Fiscal sustainability and fiscal shocks in a dollarized and oil-exporting country: Ecuador

This paper investigates the fiscal sustainability of an emerging, dollarized, oil-exporting country: Ecuador. A cointegrated VAR approach is adopted in testing, first, if the intertemporal budget constraint is satisfied in Ecuador and, second, in identifying the permanent and transitory shocks that affect a fiscal policy characterized by inertia and a heavy dependence on oil revenues. Following confirmation that the debt-GDP ratio does not place the Ecuadorian budget under any pressure, we reformulate the model and identify two forces that push the fiscal system out of equilibrium, namely, economic activity and oil revenues implemented in the government budget. We argue that Ecuador needs to recover control of its monetary policy and to promote the diversification of its economy in order that non-oil tax revenues can replace oil revenues as a pushing force. Finally, we calculate quarterly elasticities of tax revenues with respect to Ecuador’s GDP and that of eight Eurozone countries. We illustrate graphically how the Eurozone countries with low positive or high negative elasticities’ levels suffer debt problems after the crisis. This finding emphasizes the pressing need for Ecuador to strengthen the connection between its tax revenues and output, and also suggests that the convergence of these elasticities in the Eurozone might contribute to the success of an eventually future fiscal union.

Yritysten sosiaalisen vastuun tarkastelua vuosina 2000 ja 2006/Corporate Social Responsibility year 2000 and 2006

Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittää, miten yritysten ajattelutapa sosiaalisesta vastuusta on muuttunut vuodesta 2000 vuoteen 2006. Lisäksi vastataan kysymyksiin, mistä osa-alueista sosiaalinen vastuu muodostuu, miten kirjoittelu sosiaalisesta vastuusta on muuttunut määrällisesti ja sisällöllisesti. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan laadullinen ja analyysimenetelmänä on käytetty diskurssianalyysiä. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu johtavien talousalan lehtien Talouselämä ja Kauppalehden artikkeleista vuosilta 2000 ja 2006. Artikkeleista saatua tietoa peilataan teoriatietoon ja näin pyritään hahmottamaan tutkimuksen tulokset. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että vuonna 2000 lehdet ovat kirjoittaneet jonkin verran enemmän sosiaalisesta vastuusta kuin vuonna 2006. Molempina vuosina sijoittavat arvostavat vastuullista toimintaa. Yrityksen arvot ovat usein määritelty ”ylhäältä-alas”. Työntekijöiden pahoinvointi on lisääntynyt entisestään vuodesta 2000 vuoteen 2006. Syynä tähän kirjoitusten mukaan ovat esimerkiksi huono johtaminen ja työtehtävien organisointi. Sosiaalisen vastuun mittaaminen on hankalaa ja ikääntyviä työntekijöitä yritetään pitää yrityksissä mahdollisimman pitkään. Tulospalkkausjärjestelmät ovat käytössä muutamassa yrityksessä. Työn, perheen ja vapaa-ajan sovittaminen yhteen on vuodesta 2000 muuttunut entistäkin tärkeämmäksi vuonna 2006. Lopputulos on, että sosiaalisen vastuun kanto on huonontunut vuodesta 2000 vuoteen 2006.

Corporate Social and Regional Responsibility - The View of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The objective of this research was to understand and describe what corpo-rate social and regional responsibility is in SMEs and define the meaning of these concepts to the community and region. Corporate social respon-sibility (CSR) creates a basis for regional responsibility. Regional respon-sibility is a new concept and this research examines it from SMEs’ view-point. This is a theoretical research and the aim is to create a theoretical framework of SMEs’ corporate social and regional responsibility. This framework supports the future research on the subject. The research results show that CSR of SMEs is practical, informal and dependent on the scarce resources of SMEs. CSR is a complex and deep concept and SMEs have their own way of interpreting it. It can be stated that CSR-practises in SMEs are closely connected to employment, envi-ronment, community and supply chain. The challenge is to find motivation to socially and regionally responsible behaviour in SMEs. Benefiting from responsible behaviour and the attitude of SME’s owner-manager are the key reasons for SMEs to involve in CSR and regional responsibility. The benefits of this involvement are for example improved image, reputation and market position. CSR can also be used in SMEs as risk management tool and in cost reduction. This study indicates also that creation of strate-gic partnerships, local government participation, a proper legal system and financial support are the basic issues which support CSR of SMEs. This research showed that regional responsibility of SMEs includes active participation in regional strategy processes, L&RED initiatives and regional philanthropy. For SMEs regional responsibility means good relationships with the community and other related stakeholders, involvement in L&RED initiatives and acting responsibly towards the operating environment. In SMEs’ case this means that they need to understand the benefits of this kind of involvement in order to take action and participate. As regional responsibility includes the relationships between firm and the community, it can be stated that regional responsibility extends CSR’s view of stakeholders and emphasises both, the regional stakeholders and public-private partnerships. Community engagement and responsible be-haviour towards community can be seen as a part of SMEs’ social and regional responsibility. This study indicates that social and regional re-sponsibility of SMEs have a significant influence on the community and region where they are located. Better local and regional relationships with regional and community actors are the positive impacts of social and re-gional responsibility of SMEs. Socially and regionally responsible behav-iour creates a more positive environment and deepens the involvement of SMEs to community and L&RED initiatives.

