Evidence for the Gompertz Curve in the Income Distribution of Brazil 1978-2005

This work presents an empirical study of the evolution of the personal income distribution in Brazil. Yearly samples available from 1978 to 2005 were studied and evidence was found that the complementary cumulative distribution of personal income for 99% of the economically less favorable population is well represented by a Gompertz curve of the form $G(x)=\exp [\exp (A-Bx)]$, where $x$ is the normalized individual income. The complementary cumulative distribution of the remaining 1% richest part of the population is well represented by a Pareto power law distribution $P(x)= \beta x^{-\alpha}$. This result means that similarly to other countries, Brazil's income distribution is characterized by a well defined two class system. The parameters $A$, $B$, $\alpha$, $\beta$ were determined by a mixture of boundary conditions, normalization and fitting methods for every year in the time span of this study. Since the Gompertz curve is characteristic of growth models, its presence here suggests that these patterns in income distribution could be a consequence of the growth dynamics of the underlying economic system. In addition, we found out that the percentage share of both the Gompertzian and Paretian components relative to the total income shows an approximate cycling pattern with periods of about 4 years and whose maximum and minimum peaks in each component alternate at about every 2 years. This finding suggests that the growth dynamics of Brazil's economic system might possibly follow a Goodwin-type class model dynamics based on the application of the Lotka-Volterra equation to economic growth and cycle.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables. LaTeX. Accepted for publication in "The European Physical Journal B

AUDIT STATE DEPENDENT TAXPAYER COMPLIANCE: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM COLOMBIA

We develop and analyze a dynamic model of individual taxpayer compliance choice that predicts “audit state dependent taxpayer compliance”, by distinguishing between naïve and myopic behavior versus sophisticated and forward-looking behavior. We then test experimentally the audit state dependent model by reporting the results from the first tax compliance experiment run in Colombia. Consistent with previous studies as well as theoretical predictions, we find that subjects’ compliance rates increase in the audit probability and in the fine rate. We also find more novel results, both theoretically and empirically: fine rates should be increased after an audit to discourage otherwise-increased underreporting, and “nudging” myopic individuals toward reporting a constant rather than a fluctuating proportion of income would benefit both the taxpayer and the tax authority

The place of strategic environmental assessment in the privatised electricity industry

The private sector has given relatively little attention to the emergence of strategic environmental assessment (SEA); even recently privatised utilities, where SEA might be deemed particularly appropriate, and whose activities are likely to fall within the scope of the European Union SEA Directive, have shown less interest than might be expected. However, the global trend towards the privatisation of state-owned enterprises makes the adaptation of SEA towards these industries all the more pressing. This paper addresses the place that SEA might take within the electricity sector, taking the privatised UK electricity industry as an example. Particular challenges are posed by the radical restructuring of the industry, designed to introduce competitive behaviour, making the development of comprehensive SEA processes problematic, and requiring SEA to be placed in the context of corporate environmental policy and objectives.</p

Wales: challenges and opportunities for post-Brexit environmental governance

Brexit represents a major change to environmental governance in Wales and the United Kingdom (UK), raising both opportunities and challenges. Welsh stakeholders are worried that English interests will predominate in the design of environmental governance after Brexit and are also concerned about the prospect of greater instability and weaker environmental protections. Crucially, the key planks of the UK government’s ‘Green Brexit’ strategy—the 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) and Defra’s environmental governance and principles consultation—do not cover governance in the devolved nations. This gap in coverage raises the prospect of policy divergence and inconsistent implementation and enforcement across the UK. Most importantly, there is a strong fear in Wales that Welsh environmental policy ambition will be thwarted by Brexit and deregulatory pressure emanating from England

Northern Ireland: challenges and opportunities for post-Brexit environmental governance

Brexit represents a major change to environmental governance in Northern Ireland and the UK. Yet it is occurring at a time when Northern Ireland has no government, curtailing its ability to engage in both local and UK-wide preparations. Northern Irish stakeholders are worried that tensions between England and Scotland are dominating Brexit preparations, hampering discussions of UK-wide cooperation, as well as of the specific needs of Northern Ireland. They are concerned pre-existing environmental governance issues in the region (such as the lack of an independent environmental agency or the prevalence of cross-border environmental crime) will remain unaddressed, and that current North/South cooperation on environmental issues will be negatively impacted by the Brexit deal. Crucially, the key planks of the UK government’s ‘Green Brexit’ strategy (such as the commitments laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Environmental Principles and Governance consultation) do not cover the devolved nations. This raises the prospect of further policy divergence and inconsistent implementation and enforcement across the UK, and for Northern Ireland’s environment to continue deteriorating

