Temporal causality and the dynamics of exports, human capital and real income in China

This article employs cointegration and error-correction modelling to test the causal relationship between real income, exports and human capital stock using data for China over the period 1960 to 1999. We find that real exports, human capital and real income are cointegrated when real exports is the dependent variable, but are not cointegrated when human capital or real income are the dependent variable. In the short-run we find evidence of bi-directional Granger causality between human capital and real exports, unidirectional Granger causality running from real income to human capital and neutrality between real exports and real income.

Temporal causality between human capital and real income in cointegrated VAR processes : empirical evidence from China, 1960-1999

This article examines the causal relationship between human capital and real income using data for China from 1960 to 1999. In the long run there is unidirectional Granger causality running from human capital to real income, while in the short run there is unidirectional Granger causality running from real income to human capital

Temporal causality and the dynamics of democracy, emigration and real income in Fiji

This study is the first to explore temporal causality between democracy, emigration and real income in Fiji within a multivariate cointegration model. We find three long run relationships between democracy, emigration and real income. In the long run there is evidence that migration and democracy Granger cause real GDP in Fiji; real GDP and democracy Granger cause migration from Fiji and that real GDP and migration Granger cause democracy in Fiji. In the short run we find unidirectional Granger causality running from migration to real GDP and from democracy to real GDP, but neutrality between democracy and migration in the short run. We also extend the analysis to examine the degree of exogeneity of the variables beyond the sample period through considering the decomposition of variance and impulse response functions.

Electricity consumption, employment and real income in Australia evidence from multivariate Granger causality tests

This paper examines the relationship between electricity consumption, employment and real income in Australia within a cointegration and causality framework. We find that electricity consumption, employment and real income are cointegrated and that in the long-run employment and real income Granger cause electricity consumption, while in the short run there is weak unidirectional Granger causality running from income to electricity consumption and from income to employment.

Sustainable living environment for urban low-income households in Malaysia : key factors for maintenance

Urbanisation is predicted to continuously increase every year. Demand for urban shelter will rise and hence this will force governments to act, within their capability, to provide affordable housing in order to maintain social and economic stability. Some industrialized countries have demonstrated full state support from planning and implementation through to continuing maintenance in order to create and sustain a healthy living environment for urban low-in-come households. For developing countries, this might be more difficult. Ensuring adequate maintenance to provide housing quality over the long term is proving even more problematic than simply providing housing. The question is how housing in developing countries can be made sustainable in order to provide a better living environment in the long term. This study focuses on key issues of residential living environments for urban low-cost housing in Malaysia in relation to housing maintenance management. Drawing from extensive primary research and a series of interviews, this exploratory study identifies factors that must be considered by policy makers in order to provide a decent and sustainable living environment for the urban lower-income group. The outcome suggests that current systems of maintenance management - offsetting maintenance to developers or the housing communities themselves, is not working well. The government may need to continue to support low cost housing through maintenance in order to prevent deterioration of accommodation that could become future slums.

Effectiveness of Liechtenstein entities to prevent the application of Australian income tax attribution regimes

Analyses the most common structures of Liechtenstein. The Anstalt, Stiftung, Trust, Business Trust and Company are described and the taxation consequences for an Australian investor considered. The analysis covers the CFC, FIF, transferor trust, deemed entitlement and anti-avoidance rules in Australian income tax law.

Income tax treatment of financial instruments : theory and practice

Examines the theoretical and practical aspects of the treatment of financial instruments under a realisation-based income tax. Argues that, within such a context, a system of expected-return taxation in preferable. The argument is developed through a review of the academic literature and selected legislative regimes.

