Are CEOs incentivized to avoid Corporate Taxes? - Empirical Evidence on Managerial Bonus Contracts

__Abstract__ In this paper, we test empirically whether there is a relationship between corporate income taxes and CEO bonus payments. Using Compustat and ExecuComp data from 1992 to 2010, we find mixed results. Looking at the whole sample, the average bonus contract rewards tax savings excessively in comparison to other determinants of corporate net income. A possible ex- planation is that managers require to be compensated for the additional risk inherent in running an aggressive tax strategy. In accordance with previous lit- erature, we document a substantial heterogeneity in compensation practices across industries. It appears that our main result is driven by firms in the In- dustrial and Retail sectors. We further find that companies with greater tax planning opportunities, for example by virtue of size or operations abroad, are more likely to condition the CEO’s bonus on corporate income taxes

Paid to quit

__Abstract__ Inspired by a recent observation about an online retail company, this paper explains why a firm may find it optimal to offer an exit bonus to recent hires so as to induce self-selection. We study a double adverse selection problem, in which the principal can neither observe agents’ commitment to the job nor their intrinsic motivation. A steep wage-tenure profile deters uncommitted agents from applying. An exit bonus can stimulate that –among the committed agents– those who discovered that they are not intrinsically motivated for the job discontinue employment with the principal. Our key findings are that offering an exit bonus increases profits when the first adverse selection problem is sufficiently severe compared to the second and that the exit bonus needs to come as a surprise for the agents in order to function well

Spillover effects of service failures in coalition loyalty programs:the buffering effect of special treatment benefits

Coalition loyalty programs are on the rise, yet few studies investigate the impact of service failures in such programs. Using data from a retail context, the authors show that a program partner deemed responsible for a service failure suffers negative customer responses. However, customers' perceptions of the benefits of the coalition loyalty program buffer these consequences. Perhaps most importantly, when customers perceive the program's special treatment benefits as low, direct and indirect spillover effects occur, such that a service failure by one program partner has a negative effect on customer loyalty toward the program itself

A novel vacuum ultra violet lamp for metastable rare gas experiments

We report on a new design of a vacuum ultra violet (VUV) lamp for direct optical excitation of high laying atomic states e.g. for excitation of metastable rare gas atoms. The lamp can be directly mounted to ultra high vacuum vessels (p <= 10^(-10) mbar). It is driven by a 2.45 GHz microwave source. For optimum operation it requires powers of approximately 20 W. The VUV light is transmitted through a magnesium fluoride window, which is known to have a decreasing transmittance for VUV photons with time. In our special setup, after a run-time of the VUV lamp of 550 h the detected signal continuously decreased to 25 % of its initial value. This corresponds to a lifetime increase of two orders of magnitude compared to previous setups or commercial lamps

Nuklearna reakcija 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy

The 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy reaction was investigated with very high resolution. The spectra were recorded with two sets of measurements, with Ed = 14 MeV at the angle of 45◦ and Ed = 22 MeV at 35◦ . The intensity ratio of these measurements is a measure for the transfered angular momentum ∆l.Istraživana je nuklearna reakcija 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy s visokom rezolucijom. Preliminarni spektri dobiveni su za dva niza mjerenja, s Ed = 14 MeV pod kutom od 45◦ i s Ed = 22 MeV pod kutom od 35

Nuklearna reakcija 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy

The 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy reaction was investigated with very high resolution. The spectra were recorded with two sets of measurements, with Ed = 14 MeV at the angle of 45◦ and Ed = 22 MeV at 35◦ . The intensity ratio of these measurements is a measure for the transfered angular momentum ∆l.Istraživana je nuklearna reakcija 164Dy(d, p) 165Dy s visokom rezolucijom. Preliminarni spektri dobiveni su za dva niza mjerenja, s Ed = 14 MeV pod kutom od 45◦ i s Ed = 22 MeV pod kutom od 35

Controlling Internal Pore Sizes in Bicontinuous Polymeric Nanospheres

Complex polymeric nanospheres were formed in water from comb-like amphiphilic block copolymers. Their internal morphology was determined by three-dimensional cryo-electron tomographic analysis. Varying the polymer molecular weight (MW) and the hydrophilic block weight content allowed for fine control over the internal structure. Construction of a partial phase diagram allowed us to determine the criteria for the formation of bicontinuous polymer nanosphere (BPN), namely for copolymers with MW of up to 17?kDa and hydrophilic weight fractions of ?0.25; and varying the organic solvent to water ratio used in their preparation allowed for control over nanosphere diameters from 70 to 460?nm. Significantly, altering the block copolymer hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance enabled control of the internal pore diameter of the BPNs from 10 to 19?nm