Wales: challenges and opportunities for post-Brexit environmental governance

Brexit represents a major change to environmental governance in Wales and the United Kingdom (UK), raising both opportunities and challenges. Welsh stakeholders are worried that English interests will predominate in the design of environmental governance after Brexit and are also concerned about the prospect of greater instability and weaker environmental protections. Crucially, the key planks of the UK government’s ‘Green Brexit’ strategy—the 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) and Defra’s environmental governance and principles consultation—do not cover governance in the devolved nations. This gap in coverage raises the prospect of policy divergence and inconsistent implementation and enforcement across the UK. Most importantly, there is a strong fear in Wales that Welsh environmental policy ambition will be thwarted by Brexit and deregulatory pressure emanating from England

Environmental policy in a devolved United Kingdom: challenges and opportunities after Brexit

The European Union (EU) has had a profound effect on UK environmental policy and governance. The EU provides treaty-based principles to underpin and inform new policy development and a well-developed system of monitoring and enforcement to ensure it is implemented. The EU’s system of environmental governance provides a set of structures that establishes minimum common standards across the UK. These structures have allowed the devolved nations to develop their own policies, some with a higher level of ambition than the UK’s. EU membership, therefore, provides a common framework that enables both transboundary cooperation and local policy innovation. Brexit consequently represents a major change to environmental governance in the United Kingdom (UK), raising significant opportunities and challenges. Environmental policy in the UK is devolved, but UK devolution is asymmetrical: England has no formal representation or parliament. For environmental policy this means that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) often acts on behalf of England. This model of devolution raises concerns amongst stakeholders in the devolved nations that Defra approaches policy with an English mind-set, which suggests that English interests will dominate after Brexit. There are also concerns that Brexit will lead to greater instability and weaken environmental protections. In addition, Brexit has prompted a constitutional dispute between the Scottish and UK governments, which may jeopardise future environmental governance. These tensions have created uncertainty, making Brexit preparations highly challenging for both government and civil society actors. Crucially, the key planks of the UK government’s ‘Green Brexit’ strategy— the 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) and Defra’s consultation on environmental governance and principles—do not cover governance in the devolved nations. This gap in coverage raises the prospect of policy divergence and inconsistent implementation and enforcement across the UK. More importantly, there is a strong fear in Scotland and Wales that their environmental policy ambitions could be thwarted by Brexit and deregulatory pressures emanating from England. Meanwhile Northern Ireland, which has a history of weak environmental governance and sits alongside the politically sensitive border with Ireland, has no government and therefore no voice in the Brexit negotiations. As a result, it is poorly represented in the discussions over the future shape of UK-wide environmental policy and governance

Inequality and the GB2 Income Distribution

The generalized entropy class of inequality indices is derived for Generalized Beta of the Second Kind (GB2) income distributions, thereby providing a full range of top-sensitive and bottom-sensitive measures. An examination of British income inequality in 1994/95 and 2004/05 illustrates the analysis

Scotland: challenges and opportunities for post-Brexit environmental governance

Brexit represents a major change to environmental governance in Scotland and the United Kingdom (UK), raising both opportunities and challenges. It has prompted a constitutional dispute between the Scottish and UK governments, which may jeopardise future environmental governance. The current constitutional impasse has created even more uncertainty, making Brexit preparations highly challenging for government and civil society actors. Scottish stakeholders are worried that English interests will predominate in the design of environmental governance after Brexit and are also concerned about the prospect of greater instability and weaker environmental protections. Crucially, the key planks of the UK government’s ‘Green Brexit’ strategy—the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) environmental governance and principles consultation—do not cover governance in the devolved nations. This gap in coverage raises the prospect of policy divergence and inconsistent implementation and enforcement across the UK. Most importantly, there is a strong fear in Scotland that Scottish environmental policy ambition will be thwarted by Brexit and deregulatory pressure from England

‘Getting inside the wicket’: strategies for the social inclusion of British Pakistani Muslim cricketers

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are keen to increase the participation of British Asian groups, including those of British Pakistani Muslim (BPM) backgrounds, at mainstream levels of the game in order to meet their twin strategic aims of raising participation levels and fostering elite development. We argue that the potential to include BPM men in and through cricket is achievable, but strategies to engage them must address their social needs and circumstances rather than be superficial and tokenistic. Cricket agencies and bodies must be willing to adapt and change to become more inclusive, and indeed supportive of real meritocracy. Using research testimonies garnered from interviews with BPM men who play cricket at amateur mainstream and/or alternative formats of the game, we identify and forward strategies that can be activated by cricket development officers in order to create new possibilities for the social inclusion of BPM men