Scientific Annals of Economics and Business
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Do Tax Rates Matter for Entrepreneurial Motivations? An Empirical Approach
Get PDFThere are a number of factors that can hinder the path of entrepreneurship development and the literature highlighted the fact that taxes are one of the most important barriers for entrepreneurs. This paper aims at identifying the relationship between tax rates and entrepreneurship and to establish the impact of tax rates on entrepreneurs considering their motivations (necessity, opportunity or improvement-driven opportunity). The research focuses on a sample of 46 countries grouped according to their income level, for a period of eight years (2012-2019). In order to test our hypotheses, we use multiple linear regression based on balanced panel data and we consider, as dependent variables, indicators that measure entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial motivations (early-stage entrepreneurial activity, necessity-driven entrepreneurs, opportunity-driven entrepreneurs, improvement-driven opportunity entrepreneurs, and motivational index). As independent variables, we consider indicators that measure the tax rates supported by entrepreneurs (total tax and contribution rate, profit tax, labor tax and contributions, and other taxes payable by businesses). The results show that tax rates play a key role in fostering the creation of new companies. Moreover, the impact is different, depending on the entrepreneurs’ motivations. Entrepreneurs motivated by necessity are positively related to total tax and contribution rate, while those motivated by opportunity are negatively related with this indicator. Therefore, tax rates discourage the entrepreneurs that seek innovation, but they do not affect those that do not have other options to obtain the necessary income for living
European Efficiency or Inefficiency in Economic Growth Through Digital Transformation
Get PDFThe current global changes bring to the fore the importance of the innovation and digital transformation for economic development. Under the previous assumption, an objective evaluation of the economic growth discrepancies, considering the digitalization process, is required. The main goal of the present research is to analyse the economic growth of the European countries, based to the digitalization process, by using an input-output method. Under these circumstances, a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was performed, considering the digitalization dimensions of DESI Index as input and the economic growth (annual %) as output. Based on the proposed model, the results highlighted the bidirectional relationship between economic growth and digitalization. Consistent with the research results, the European countries can be divided in two main categories: the efficient and the inefficient. On one hand, we can find the relatively efficient European states in terms of achieving the economic growth through digitalization (Ireland, Romania, Croatia and Greece). On the other hand, there is a numerous list of the inefficient ones, including important countries like Finland, Germany or France. Obviously, a remarkable aspect related to their situation is that, considering the national available inputs, an output maximization will be possible. According to the proposed model, the efficient countries can serve as peers or optimal benchmarks for solving the issue of relative inefficiency, by adapting and implementing their good practices
The Economic Impact of the LEADER Program in the Rural Communities of Romania
Get PDFThe sustainable development of rural areas is one of the European Union’s objectives. LEADER program contributes to its fulfillment by offering financial support to disadvantaged rural areas. The purpose of this paper is to assess the LEADER program’s economic impact in the Romanian rural communities. Econometric methods of impact assessment were used to analyze the evolution of economic indicators in the beneficiary communities. Propensity Score Matching and Difference in Differences were the methods applied in order to meet the objectives of the paper: analysis of the spatial distribution of projects submitted and funds allocated to LAGs (1), and of the economic evolution of LAG and non-LAG communities, before and after LEADER funding (2). The results indicate a stronger economic growth for the beneficiary rural communities, confirming in all cases the initial hypothesis. LEADER seems to have acted in these directions: the creation of new jobs and increasing the local businesses performance. However, the contribution made was minimal and insignificant. Conclusions of the study highlight that the contribution of the LEADER program to the economic development of rural communities can be at most one of supporting the current level of development, but not of reaching a much higher level. LEADER can be considered, from a quantitative point of view, only an instrument with a positive effect on rural areas, but not an instrument of impact. This is because LEADER did not bring significant changes and didn’t ensure that critical mass that could trigger the economic development of rural communities
A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis of fNIRS and fMRI Technology in Neuromarketing
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tools. To achieve this aim, we adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol and bibliometric analysis (VOSviewer) for extracting the relevant papers (articles and reviews) from the Scopus database between 2002 and 2022. A total of 86 papers were included in the analysis. The results showed an increasing trend in publications over the years—the top countries in terms of publication outcome were the United States, Germany, Spain, and Australia. The analysis also identified the most influential authors and institutions in the field. In addition, we analyzed the most frequently cited articles, journals, and keywords related to fNIRS and fMRI tools. This bibliometric analysis provides insights into the current state of research on fNIRS and fMRI tools. It also provides insights into the direction of future research in this field. In this study, we will provide general insights and details about current trends in neuromarketing research using fNIRS and fMRI
The Effect of Earnings Volatility on Stock Price Delay
Get PDFIn this study, I examine the relation between earnings volatility and stock price response delay. I study the effect of the uncertainty of earnings and their components on the stock price response to value-relevant information. For more volatile earnings and earnings components, it is more complex for investors to reliably understand and impound information into stock prices. When earnings and components provide opaque and uncertain information about the future cash flows, I expect that investors are more divergent in their interpretations and delayed in arriving at their future cash flow estimates. To measure firms’ response to value-relevant information, I adopt a parsimonious measure of stock price response to information developed by Hou and Moskowitz (2005). I use five-year rolling standard deviations of earnings and components for earnings and components volatility measures. As an additional earnings volatility measure, I adopt the degree to which earnings volatility deviates from cash flow volatility. My study demonstrates that earnings volatility negatively affects stock price response to information. As I hypothesize, the more volatile earnings and components are, the more delayed the market reacts to value-relevant information. Among earnings and their components, the effect of cash flow volatility is the most influential
