en

IEB

Universitat de Barcelona logotipo

2004/02: Tax Evasion in Interrelated Taxes

In 1969, Shoup postulated that the presence of interrelated taxes in a tax system would reinforce the tax penalty system (“self-reinforcing penalty system of taxes”). In this paper, we have tried to formally develop this idea. We find that in order for tax reinforcement to be maintained, it is necessary for interrelated taxes to be administered by a single tax administration, or if they are administered by different tax administrations, the level of collaboration between them has to be sufficiently high. If so, tax evasion in interrelated taxes might be considered as an alternative explanation for the gap between the levels of tax evasion that can be guessed in practice and the much higher levels predicted by the classical tax evasion theory (Allingham and Sandmo, 1972; Yitzhaki, 1974). Otherwise, the result anticipated by Shoup may even be reversed. Moreover, as long as collaboration is imperfect, the classical results of the comparative statics might change, since in some cases, although global tax compliance increases when faced with a variation in a tax parameter, it can decrease in a single tax.

2004/01: Movilidad intergeneracional de ingresos y educativa en España (1980-90)

Este trabajo cuantifica, en primer lugar, la movilidad intergeneracional de ingresos en España para los años 1980 y 1990. Dicha movilidad se interpreta como la correlación de la transmisión de ingresos de una generación a la siguiente. Los resultados muestran que la movilidad de ingresos incrementó durante la década del 1980. Este aumento de la movilidad no fue homogéneo para hombres y mujeres ni tampoco igual según la zona de residencia del individuo. En segundo lugar, se cuantifica la movilidad intergeneracional educativa, es decir, el grado de transmisión de educación de padres a hijos para el año 1990. Se observa que hay poca dependencia de la educación entre generaciones. Finalmente, se observan que las dos medidas de movilidad intergeneracional -la de ingresos y la educativa- no se pueden considerar iguales.

2003/06: Regional Distribution of Foreign Manufacturing Investment in Spain. Do Agglomeration Economies Matter?

This paper examines the locational determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing activities in the regions of Spain, with particular attention to agglomeration factors, and the effect of these determinants on three separate industries. The analysis reveals that agglomeration economies are significant determinants of the regional distribution of manufacturing FDI, and that the nature and importance of locational determinants vary according to the specific needs of each industry.

2003/05: Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries Versus Joint Ventures: The Determinant Factors in the Catalan Multinational Manufacturing Case

The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the choice between establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) or entering into a joint venture (JV) as made by Catalan manufacturing firms investing abroad. The validity of certain key transaction-cost hypotheses in this case is tested using binomial logistic regression. Results indicate that a Catalan manufacturing firm is more likely to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary if the firm is sufficiently large, has had substantial experience in the host country geographical region, but is young and possesses little general experience in the international sphere. On the other hand, a Catalan firm is more likely to invest via a WOS if the firm possesses intangible or tacit assets and operates within a technologically advanced sector. Finally, a joint venture is preferred by a Catalan firm if the potential host country is perceived to imply a high degree of instability and risk or has a high rate of growth.

2003/04: FDI Determinant Factors: The Case of Catalan Multinational Manufacturing Firms

In recent years, and for the first time in Spanish economic history, outward direct investment flows outweigh inward flows. Catalan manufacturing not only mirrors this pattern, but also represents a high proportion of all Spanish manufacturing outward direct investment. In this paper, we analyse the factors that determine outward direct investment by Catalan manufacturing firms. We apply Dunning’s eclectic paradigm, which distinguishes between ownership, internalisation and location advantages. In applied studies, these advantages have usually been approximated by variables relating to the investing firm and variables about host countries. Our research endeavours to identify which of these variables determine the probability of a manufacturing Catalan firm to own production subsidiaries overseas.

2003/03: Public Capital, Growth and Convergence in Spain. A Counterfactual Density Estimation Approach

The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics of growth and convergence in Spain for the period 1965-1995. We analyse the evolution of the per capita income distribution across Spanish provinces and estimate the e®ects on this evolution of factors such as private, human and public capital, and an industrialisation index. We show that after a period of absolute convergence over the 60’s and early 70’s, the provinces polarised (club convergence) during the 80’s. This polarisation process preceded a period of divergence among clubs, which began to appear during the 90’s. Moreover, by estimating counterfactual densities, we show that private capital accumulation and education at graduate level have an e®ect on the growth process of rich provinces and can account for a relevant fraction of the actual dispersion and polarisation of incomes. In addition, we found that public capital has reduced inequalities, especially in recent years, through redistribution of incomes rather than by increasing productivity. Finally, industrialisation explains a smaller fraction of such processes once estimates are controlled for all the other growth determinants.