An empirical investigation of the relationship between government revenue and expenditure : the case of the Fiji Islands

Purpose – Understanding the relationship between government revenue and government expenditure is important from a policy point of view, especially for a country like Fiji, which is suffering from persistent budget deficits. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between government revenue and expenditure for Fiji.

Design/methodology/approach – The Johansen test for cointegration and Granger causality test are used to conduct the empirical analysis.

Findings – The key findings are that: government revenue and government expenditure in both the aggregate and disaggregate sense are cointegrated; in the short-run government expenditure Granger causes government revenue in an aggregate sense, departmental expenditure Granger causes aggregate revenue, and there is bidirectional causality running between government expenditure and customs duties; and in the long-run there is evidence of fiscal synchronization, implying that expenditure decisions are not made in isolation from revenue decisions.

Research limitations/implications – This fiscal synchronization has not been able curb the current account deficit in Fiji. Moreover, the confirmation of the spend-tax attitude of the government does not bode well for the level of investments and skilled human capital in Fiji as this may perpetuate tax increases in the future. Given that the Fiji Government is currently trying to rein in the escalating level of fiscal deficit, it is an opportune time for them to engage in extensive expenditure reforms.

Originality/value – The findings of this paper should allow policy makers to make informed decisions. Furthermore, the paper is different from others because apart from examining the revenue and expenditure in an aggregate sense, it also considers the different components of revenue and expenditure.

Behind the scene of knowledge sharing : the impact of task complexity

Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, culture, managerial system and strategy for knowledge creation and sharing in organizations. While these studies play a critical role in helping us to appreciate the importance of organizational enablers in knowledge management, they have neglected to examine the possible effects of task complexity on the nature and efficacy of knowledge sharing. This study investigates how task complexity influences the mode and effectiveness of knowledge sharing among professional accountants in Malaysia. In particular, it highlights the relationships between different task dimensions and modes of knowledge sharing, and the impact of knowledge sharing on professional competency. This study adopts a process oriented approach based on Nonaka’s (1994) knowledge sharing model. This study reveals that task complexity is significantly related to knowledge sharing. Tasks carried out by professional accountants vary from repetitive or clearly-defined procedural tasks to unstructured tasks that required professional judgment and expertise for successful task performance. While professional accountants are generally keen to gain access to knowledge databases to source for possible task solutions, they are generally hesitant to share their tacit knowledge by transforming the knowledge into explicit form. The finding suggests that there may be cultural-related factors that inhibit sharing of one’s tacit  knowledge totally and completely. This study also shows the existence of a  significant relationship between knowledge sharing and professional  competency, suggesting that the importance of the internalization mode of  knowledge sharing in sustaining the competitive edge of professional  accountants.

Sharing music and culture through singing in Australia

This article discusses the notion of sharing music and culture as an effective platform to celebrate diversity in Melbourne, Australia. My research project ‘Celebrating Music Making and Finding Meaning’ investigates and illustrates a context of diversity, one that promotes respect in a multicultural society sharing music and culture of a minority group. In 2007, I interviewed members of the South African choir in Melbourne; here I report on some data regarding why members sing in the choir, what are their understandings of a so-called South African identity and what they would like to share with the wider Australian community. I present some theoretical perspectives focusing on the notion of cultural and musical identity within a multicultural society. Such findings may have similar implications for other multicultural educational settings exploring the possibilities of valuing cultural diversity and making music across ages through a choir where difference can be shared and celebrated.

The effect of smoke-free policies on revenue in bars in Tasmania, Australia

Objective: To examine the impact of smoke-free policies on revenue in Tasmanian bars.

Method: Monthly sales turnover from January 2002 to March 2007, provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics was analysed. There were two outcome measures: (1) the ratio of monthly bar sales turnover in Tasmania to monthly bar sales turnover in four other Australian states, and (2) the ratio of monthly bar turnover to monthly retail turnover in Tasmania. Linear regression was used to assess the impact of the smoke-free policy on expenditure.

Results: The smoke-free policy had no effect on sales turnover.

Conclusion: The smoke-free policy protects hospitality workers and patrons from exposure to secondhand smoke and has had no adverse effect on sales turnover.

Knowledge sharing by organisations in sustainable development projects

There are an increasing number of organisations seeing the benefits of implementing sustainable development practices within their processes and product design. However, there are a number of barriers that are preventing organisations from taking up this challenge. Some of these barriers could be reduced through the application of better external knowledge sharing. This paper explores the potential for sharing knowledge about sustainable development practices in academic and industry journals. Using content analysis, the types of projects that are discussed and the level of detail provided in the reporting of sustainable development initiatives by organisations are examined to identify what is being communicated and more importantly to identify what is not being shared. The results show that there is a lack of detail in reporting with a focus on reporting only certain types of sustainable development projects that may prevent knowledge sharing from occurring.