The Influence of Critical Audit Matters in the US on the Informativeness of Investors
Get PDFIn 2017, the PCAOB announced its new audit standard, AS 3101. One requirement is reporting critical audit matters (CAMs), starting June 30, 2019, for large accelerated filers. Using US data of CAM, we investigate whether the reporting of CAMs is informative for investors using a difference-in-differences approach and we use as proxies for investors’ informativeness, absolute abnormal returns and abnormal trading volume. Our motivation is to assess the relevance and the effectiveness of a new regulation aiming to improve audit quality. Overall, our findings provide some indications that the first-time implementation of CAMs might lead to investors avoiding those companies presumably because of uncertainty about the information being released. We also investigate the content of the CAM paragraph and do not find that the number, categories, or firm-specific/industry-common CAMs are value-relevant for investors. The results of this study provide insight into the new US auditor standard and the value-relevance of CAMs for investors. We suggest that standard setters should aim to improve the auditor report to make it more informational. Overall, our paper provides some evidence on the implementation and communicative value of the new CAM reporting, suggesting that CAMs are not informative for investors. We argue that this is the case potentially due to the additional information from CAMs which leads to complex information or information overload making investors less reluctant to invest on the companies with a significant number of CAMs reported
Financial Contagion from the Subprime Crisis: A Copula Approach
Get PDFThe magnitude of the subprime crisis effects caused recessions in several economies, giving rise to the global financial crisis. The scale of this major shock and the different recovery profiles of European economies motivated this paper. The main objective is to look for evidence of contagion between the North American financial market (S&P500) and the financial markets of Portugal (PSI20), Spain (IBEX35), Greece (ATHEX) and Italy (FTSEMIB), in the South of Europe, and the financial markets of Sweden (OMXS30), Denmark (OMX2C0), Finland (OMXH25) and Norway (OsloOBX), in the North of Europe. Considering the period from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2013, the ARMA-GARCH models were estimated to remove the autoregressive and conditional heteroscedastic effects from the time series of the daily returns. Then, the copula models were used to estimate the dependence relationships between the European stock indexes and the North American stock index, from the pre-crisis subperiod to the crisis subperiod. The results indicate financial contagion of the subprime crisis for all analyzed European countries. The North European markets intensified the relations of financial integration (both in negative and positive shocks) with the North American market, apart from the Danish against the Portuguese. In addition to the contribution made by the joint application of the ARMA-GARCH models, the findings are useful to identify channels of financial contagion between markets and to warn about the effects of possible new crisis, which will require different levels of adaptation by the companies’ financial managers and intervention by the authorities
Does the Remittance Generate Economic Growth in the South East European Countries?
Get PDFThis paper aims to examine the causal relationships between remittances and economic growth in 10 Southeast European developing countries, including Greece as a developed country. The research uses various econometric techniques, such as OLS, fixed-effects model, random-effects model, and Hausman-Taylor IV estimators. The regression results have shown up that there is a positive link between remittances and economic growth in 10 Southeastern European countries. Findings support the hypothesis that the remittance inflows generate economic growth in 10 Southeast European countries. Despite this, a positive relationship is also revealed between foreign direct investment, final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation, exports, and economic growth. The only exchange rate does not have a causal link on economic growth, meaning that the exchange rate does not affect economic growth. Since the remittances have a positive effect on the economic growth, and they represent a large source of external financing in Southeast European countries, the government should implement the right policies to reflect on encouraging and channelizing the remittance inflows for investment purposes, which in turn lead to a reduction of migration and unemployment. The study is original and makes effort to promote the role and significance of remittance inflows in the Southeast European developing countries, including Greece. The findings of the study might be valuable for Governments of these countries and other policymakers to channels remittances for investment purposes
Joining the Anti-Brand Communities on the Internet: Who and Why
Get PDFThis paper aimed to empirically deepen our understanding of the growing phenomenon of negative consumer-brand relationships in the Internet, striving to investigate “who and why” consumers join anti-brand communities against the top ten global brands. In particular, this study aims to investigate whether the consumers’ profile affects whether they develop negative feelings or not, and the main reasons for their negative feelings. Methodologically, this study is based on the quantitative methodology of the survey and on the statistical verification of several research hypotheses formulated on the impact of the main consumer characteristics (gender, age, country of origin, education, empathy) on their behavior towards the hated brands. Regarding “who”, our findings show that gender, age and country of origin are the main consumer characteristics affecting both their negative feelings towards brands and their willingness to join an anti-brand community. Regarding “why”, low quality of products/services and a lack of corporate social responsibility are the main reasons for hating brands. Finally, this study contributes to knowledge of negative consumer-brand relationships in the Internet domain and provides advanced insights into consumer behavior with reference to the top global brands. It also encourages further research on the interconnections among the central questions of this paper, i.e., who and why individuals join anti-brand communities, and represents a starting point for further studies aimed at expanding the consumer characteristics investigated in this paper, including personality traits. This study also pioneers the profile of anti-brand community participants in the Internet, which is so pertinent in the rise of marketing 5.0
An Assessment of Institutional Improvements in Romania and Bulgaria Following EU Accession
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to analyse to what extent accession to the European Union affected the quality of institutions in Romania and Bulgaria. In order to measure these effects, indicators of perceived corruption have been built based on data from the Life in Transition surveys I, II, III, conducted by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Under the specifications of a difference-in-differences methodology, evidence of a reduction in small acts of corruption has been discovered for both countries, with larger effects in Bulgaria. In regards to high level corruption, Romania proved to be successful in tackling this dimension nine years after the accession, while for Bulgaria the evidence suggests an unfavourable deterioration over time