Olympic social responsibility : a challenge for the future

Social responsibility, especially in the fields of education, society and peace, is one of the cornerstones of the olympic ideal and strategic vision (contribute to building a better world through sport). The article reviews the literature on organizational social responsibility (OSR) and the relationship between sport/olympism and OSR in order to examine the conditions governing the implementation and success of the International Olympic Committee's strategic vision. Several ways in which the IOC could promote a more ambitious and better-integrated social strategy: revise its performance model, notably evaluate and present in a social responsibility report; promote the adoption of OSR initiatives and strategies within the Olympic System from the bottom-up, rather than from the top-down; share best practices in the different countries for promoting and developing "sport for all"; create a World Agency for Development through Sport, or partnering and funding the international platform on sport and development; creating a World Agency for the International Governance of Sport. Two possible scenarios for the future of Olympic responsibility are finally discussed: strategy of "small steps" and a more ambitious local and global social strategy through sport and olympism.

Droit pénal fiscal

Basé sur un séminaire ISIS consacré au sujet et à l'heure où le droit pénal fiscal est plus que jamais d'actualité, le recueil aborde des questions essentielles du droit pénal fiscal actuel. Il place la problématique dans le cadre des principes généraux du droit pénal et de la procédure pénale (Prof. Alain Macaluso et Lyuska Hulliger), ainsi que dans celui du développement de l'assistance internationale en matière fiscale (Prof. Xavier Oberson). L'ouvrage examine par ailleurs, sur la base de cas pratiques, certains enjeux cruciaux du droit pénal fiscal en matière d'impôts directs (Marc Bugnon et Philippe Béguin) et de la TVA (Jacques Pittet et Valérie Paris). Enfin, une contribution traite spécifiquement de la problématique de la responsabilité pénale des organes et des mandataires (Prof. Pierre-Marie Glauser).

La cláusula de intercambio de información tributaria según el Convenio bilateral Hispano-Brasileño para evitar la doble imposición y prevenir la evasión fiscal en materia de impuestos sobre la renta

El presente artículo tiene por objeto analizar el contenido, alcance, evolución y límites de la cláusula de intercambio de información incorporada en el Convenio Hispano-Brasileño para evitar la doble imposición y prevenir la evasión fiscal en materia de impuestos sobre la renta (1974), fin a cuyo logro se toma como punto de partida el marco jurídico instrumentalizador del intercambio de información tributaria y asistencia mutua entre Estados. Tendrá cabida en estas páginas un análisis en detalle de aspectos tan importantes y poco manidos como los problemas de interpretación de los convenios de doble imposición en materia de intercambio de información tributaria consecuencia de las modificaciones sustanciales tras la aprobación de las sucesivas versiones del Modelo de Convenio de la OCDE y sus Comentarios, interpretación que afecta de manera directa a cuestiones de primer orden como el ámbito subjetivo y objetivo de aplicación, límites y restricciones de la cláusula de intercambio de información sellada y ratificada por el Estado Español y la República Federativa del Brasil en 1974. Igualmente se da noticia de otros significados extremos tales como el destino del intercambio de información tributaria y el deber de confidencialidad de los Estados, con especial alusión al alcance de las restricciones específicas previstas para el intercambio de información tributaria no sólo desde la óptica de la legislación española sino también desde la visión de la normativa reguladora de la materia en Brasil.

