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- The effects of official and unofficial information on tax compliancePublication . Garcia, Filomena; Opromolla, Luca David; Vezzulli, Andrea; Marques, RafaelThe administration of tax policy has shifted its focus from enforcement to complementary instruments aimed at creating a social norm of tax compliance. In this paper we provide an analysis of the effects of the dissemination of information regarding the past degree of tax evasion at the social level on the current individual tax compliance behavior. We build an experiment where, for given levels of audit probabilities, fines and tax rates, subjects have to declare their income after receiving either a communication of the offcial average tax evasion rate or a private message from a group of randomly matched peers about their tax behavior. We use the experimental data to estimate a dynamic econometric model of tax evasion. The econometric model extends the Allingham-Sandmo-Yitzhaki tax evasion model to include self-consistency and endogenous social interactions among taxpayers. We find four main results. First, tax compliance is very persistent. Second, the higher the offcial past tax evasion rate the higher the degree of persistence: evaders are more likely to evade again, and compliant individuals are more likely to comply again. Third, when all peers communicate to have evaded (complied) in the past, both evaders and compliant individuals are more likely to evade (comply). Fourth, while both treatments, and especially the unoffcial information treatment, are associated, in the context of our experiment, with a signicantly larger growth in evasion intensity, the aggregate effect depends on the characteristics of the population. In countries with inherently low levels of tax evasion, offcial information can have beneficial effects by consolidating the behavior of compliant individuals. However, in countries with inherently high levels of tax evasion, offcial information can have detrimental effects by intensifying the behavior of evaders. In both cases, the impact of offcial information is magnified in the presence of strong peer effects.
- The effects of official and unofficial information on tax compliancePublication . Garcia, Filomena; Opromolla, Luca David; Vezzulli, Andrea; Marques, RafaelThe administration of tax policy has shifted its focus from enforcement to complementary instruments aimed at creating a social norm of tax compliance. In this paper we provide an analysis of the effects of the dissemination of information regarding the past degree of tax evasion at the social level on the current individual tax compliance behavior. We build an experiment where, for given levels of audit probabilities, fines and tax rates, subjects have to declare their income after receiving either a communication of the official average tax evasion rate or a private message from a group of randomly matched peers about their tax behavior. We use the experimental data to estimate a dynamic econometric model of tax evasion. The econometric model extends the Allingham – Sandmo - Yitzhaki tax evasion model to include self-consistency and endogenous social interactions among taxpayers. We find four main results. First, tax compliance is very persistent. Second, the higher the official past tax evasion rate the higher the degree of persistence: evaders are more likely to evade again, and compliant individuals are more likely to comply again. Third, when all peers communicate to have evaded (complied) in the past, both evaders and compliant individuals are more likely to evade (comply). Fourth, while both treatments,and especially the unofficial information treatment, are associated, in the context of our experiment, with a significantly larger growth in evasion intensity, the aggregate effect.
- Real effects of financial distress : the role of heterogeneityPublication . Buera, Francisco; Karmakar, SudiptoWhat are the heterogeneous e_ects of _nancial shocks on _rms' behavior? This paper evaluates and answers this question from both an empirical and a theoretical perspective. Using micro data from Portugal during the sovereign debt crisis, starting in 2010, we document that highly leveraged _rms and _rms that had a larger share of short-term debt on their balance sheets contracted more in the aftermath of a _nancial shock. We use a standard model to analyze the conditions under which leverage and debt maturity determine the sensitivity of _rms' investment decisions to _nancial shocks. We show that the presence of long-term investment projects and frictions to the issuance of long-term debt are needed for the model to rationalize the empirical _ndings. We conclude that the di_erential responses of _rms to a _nancial shock do not provide unambiguous information to identify these shocks. Rather, we argue that this information should be use to test for the relevance of important model assumptions.
