THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE TAX RATES ON INFLOW OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

U radu se ispituje utjecaj visine stope poreza na dobit na priljev inozemnih izravnih ulaganja. U posljednjih petnaestak godina države širom svijeta usvojile su različite mjere u želji da privuku više stranog kapitala. Jedna od najčešćih mjera bila je snižavanje stope poreza na dobit. Iako korisna, donesena u izolaciji, ta mjera nije značajno utjecala na investicijske odluke stranih ulagača. Makroekonomska stabilnost, stabilno socijalno i političko okruženje, lakoća poslovanja, mogućnost zapošljavanja obrazovane i stručne radne snage utječu na investicijske odluke mnogo više od visine stope poreza na dobit. Hrvatska je snizila zakonsku stopu poreza na dobit sa 35% na 20% u godini 2001. No, sudeći prema raspoloživim podacima, to nije imalo nikakav utjecaj na priljev FDI. Ako želi potaknuti veći priljev “greenfield” investicija, Hrvatska će, uz rješavanje nekih unutarnjih problema, morati organizirati smišljeniji nastup u privlačenju nekoliko velikih multinacionalnih kompanija, koje bi investirale u nove, izvozno orijentirane proizvodnje.The article examines the impact of corporate tax rates on infl ow of foreign direct investments. In the last 15 years the countries all over the world have adopted numerous measures in order to attract more foreign capital. One of the most common measures has been the reduction in the corporate tax rates. Although useful, this article shows that taken in isolation this measure has not had a significant impact on investment decision taken by the foreign investors. Macroeconomic stability, stable social and political environment, ease of doing business and ability to hire skilled labour, infl uence investment decisions much more then the level of corporate tax rates. Croatia has also lovered its corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% in 2001. Judging from the available data that has not had any impact on infl ow of FDI. In order to attract more greenfield investment Croatia will have to sort out some domestic issues and to organise more effective targeting of the largest multinational companies

Intestinal helminth parasites of the grey wolf (Canis lupus L.) in Serbia

The grey wolf (Canis lupus L.) is the most widespread large carnivore in Europe with large populations in the Eastern part of Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. In this study, a total of 102 wolves were examined for intestinal helminth parasites. The carcasses were collected within the Serbian part of the wolf’s range during the period 2009–2014. Nine helminth species were found: one nematode, Toxocara canis (3.9%), one trematode, Alaria alata (1.0%), and seven cestodes, Taenia pisiformis (1.0%), T. hydatigena (9.8%), T. polyacantha (2.9%), T. taeniaeformis (2.0%), T. (syn. Multiceps) multiceps (3.9%), T. serialis (1.0%) and Mesocestoides litteratus (1.0%). Taenia (syn. Hydatigera) taeniaeformis has been registered for the first time in a wolf from Europe. An overall moderate prevalence (16.7%) of infected wolves was recorded. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence between sexes. Of the years studied, the highest prevalence was found in 2014 (57.1%). The maximum number of helminth species per host specimen was four

The Economic Impact of the COVID‐19 on the Serbia’s Labor Market: Statistics and Facts

The global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis has affected the global economy, not sparing any single country. In order to identify weaknesses and threats posed to the Republic of Serbia’s labor force, this paper analyzes the impact of the crisis through the analysis of key macroeconomic indicators and key labor-market indicators. Serbia’s labor market has shown a positive trend over the last five years. The latest statistics show that the labor market itself has not yet felt the effects of the emergency caused by the global pandemic. Therefore, due to the implementation of emergency economic measures of the Republic of Serbia, the labor market has been buttressed; however, to what extent it would be able to weather another wave of severe economic interruption is unclear. The total impact the crisis has had on the labor market at the moment cannot be determined precisely as it is primarily determined by the inactivity within the economy as well as the second round of the pandemic which health experts largely predict to come by this year’s end. The sectors that will be most exposed to the impact of the crisis are expected to be manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, accommodation and food service activities as well as real estate activities. The results of research are significant for future studies centering on economic development as affected by global pandemics, as well as for analyzing the impact of the current crisis on the labor market and macroeconomic indicators in the Republic of Serbia

THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT

Međunarodna trgovina podrazumijeva transport određenih količina roba na (često) velike udaljenosti, a uspjeh posla ovisi o sigurnosti i brzini isporuke. Sigurnost i brzina isporuke u velikoj su mjeri uvjetovani kvalitetom transportnih sredstava i infrastrukture. Zbog toga je razvoj međunarodne trgovine uvjetovan transportom, a razvoj transportnih sredstava i infrastrukture u velikoj je mjeri uvjetovan zahtjevima za međunarodnom isporukom različitih dobara. U radu se propituje međuzavisnost međunarodne trgovine i transporta te se pokazuje kako je i u prošlosti i danas transport imao velik značaj za razvoj međunarodne trgovine, a međunarodna trgovina na razvoj transportnih sredstava i transportne infrastrukture.International trade implies transport of specific quantity of goods to (frequently) large distances, the success of which depends on the safety and speed of delivery. These are greatly conditioned by the quality of means of transport and infrastructure. This is why international trade development is affected by transport, and the development of means of transport and infrastructure is, to a great extent, influenced by demand for international delivery of various commodities. This paper looks at the interdependence of international trade and transport, showing how transport played a very significant role in international trade development in the past as it does today, commensurate to the role of international trade in the development of carriers and transport infrastructure

Is contemporary tourism only a neoliberal manipulation?

Increased number of tourists traveling abroad has been on a steady rise for several decades. However, an explosion of tourist travel can be followed from the end of the 1960’s. This trend largely coincides with the development of the neoliberalist form of capitalism in the world. Therefore, modern tourism, in many ways, can be seen as the product of neo-liberal phase of the development of modern capitalism. This trend is not seen only as a result of neo-liberal phase in the development of the modern world economy. This is a trend for mindedness itself. One of the most important rules that underlie the contemporary neoliberal thought is the rule of market. It seems that this neoliberalist rule in the tourist industry has reached its peak. The market in tourism regulates not only goods production, but it fully regulates the lives of people involved in tourism. Consumers of tourist products are not aware of manipulation, they are even grateful for the manipulative activities of which thay are object. On the other hand, many tourists themselves are part of the general neoliberal mentality. Many tourists not only accept the rules, but are also deeply involved in their implementation and enforcement. The paper will make an overview of some of the basic features of neoliberalism as economic thought and philosophy of life and connect it with contemporary trends in tourism

WebMonitoring software system: Finite state machines for monitoring the web

This paper presents a software system called WebMonitoring. The system is designed for solving certain problems in the process of information search on the web. The first problem is improving entering of queries at search engines and enabling more complex searches than keyword-based ones. The second problem is providing access to web page content that is inaccessible by common search engines due to search engine’s crawling limitations or time difference between the moment a web page is set up on the Internet and the moment the crawler finds it. The architecture of the WebMonitoring system relies upon finite state machines and the concept of monitoring the web. We present the system’s architecture and usage. Some modules were originally developed for the purpose of the WebMonitoring system, and some rely on UNITEX, linguistically oriented software system. We hereby evaluate the WebMonitoring system and give directions for further development

Are the self-employed at a higher poverty risk: empirical evidence from Serbian SILC data

Self-employment constitutes a significant share of the workforce in Serbia. Due to the equally high poverty as well as self-employment rates in Serbia, this paper aims to examine whether there is any prevalence between the two. Moreover, it also seeks to investigate what detriments exist within self-employment that keep or lead to poverty among self-employed people. The research is based on both longitudinal and cross-sectional SILC data. The main results indicated higher poverty exposure for solo entrepreneurs and those employed in family enterprises. Businesses run by men, low-skilled individuals, and young entrepreneurs are all at a much higher risk of poverty than other entrepreneurs or employees, especially those represented by women and highly educated individuals. The paper provides significant inputs for (1) managing differences within the active population at risk of income poverty and (2) monitoring outcomes of the self-employed, given that more than half of them are involved in the agricultural sector

Poverty and regional distribution of the self-employed in Serbia

The economic status of the self-employed is closely related to the level of development and poverty rates observed by region. This observation comes from the heterogeneity of the self-employed group, including those who hire other people or those self-declared as solo entrepreneurs. The secondary statistical data show that employees are more evenly distributed regionally than the self-employed. For instance, self-employed with employees are concentrated in the north, while solo entrepreneurs gravitate to the south of the country. This paper aims to examine further whether the employment status in the form of self-employment correlates with poverty, measured by the at-risk-of-poverty rate, and which factors determine this relationship in Serbia. The data from the Survey on income and living conditions for Serbia are used for the econometric analysis presented in this paper. Some previous findings show that the variables, such as working hours and capital, may moderate the effects of income poverty in those households where the prime source of income comes from self-employment. We confirmed the expected associations between the poverty risk and their predictors only in the Serbia-South region. The results of this paper are essential for advising policies to identify whether the support through entrepreneurial programs follows poverty status regionally and by sector of activity