Fiscal Regime Shifts in Portugal

We estimate changes in fiscal policy regimes in Portugal with a Markov Switching regression of fiscal policy rules for the period 1978-2007, using a new dataset of fiscal quarterly series. We find evidence of a deficit bias, while repeated reversals of taxes making the budget procyclical. Economic booms have typically been used to relax tax pressure, especially during elections. One-off measures have been preferred over structural ones to contain the deficit during economic crises. The EU fiscal rules prompted temporary consolidation, but did not permanently change the budgeting process.

Fiscal policy and interest rates: the role of financial and economic integration

It is commonly believed that a fiscal expansion raises interest rates. However, these crowding out effects of deficits have been found to be small or non-existent. One explanation is that financial integration offsets interest rate differentials on globalised bond markets. This paper measures the degree of integration of government bond markets, using spatial modelling techniques to take this spillover on financial markets into account. Our main finding is that the crowding out effect on domestic interest rates is significant, but is reduced by spillover across borders. This spillover is important in major crises or in periods of coordinated policy actions. This result is generally robust to various measures of cross-country linkages. We find spillover to be much stronger among EU countries.

Sustainability of EU fiscal policies. A panel test

The fiscal policy rule implicit in the Stability and Growth Pact, has been rationalised as a way to ensure that national fiscal policies remain sustainable within the EU, thereby endorsing the independence of the ECB. We empirically examine the sustainability of European fiscal policies over the period 1970-2001. The intertemporal government budget constraint provides a test based on the cointegration relation between government revenues, expenditures and interest payments. Sustainability is analysed at both the national level and for a European panel. Results show that European fiscal policy has been sustainable overall, yet national experiences differ considerably.

Estimating the effects of fiscal policy under the budget constraint

I reconsider the short-term effects of fiscal policy when both government spending and taxes are allowed to respond to the level of public debt. I embed the long-term government budget constraint in a VAR, and apply this common trends model to US quarterly data. The results overturn some widely held beliefs on fiscal policy effects. The main finding is that expansionary fiscal policy has contractionary effects on output and inflation. Ricardian effects may dominate when fiscal expansions are expected to be adjusted by future tax rises or spending cuts. The evidence supports RBC models with distortionary taxation. We can discard some alternative interpretations that are based on monetary policy reactions or supply-side effects.

Fiscal sustainability across government tiers: an assessment of soft budget constraints

This paper analyses how fiscal adjustment comes about when both central and sub-national governments are involved in consolidation. We test sustainability of public debt with a fiscal rule for both the federal and regional government. Results for the German Länder show that lower tier governments bear a relatively smaller part of the burden of debt consolidation, if they consolidate at all. Most of the fiscal adjustment occurs via central government debt. In contrast, both the US federal and state levels contribute to consolidation of public finances.

Development of corporate social responsibility in Finnish forest industry

The main objective of this thesis was to map the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Finnish forest industry. The aim was to describe the development and find factors that explain the development. Another objective was to understand the influence of different stakeholders on the development as well as examine the development of CSR reporting. This qualitative case study used thematic interviews as the research method. The research data were collected by conducting 11 interviews among the case company representatives and stakeholders. Based on the research results, no single factor in the background of the phenomenon could be showed. Instead, CSR has developed in stages through its different dimensions. The main drivers of CSR turned out to be environmental organizations, customers and local communities. It can be concluded that the forest industry has taken CSR seriously for a long time, which has benefited the forest companies in many ways.

Web-based corporate social responsibility reporting

Due to concerns regarding globalisation and sustainable development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is topical in the business context and in the field of accounting. The main objective of this study was to review previous academic literature in the field of CSR reporting and develop an insight into CSR reporting in the Web-based environment. The main purpose was to find out what Web-based CSR reporting is like and how companies are utilising the Internet to communicate on responsibility issues. I did not, however, collect empirical research data but limited my study into theoretical and descriptive examination. In order to create an insight into Web-based reporting, I examined the development, motives and current practices of CSR reporting. I concluded that the Internet is a unique, interactive communication channel that is used differently compared with annual reports. The amount of companies engaging in Web-based CSR reporting is increasing and the reporting practices in terms of e.g. content and accessibility of information vary. I also concluded that many companies have not yet discovered the true potential of the Web as an interactive communication medium.