The impact of doing business regulations on investments in ICT

Using industry-level data from 14 OECD countries and doing business indicators of the World Bank, we analyze how country-level regulations of business activities affect investments in information and communication technologies (ICT). We find that investments in ICT decrease with the costs of starting and operating a business and registering property. Investments increase with the strength of legal rights. We also find that investments in software increase with the ability of shareholders to sue managers for misconduct, and investments in communication technologies decline with the extent of director liability for self-dealing

The impact of doing business regulations on investments in ICT [WP]

Using industry-level data from 14 OECD countries and doing business indicators of the World Bank, we analyze how country-level regulations of business activities affect investments in information and communication technologies (ICT). We find that investments in ICT decrease with the costs of starting and operating a business and registering property. Investments increase with the strength of legal rights. We also find that higher minimum capital requirement reduces investments in software and the extent of director liability reduces investments in communication technologies

Bribery environments and firm performance: Evidence from CEE countries

We examine the relation between bureaucratic corruption and firm performance in CEE countries. We show that divergent consequences of corruption found in previous studies can be explained by the specifics of the local bribery environment in which firms operate. A higher mean bribery is associated with lower firm performance, while higher dispersion of individual firm bribes appears to facilitate it. We also conduct a detailed analysis by firm sector and size, and countries' institutional environments

E-government can be good for business

Many developing countries face significant challenges associated with collecting taxes and tendering public contracts. High tax compliance costs due to cumbersome regulations and harassment by tax officials deter investment, encourage tax evasion, and undermine economic growth. The public procurement of goods and services is often rife with collusive practices and corruption, resulting in the misallocation or waste of resources and poor quality infrastructure. One possible solution is to adopt electronic government (e-government) systems that automate and simplify interactions between government and the private sector

Tele-communications 2.0: the age of the internet

Over the past few decades, the Internet has become the major tool for communication, greatly replacing the traditional telecommunication technologies. We use industry-level evidence from 21 European countries and the period 1997-2007 and identify the changing effects of traditional telecommunication technologies and the Internet on the functioning of markets. Specifically, we show that the effect of the traditional telecommunication technologies on competition in services and goods markets has dissipated and has become insignificant during this period. In contrast, the effect of the Internet has gained a significant momentum

Tele-Communications 2.0: The Age of the Internet [WP]

Over the past few decades, the Internet has become the major tool for communication, greatly replacing the traditional telecommunication technologies. We use industry-level evidence from 21 European countries and the period 1997-2007 and identify the changing effects of traditional telecommunication technologies and the Internet on the functioning of markets. Specifically, we show that the effect of the traditional telecommunication technologies on competition in services and goods markets has dissipated and has become insignificant during this period. In contrast, the effect of the Internet has gained a significant momentum

Does e-government improve government capacity? Evidence from tax compliance costs, tax revenue and public procurement competitiveness

Using cross-country data on e-government systems, we analyze whether e-filing of taxes and eprocurement adoption improves the capacity of governments to raise and spend fiscal resources through lowering tax compliance costs, improving tax collection and public procurement competitiveness, and reducing corruption. We find that adopting e-filing systems reduces tax compliance costs as measured by the time to prepare and pay taxes, the likelihood and frequency of firms being visited by a tax official, and the perception of tax administration as an obstacle to firms’ operation and growth. E-filing is also associated with a moderate increase in the income tax revenue to GDP ratio. The results for e-procurement are weaker, with the number of firms securing or attempting to secure a government contract increasing only in countries with higher levels of development and better institutions. We find no strong relationship between e-government and corruption

Influences of Motor Control Instruction and Taping on Center of Pressure and Scapulothoracic Kinematics During Reaching for Individuals with Hemiparesis

Purpose: To determine if application of Kinesiotape™ was able to normalize the overall reaching motion by analyzing both surface electromyographic data and force platform feedback. Design: This study utilizes a case-control design. Subjects: 5 control and 5 stroke survivors age \u3e40 were recruited for this study through flyers at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains, NY. Methods: Surface EMG electrodes were applied to upper extremity (UE) and lower extremity (LE) muscles and an accelerometer placed on the reaching UE. Subjects stood on a force platform and reached towards a target at shoulder height. The task was repeated 5-7 times with right and left UE and again with Kinesiotape™ applied to the stroke survivors’ involved UE and the healthy controls’ non-dominant UE. The Kinesiotape™ was placed to activate the levator scapula and middle trapezius or rhomboid muscles and inhibit the upper trapezius. Data reduction occurred off-line. Data were analyzed using SPSS for split-half ANOVA, paired sample t-tests for post-hoc analysis, and Kruskal-Wallis test for variables that did not distribute normally. Results: When normalized for time of reach, there was a statistically significant (p.001) increased center of pressure excursion/length for a taped weak reach showing increased postural sway when compared to an untaped weak reach or a strong reach. No other variables reached significance. Conclusion: Application of Kinesiotape™ to inhibit the upper trapezius muscle and to activate the middle trapezius or rhomboid and the levator scapula muscles does not appear to normalize reaching by patients with stroke when compared to healthy controls

Essays on Governance and Economic Performance

This thesis examines the relationship between governance and economic performance from different perspectives. It is also related to private sector and countries' economic development. In the first chapter I focus on bureaucratic corruption and examine how it affects firm performance in Central and Eastern European countries. While previous research relies on the data from the BEEPS (Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey) solely, which suffers from excessive non-reporting of firm performance, I combine the data on bribery practices from the BEEPS with reliable and large firm performance data from the Amadeus database. Focusing on within-firm variation, I find that a higher bribery level negatively affects both the sales and labor productivity growth of firms. Nevertheless, conditional on a given level of bureaucratic corruption in a narrowly defined local market, a higher unevenness of firms' bribing behavior within such a market appears to facilitate firm performance. The chance of receiving benefits from bribery may be one reason why corruption does not vanish in spite of its overall damaging effect. In the second chapter, coauthored with Vahagn Jerbashian, we concentrate on the diffusion of telecommunication technologies as an instrument of reduction the costs of entry...

Tele-Communications 2.0: The Age of the Internet

Over the past few decades, the Internet has become the major tool for communication, greatly replacing the traditional telecommunication technologies. We use industry-level evidence from 21 European countries and the period 1997-2007 and identify the changing effects of traditional telecommunication technologies and the Internet on the functioning of markets. Specifically, we show that the effect of the traditional telecommunication technologies on competition in services and goods markets has dissipated and has become insignificant during this period. In contrast, the effect of the Internet has gained a significant momentum