On the Redistributive Properties of Presumptive Taxation

Presumptive taxation, in which an income proxy is used as tax base, has been and is still used today in countries with very diverse situations - developing, transition and developed countries. Usually, this form of taxation is thought of as a revenue-raising device in presence of widespread imperfect tax compliance. We investigate the question of whether presumptive taxation can be used as a redistributive instrument. To this end, we employ an occupational choice model in which an individual can be either an entrepreneur or a worker. We allow for different abilities to dodge taxes across social classes, and consider both the case in which a conventional income tax is in place alongside presumptive taxation and the case in which only presumptive taxation is operating. We argue that a revenue-neutral reform introducing a lump-sum presumptive tax based on occupational choice can improve social welfare, and sometimes even lead to a Pareto-improvement.tax avoidance, presumptive taxation, redistribution, occupational choice

Fiscal Federalism and Endogenous Lobbies' Formation

We study lobbying behavior by firms in a two-region economy, with either centralized or decentralized provision of profit-enhancing local public goods. Firms compete either in the market, lobbying for public good provision once entered in a market, or for the market, lobbying to gain ccess to it. When firms compete in the market, we show that lobbying is unambiguously less disruptive or social welfare under decentralization. Moreover, foreign rather than domestic private nterests may be more powerful in a.ecting regional policies. On the contrary, when firms compete or the market, lobbying is mostly e.ective under decentralization, since local firms always end p forming a local monopoly. However, we show that an institutional setting in which competencies re split between the center and the periphery may dominate either full centralization or full ecentralization or both.fiscal federalism, lobbying, private interests

Local Governments Tax Autonomy, Lobbying, and Welfare

What degree of tax autonomy should be granted to a regional government on a local tax base? Although the regional policy maker aims at maximizing social welfare, her tax policy may be distorted by the lobbying activity of local taxpayers. In this political environment we characterize the conditions under which social welfare can be increased by restricting the set of tax instruments available to the local policy maker, i.e. the degree of local tax autonomy. We show that full tax autonomy is likely to be dominated by minimal tax autonomy when there are many groups of similar size, while the converse occurs when tax bases are asymmetrically distributed.Tax autonomy, lobbying, local public good provision

Characterization of the 222-Rn Family Turbulent Transport in the Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer

The combined effect of turbulent transport and radioactive decay on the distribution of 222-Rn and its progeny in convective atmospheric boundary layers (CBL) are investigated. Large eddy simulation is used to simulate their dispersion in steady state CBL and in unsteady conditions represented by the growth of a CBL within a pre-existing reservoir layer.JRC.H.4 - Transport and air qualit

Predicciones meteorológicas, pronosticadores, profetas y adivinadores

Fil: Galmarini, Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Filosofía y Letra

Optimality and distortionary lobbying: control policies of cigarette consumption

We examine the optimal design of public policies directed at controlling the consumption of tobacco. The public authority uses two types of instruments: (i) an excise tax, that hinders consumption by increasing the price of cigarettes, and (ii) prevention and control programs, that reduce smoking by increasing consumers\u2019 awareness about future health harm. On the normative side, the analysis focuses on the optimal mix between the two types of instruments when the objective of the policy maker is to maximize social welfare. On the positive side, the paper investigates how the lobbying activities of the tobacco industry and of anti-tobacco organizations may distort government intervention

Advancing Approaches to the Evaluation of Regional Scale Photochemical Air Quality Modeling Systems

Report on the first AQMEII workshop held in Stresa in May 2009JRC.DDG.H.4-Transport and air qualit

On Application of the "Hot-run" Version of the ENSEMBLE System to the ECURIE Level 3 Exercise

The ENSEMBLE system has been created with the primary aim of harmonizing the information coming from the various countries and to work out a reconciled European long range atmospheric dispersion ensemble forecast. The concept of multi-model ensemble dispersion forecast consists of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results produced by several modeling tools on the same case, to produce a composite picture that includes all contributions from the various simulations. This analysis has the advantage of taking into account all possible forecasted scenarios and to determine the level of consensus among the various modeling tools. Within ENSEMBLE the differences in atmospheric dispersion prediction become and asset as they are used to determine the forecast reliability.JRC.H.4-Transport and air qualit

Prototipi di auto idrogeno/elettriche del Politecnico di Milano

I due prototipi X-Team (Artemide e Apollo) rappresentano veicoli da corsa studiati appositamente per la Shell Eco-marathon (gara incentrata sulla mobilità sostenibile: protezione dell’ambiente, efficienza energetica e ricerca ) ma le innovazioni introdotte indicano linee di tendenza per tutta l’industria automobilistica. Sono trascorsi venti anni e al Politecnico si continuano a studiare e progettare veicoli innovativi. I prototipi che andiamo ad illustrare non sono utilizzabili sulla rete stradale ma rappresentano il futuro: si inizia sempre con soluzioni “speciali” e “tipizzate” per una specifica evenienza (in questo caso la partecipazione alla Eco Marathon) ma quasi tutte le innovazioni nascono così: pensate per uno specifico scopo e poi, con alcune piccole o grandi modificazioni, utilizzate in larga scala

Efecto de factores ambientales en la actividad de la abeja y en el rendimiento de semilla de cebolla (Allium cepa L.)

Los polinizadores son necesarios para producir semillas de cebolla. Esta especie es uno de los principales cultivos hortícolas. Dos tipos de variedades de cebolla se cultivan principalmente en todo el mundo: híbridos y cultivares de polinización abierta (PA). Aunque los híbridos ofrecen ventajas a los cultivadores de bulbos, los rendimientos de semillas de los híbridos son más bajos que los cultivares PA y eso es un problema importante. Se determinó la influencia de los factores ambientales (temperatura, radiación, precipitación, humedad relativa (HR) y velocidad del viento), así como la atracción de abejas y la producción de semillas en tres localidades, de principal zona productora de semillas de cebolla en Argentina. Se utilizaron nueve líneas androestériles (LAE) y una PA. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron una marcada variabilidad en la atracción de abejas y la producción de semillas entre la variedad PA y las LAE y dentro de las LAE. Además, los factores ambientales, como la temperatura mínima o HR, fueron determinantes para modificar el comportamiento de alimentación de las abejas, donde valores inferiores a 9°C y 22%, respectivamente, hicieron que las abejas detuvieran su actividad.Pollinators are required to produce onion seeds. This specie is one of the main vegetable crops. Two types of onion varieties are mainly grown worldwide: hybrids and open pollination (OP) cultivars. Although hybrids offer advantages to bulb growers, seed yields of hybrids are lower than OP cultivars and that is a significant problem. The influence of environmental factors (temperature, radiation, rainfall, relative humidity (RH) and wind speed) was determined,as well as bee attraction and seed production in three locations of the main onion seed production area in Argentina. Nine male sterile lines (MSL) and one OP were used. The results obtained showed a marked variability in the attraction of bees and seed production between the OP and MSL and within MLS. In addition, environmental factors such as minimun temperature or RH were determinant to modify bee foraging behavior, where values lower than 9°C and 22%, respectively, caused that bees stop their activity.Fil: Caselles, Cristian. Bayer Cropscience Sociedad Anonima; ArgentinaFil: Soto Vargas, Verónica Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Galmarini, Claudio Romulo. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Agropecuaria. Cátedra de Horticultura y Floricultura; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin