Fiscal Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ten Years after the Dayton Treatment and Still not in a Steady Condition

The following paper deals with the fiscal federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Besides a detailed description of the development of the fiscal federalism in BiH since the Dayton peace process, the main focus of this paper is to illustrate how the public finance system in BiH is designed and what the main differences between the Republika Srpska and the BiH Federation are. We analyse the revenue disparities between the cantons and their respective municipalities, which are boosted by the origin or rather the derivation principle in tax collection, and present an equalisation system based on the VAT, which can minimise the fiscal gaps mainly in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). Moreover, this paper highlights the successful process and the unsolved problems of the recently introduced Value Added Tax in BiH. Especially the VAT introduction, the common Governance Board, the Indirect Tax Administration (ITA) and the newly formed common army and police force could be interpreted as signs of stabilisation for this fragmented federation. Although these are milestones of a peaceful coexistence between Moslem Bosniacs, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, the Bosnian fiscal federalism has only been partly achieved.Fiscal Federalism, Grants, VAT introduction, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Fiscal Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ten Years after the Dayton Treatment and Still not in a Steady Condition

JEL Classification : H7; H2; H1International audienceThe paper deals with the fiscal federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Besides a detailed description of the development of the fiscal federalism in BiH since the Dayton peace process, the main focus of this paper is to illustrate how the public finance system in BiH is designed and what the main differences between the Republika Srpska and the BiH Federation are. We analyse the revenue disparities between the cantons and their respective municipalities, which are boosted by the origin or rather the derivation principle in tax collection, and present an equalisation system based on the VAT, which can minimise the fiscal gaps mainly in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). Moreover, this paper highlights the successful process and the unsolved problems of the recently introduced Value Added Tax in BiH. Especially the VAT introduction, the common Governance Board, the Indirect Tax Administration (ITA) and the newly formed common army and police force could be interpreted as signs of stabilisation for this fragmented federation. Although these are milestones of a peaceful coexistence between Moslem Bosnians, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, the Bosnian fiscal federalism has only been partly achieved

SARS-CoV-2 infection increases risk of acute kidney injury in a bimodal age distribution

Abstract Background Hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV2 develop acute kidney injury (AKI) frequently, yet gaps remain in understanding why adults seem to have higher rates compared to children. Our objectives were to evaluate the epidemiology of SARS-CoV2-related AKI across the age spectrum and determine if known risk factors such as illness severity contribute to its pattern. Methods Secondary analysis of ongoing prospective international cohort registry. AKI was defined by KDIGO-creatinine only criteria. Log-linear, logistic and generalized estimating equations assessed odds ratios (OR), risk differences (RD), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for AKI and mortality adjusting for sex, pre-existing comorbidities, race/ethnicity, illness severity, and clustering within centers. Sensitivity analyses assessed different baseline creatinine estimators. Results Overall, among 6874 hospitalized patients, 39.6% (n = 2719) developed AKI. There was a bimodal distribution of AKI by age with peaks in older age (≥60 years) and middle childhood (5–15 years), which persisted despite controlling for illness severity, pre-existing comorbidities, or different baseline creatinine estimators. For example, the adjusted OR of developing AKI among hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV2 was 2.74 (95% CI 1.66–4.56) for 10–15-year-olds compared to 30–35-year-olds and similarly was 2.31 (95% CI 1.71–3.12) for 70–75-year-olds, while adjusted OR dropped to 1.39 (95% CI 0.97–2.00) for 40–45-year-olds compared to 30–35-year-olds. Conclusions SARS-CoV2-related AKI is common with a bimodal age distribution that is not fully explained by known risk factors or confounders. As the pandemic turns to disproportionately impacting younger individuals, this deserves further investigation as the presence of AKI and SARS-CoV2 infection increases hospital mortality risk. </jats:sec