating a similar orientation of AP-GPI in the presence or absence of phospholipids, where the active sites of the enzyme are turned outside of the membrane