Applying socio-cultural lenses to childhood obesity prevention among African migrants to high-income western countries : the role of acculturation, parenting and family functioning

Migration from third-world and low-income countries to high-income Western countries presents significant challenges for individuals and families, and for health service providers in the receiving societies. Cultural conflicts related to preferred body size/shape and parenting practices, together with differential inter generational rates and styles of acculturation, can affect nutritional and lifestyle choices and be associated with high rates of childhood obesity. Using African cultures as an example, this paper examines these issues. It concludes that, in designing and implementating obesity prevention programmes, health service providers need to understand these factors and how they play out.

The role of agregate demand and supply shocks in a low-income country : evidence from Bangladesh

This paper explores the relative role of aggregate demand and supply shocks in affecting the output level and inflation rate in a low-income country vulnerable to various economic shocks. The study uses Bangladesh data, and following Cover et al (2006), employs a modification of the Blanchard-Quah (BQ) approach, in which the two shocks are allowed to be correlated. Strong evidence is found for the hypothesis that aggregate demand and supply shocks are interrelated in Bangladesh. For the case in which causality is assumed to be running from demand to supply shocks, it was found that an independent supply shock plays significant role for fluctuations in inflation, which was absent in the standard BQ model. The results suggest that a tightening of monetary policy may lead to an adverse effect on the long-run growth potential and some supply-side policies may be required to supplement contractionary monetary policy in combating inflation in Bangladesh.

A factor-augmented VAR approach : the effect of a rise in the US personal income tax rate on the US and Canada

In this paper a factor-augmented vector autoregressive (FAVAR) model is estimated to characterize the dynamic effects of shocks in the personal income tax rate in the United States on United States and Canadian economies. The representation and the estimate of the FAVAR model is based on Stock and Watson (2005) and the shocks are recovered applying the identification scheme proposed by Bernanke et al. (2005); this method allows impulse response functions to be generated for all the variables in the dataset and provides a description of the domestic and international transmission mechanisms of United States movements in the personal income tax rate. A distinguishing feature of our model is the disaggregation of traded goods sector where imports and exports are disaggregated into 12 and 13 industries, respectively. This provides extra information on the domestic and international transmission mechanism across the two countries. The results show that the FAVAR approach generates a reasonable characterisation of the effects of United States movements in the US personal income tax rate on the United States economy and its transmission to the Canadian economy.

Are shocks to national income persistent? New global evidence

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the integrational properties of real GDP for 125 countries
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Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies the Kwiatkowski et al. univariate test and a KPSS-type univariate test that accounts for multiple structural breaks – a test procedure proposed by Carrion-i-Silvestre et al. The panel versions of the KPSS-type test, proposed by Carrion-i-Silvestre et al. with and without structural breaks, are also applied.

Findings – The paper finds that, while univariate tests with and without structural breaks provide mixed results on persistence, the panel test suggests that shocks to national output are persistent.

Originality/value – This is a multi-country study that focuses on both developed and developing countries and uses more recent data to provide new and comparable evidence on the persistence of output.

Influencing health equity : role of the effective consumer scale in measuring skills and abilities in a middle income country

The 2008 World Health Report emphasizes the need for patient-centered primary care service delivery models in which patients are equal partners in the planning and management of their health. It is argued that this involvement will lead to improved management of disease, improved health outcomes and patient satisfaction, better informed decision-making, increased compliance with healthcare decisions, and better resource utilization. This article investigates the domains captured by the Effective Consumer Scale (EC-17) in relation to vulnerable population groups that experience health inequity. Particular focus is paid to the domain of health literacy as an area fundamental to patients’ involvement in managing their condition and negotiating the healthcare system. In examining the possible influence of Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) on health equity, we used the recent translation and validation of the EC-17 scale into Spanish and tested Argentina as an example. Future plans to use the EC-17 with vulnerable groups include formal collaboration and needs assessment with the community to tailor an intervention to meet its needs in a culturally relevant manner. Some systematic reviews have questioned whether interventions to improve effective consumer skills are appropriate in vulnerable populations. We propose that these populations may have the most to gain from such interventions since they might be expected to have relatively lower skills and health literacy than other groups.