501 research outputs found
Like oil and water or chocolate and peanut butter? Ethnic diversity and social participation of young people in England
The paper studies the impact of ethnic diversity on social participation of young people. We first propose a theoretical model in which the agents choose between structured and unstructured social activities by taking into account the ethnic composition of the groups they join. We test our predictions using English census data together with the âLongitudinal Survey of Young People in Englandâ (LSYPE) and we find that ethnic segregation increases the probability of hanging around near home, while ethnic fractionalization decreases it. Furthermore, more structured activities are not affected by ethnic fractionalization. Finally, we use an IV strategy based on both historical and geographical data to correct for endogenous sorting into neighborhoods. The results we get are even stronger than those obtained where the ethnic composition of the neighborhood is taken as exogenous.Social participation, Fractionalization, Segregation
Tax Systems and tax reforms in Latin America, Part I : country studies, Colombia
This paper is a part of a wider research concerning taxation in the main world economic areas, carried on at the Department of Public economic on the University of Pvia, Italy, directed by L. Bernardi and P. Profeta, under the supervision of Vito Tanzi. The paper illustrates and discusses the Colombian tax ssystems with respect to its structure, developments and reforms until the last chenges of 2007, December.Tax Systems Tax Reforms Colombia
Tax systems and tax reforms in south and East Asia: Overview of the tax systems and main policy tax issues
The paper discusses the main aspects of taxation in South and East Asia. Particolar attention is given to the main issues which emerge from the tax systems of China, India, Japan, Malysia, South Korea and ThailandTax Systems Tax Reforms South East Asia
Tax Systems and Tax Reforms in South and East Asia: Overview of Tax Systems and main policy issues
South and East Asia are a particularly fast developing world economic areas, and are becoming increasingly more economically integrated. These countries, however, are not homogenous, and are lacking in any supra - national Authority. The total fiscal pressure of South and East Asian countries looks somewhat low when compared to that of countries with a similar per-capita income, pertaining to other economic world areas. However, a smooth Wagner law is confirmed by the data so that fiscal pressure is destined somewhat to increase as growth continues. With regards to similar experiences of developing and transition countries, indirect taxes prevail over direct ones. Low tax wedges on labor improve efficiency, by inducing both the supply and demand of labor. The heavy burden on consumption lessens equity and increases welfare losses. Any further uniform analysis of South and East Asian countriesâ tax policy issues would be however quite fruitless. It is far better to consider tax policies issues which rise inside the whole area separately to those more specific to each cluster made up by similar countries. Intra-regional economic integration poses severe challenges to the tax structure in the Asian area. Three tax policy issues seem most problematic: the building of intra-countriesâ agreements on reducing trade tariffs; the sequential revenue consequences of reduction in foreign trade taxes; the increasing tax competition for FDI. Intra-countries clustersâ tax policy issues differ from each other. In Japan and in S. Korea different choices have been made regarding the comprehensiveness of the PITâs basis, whose burden as a consequence ends up being more fairly distributed in S. Korea. The two countries are facing the common problem of an ageing population and consequentially, social contributions, and eventually VAT are being raised. Malaysiaâs direct taxes look higher than Thailandâs, but this is only because of the taxation of oil companies. Thailand has adopted VAT, while Malaysia has not changed its traditional sales tax. Both the countries are engaged in the recovery of revenue by improving tax administration. Both in China and in India income tax is small and poorly redistributing. Also, India has just moved from a schedular to a comprehensive tax basis. VAT is well established in China, while it is just arriving in India, as a consequence of a long waited but challenging reform, especially regarding the tax relationships among levels of government. Taxing power is now more centralized in China, but this needs to be corrected in order to avoid a lack of accountability on the part of the provinces.Tax Systems; Tax Reforms; South and East Asia
Non visual effects of light: an overview and an Italian experience
Since the discovery of non-visual effect of light, consequences on human psychology and physiology have been investigated; however, effects on cognition of exposure to different spectral composition have been partially explored. Aim of this paper is an overview on researches developed in this field to compare general approaches and measurements protocols: the scarce knowledge of the physiological mechanisms, as well as the lack of shared methods, techniques, tools and procedures represent the weak point of this research. The impact of different procedures and experimental settings on results is shown, evidencing the need for scientifically consistent and internationally agreed procedures
Experiments with methods to reduce attrition in longitudinal surveys
We report findings from two large-scale randomized experiments, carried out on the British Household Panel Survey, with survey features designed to reduce sample attrition. The first experiment compares strategies for obtaining updated contact information from sample members. We find that the propensity to locate a sample member at wave t successfully is maximized by a between-wave mailing of a change-of-address card, rather than an address confirmation card or no card. The second experiment compares standardized and tailored respondent reports for young people and busy people. We find that tailored reports have a modest positive effect on rates of co-operation for both groups, though the effect for busy people depends on providing the option of a shorter telephone interview instead of the full face-to-face interview. © 2012 Royal Statistical Society
Subjective well-being and the gender composition of the reference group: Evidence from a survey experiment
This paper tests how peopleâs subjective well-being reacts when they compare themselves with other people of the same gender, and if this reaction differs between women and men. We implement a randomized control trial prompting some respondents to compare themselves with people of the same gender and leaving the reference group of others unconstrained. Treated women report higher income and leisure satisfaction. Evaluating satisfaction in relation to a given reference group may be cognitively demanding. When accounting for this, we find that the treatment also increases womenâs health satisfaction. No or small effects are found for men, suggesting that the reference group affects subjective well-being reporting of men and women differently
Poetry and nature in Kantâs aesthetics: on why poetry is the highest of all the arts
This dissertation will explore some of the reasons why poetry is ranked as
the highest of all the arts in Kantâs aesthetics and what is the relation
between nature and poetry. The central thesis is that poetry is the most
beautiful art because it is made of language. It will be shown that poetry
possesses free beauty and that pure judgments of taste in poetry are possible.
Besides, poetry is the only art that originates entirely from the genius,
because it shares the same language of the understanding, which, alongside
imagination, constitutes the genius. Finally, poetry is the only art in which
aesthetic ideas are in full power and can be fully expressed. This happens
because language is pushed to its limits and is freed from conceptual
constraints
Tax Systems and tax reforms in Latin America, Part I : country studies, Colombia
This paper is a part of a wider research concerning taxation in the main world economic areas, carried on at the Department of Public economic on the University of Pvia, Italy, directed by L. Bernardi and P. Profeta, under the supervision of Vito Tanzi. The paper illustrates and discusses the Colombian tax ssystems with respect to its structure, developments and reforms until the last chenges of 2007, December
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