Sharing community through singing : the Bosnian Behar Choir in Victoria, Australia

In 2008, the Australian Federal Minister for Ageing identified the importance of promoting social engagement amongst older Australians who frequently rely on community arts organizations to enhance quality of life, specifically in health, happiness and community. The arts are identified as a powerful catalyst in building strong communities that have the potential for connection, caring and social development. Greater active engagement in performing arts by older people is positively related to enhanced individual and community well-being. Our research study, Wellbeing and ageing: community, diversity and the arts (begun in 2008), explores cultural diversity and complexity within older Australian society through an examination of engagement with a community choir. In 2009 data were collected via semi-structured interviews that were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis which utilises a phenomenological approach that explores personal experience in the participant’s life-world. Our research study focuses on one community choir, the Bosnian Behar Choir, in Victoria, Australia, as a lens through which to explore active ageing. Three significant issues were identified from this research which will be reported under the themes of well-being, community and cultural diversity. The Bosnian Behar Choir demonstrates how community music making can enhance well-being and positive ageing in contemporary Australia.

Enhancing knowledge sharing with information and communication technology.

Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, culture, managerial system and strategy on knowledge sharing in organizations. These enablers are mostly related to organizational infrastructure that promotes knowledge sharing in organizations. This paper focuses on the critical role of information and communication technology (ICT) in facilitating the process of knowledge sharing in organizations. The results indicate that ICT support significantly impacted knowledge sharing, which in turn positively affected firm performance.

Knowledge sharing in professional accountancy firms : the effects of task complexity and management control system

Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have focused on effectiveness of enablers such as organizational structure (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999; Gold et al., 2001), technology (Gold et al., 2001; O’Dell and Grayson, 1998), culture (DeLong and Fahey, 2000; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000), managerial system (Nonaka, 1994; Sveiby, 1997) and strategy (Bierly and Chakrabarti, 1996; Holsapple and Joshi, 2001) on knowledge sharing. These enablers are organizational infrastructure or mechanism for facilitating the sharing of knowledge in a firm. In knowledge-intensive firms, task complexity and management control systems (MCS) can potentially affect the mode and effectiveness of knowledge sharing. However, these two factors have not been distinctly and explicitly investigated and discussed in literature relevant to the domain of knowledge sharing and management. This study proposes to examine how task complexity and the design of MCS could be the key determinants of the mode and effectiveness of knowledge sharing in professional accounting firms or practices.

Enhancing Knowledge Sharing with Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The acceleration of technological change and trade liberalization in the 1990s have significantly intensified market competition and transformed the world economic infrastructure from a resource- and manufacturing-based economy to one in which knowledge and services are the key drivers of economic growth. In order for an organization to capitalize on its knowledge and truly become a learning organization, it must begin to systematically manage and leverage knowledge existing internally and externally to create and sustain its competitive advantage. Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, culture, managerial system and strategy on knowledge creation and sharing in organizations. The enablers examined earlier are mostly related to organizational infrastructure that promotes knowledge sharing in organizations. This paper examines specifically the critical role of information and communication technology (ICT) in facilitating and enhancing knowledge sharing and organizational performance. This study adopted a process oriented approach by using Nonaka’s (1994) knowledge sharing model. The results indicate that significant positive effects of ICT support on knowledge sharing and all dimensions of knowledge sharing are significant predictors of organizational performance.

Management control systems and effectiveness of knowledge sharing

Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999; Gold et aI., 2001), technology (Gold et aI., 2001; O'Dell and Grayson, 1998), culture (DeLong and Fahey, 2000; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000), managerial system (Nonaka, 1994; Sveiby, 1997) and strategy (Bierly and Chakrabarti, 1996; Holsapple and Joshi, 2001) on knowledge creation and sharing in organizations. Little research has focused on the role of management control systems (MCS) in facilitating knowledge sharing in knowledge-intensive firms (Ditillo, 2004). This study examines how the interactive use of management control systems (MCS) could facilitate the different modes of knowledge sharing among accounting professionals in Malaysia. Based on Nonaka's (1994) knowledge sharing mode, this study found a highly significant relationship between an interactive use of MCS and knowledge sharing to suggest that a more open, less fmancial-oriented and more interactive type of MCS tends to interlink and underpin organizational social process which is the central part of the knowledge sharing process. While professional accountants are generally keen to gain access to knowledge databases to source for possible task solutions, they are generally hesitant to share their tacit knowledge by transforming that knowledge into explicit form. The fmding suggests that there may be cultural-related factors that inhibit sharing of one's tacit knowledge totally and completely.