- The effects of official and unofficial information on tax compliancePublication . Garcia, Filomena; Opromolla, Luca David; Vezzulli, Andrea; Marques, RafaelThe administration of tax policy has shifted its focus from enforcement to complementary instruments aimed at creating a social norm of tax compliance. In this paper we provide an analysis of the effects of the dissemination of information regarding the past degree of tax evasion at the social level on the current individual tax compliance behavior. We build an experiment where, for given levels of audit probabilities, fines and tax rates, subjects have to declare their income after receiving either a communication of the official average tax evasion rate or a private message from a group of randomly matched peers about their tax behavior. We use the experimental data to estimate a dynamic econometric model of tax evasion. The econometric model extends the Allingham – Sandmo - Yitzhaki tax evasion model to include self-consistency and endogenous social interactions among taxpayers. We find four main results. First, tax compliance is very persistent. Second, the higher the official past tax evasion rate the higher the degree of persistence: evaders are more likely to evade again, and compliant individuals are more likely to comply again. Third, when all peers communicate to have evaded (complied) in the past, both evaders and compliant individuals are more likely to evade (comply). Fourth, while both treatments,and especially the unofficial information treatment, are associated, in the context of our experiment, with a significantly larger growth in evasion intensity, the aggregate effect
- Plano de negócios DONUPublication . Costa, Bernardo Vasconcelos da; Zacarias, AbílioCom um crescimento de 45% no número de animais de estimação em Portugal, entre 2012 e 2015, e com os portugueses otimistas face ao desenvolvimento da economia nacional, é expectável que o setor da Medicina Veterinária tenha um bom comportamento nos próximos anos. Para aproveitar esta oportunidade pretende-se criar uma plataforma digital, DONU, que irá ajudar e facilitar a vida dos donos de animais de estimação, assim como das CAMV para a prospeção de novos clientes. Fisicamente, é uma plataforma digital de revenda completamente dedicada a serviços e produtos médico-veterinários. Neste sentido, este trabalho de projeto é um Plano de Negócios, efetuado segundo a metodologia de Harvard, que num cenário “realista”, ou seja, atingindo 1 por mil de quota de mercado nacional, pretende atingir um Volume de Vendas de 116 407 € em 2019. As previsões apresentadas permitem concluir da viabilidade económico-financeira do projeto, com um Pay Back Period de 2 anos, um Valor Atualizado Liquido (VAL) na ótica do investidor de 197 621 euros, e um ROI em 2024, na ordem dos 27%.
- Are sacred caves still safe havens for the endemic bats of Madagascar?Publication . Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; López-Baucells, Adrià; Rocha, Ricardo; Andriamitandrina, Santatra F. M.; Andriatafika, Zo Emmanuel; Burgas, Daniel; Temba, Eric Marcel; Torrent, Laura; Cabeza, MarDespite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with 54 adults in eight villages to investigate whether sacred caves and taboos offer conservation benefits for cave-dwelling bats in and around Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, south-west Madagascar. Although some caves were described as sites of spiritual significance for the local communities, most interviewees (c. 76%) did not recognize their present-day sacred status. Similarly, only 22% of the interviewees recognized taboos inhibiting bat hunting and consumption. Legal protection of bats and caves through protected areas was often more widely acknowledged than customary regulations, although up to 30% of the interviewees reported consumption of bats within their communities. Guano extraction was often tolerated in sacred caves in exchange for economic compensation. This may benefit bat conservation by creating incentives for bat protection, although extraction is often performed through destructive and exploitative practices with little benefit for local communities. In view of these results our study questions the extent to which sacred sites, taboos and protected areas offer protection for bats in Madagascar. These results support previous studies documenting the erosion of customary institutions in Madagascar, including the loss of the spiritual values underpinning sacred sites. Given that many Malagasy bats are cave-dwelling species and that most depend on the customary protection of these sites, it is important to obtain a better understanding of the complex interactions between spiritual practices, taboos and protected areas in sustaining bat diversity.
- Filosofia Literária: Uma Encruzilhada entre os Caminhos de Harold Bloom e Richard RortyPublication . Silva, Heraldo AparecidoEste artigo tem por objetivo analisar a filosofia de Richard Rorty a partir da teoria poética de Harold Bloom. Mostro que a redescrição, o principal expediente usado por Rorty ao tratar da filosofia, do pragmatismo e da cultura, pode ser interpretado como desleitura, um recurso literário revisionista que implica em apropriação (revisão), distorção (desvio) e correção (redirecionamento). Finalmente, proponho uma encruzilhada entre os caminhos de Bloom e Rorty, uma conversação entre a crítica literária bloominiana e a filosofia rortyana: a filosofia literária.
- Lógos Estético e Lógos HumanoPublication . Perius, Cristiano
- A comparative analysis of terrestrial arthropod assemblages from a relict forest unveils historical extinctions and colonization differences between two oceanic islandsPublication . Boieiro, Mário; Matthews, Thomas J.; Rego, Carla; Crespo, Luis; Aguiar, Carlos A. S.; Cardoso, Pedro; Rigal, François; Silva, Isamberto; Pereira, Fernando; Borges, P.A.V.; Serrano, ArturDuring the last few centuries oceanic island biodiversity has been drastically modified by human-mediated activities. These changes have led to the increased homogenization of island biota and to a high number of extinctions lending support to the recognition of oceanic islands as major threatspots worldwide. Here, we investigate the impact of habitat changes on the spider and ground beetle assemblages of the native forests of Madeira (Madeira archipelago) and Terceira (Azores archipelago) and evaluate its effects on the relative contribution of rare endemics and introduced species to island biodiversity patterns. We found that the native laurel forest of Madeira supported higher species richness of spiders and ground beetles compared with Terceira, including a much larger proportion of indigenous species, particularly endemics. In Terceira, introduced species are well-represented in both terrestrial arthropod taxa and seem to thrive in native forests as shown by the analysis of species abundance distributions (SAD) and occupancy frequency distributions (OFD). Low abundance range-restricted species in Terceira are mostly introduced species dispersing from neighbouring man-made habitats while in Madeira a large number of true rare endemic species can still be found in the native laurel forest. Further, our comparative analysis shows striking differences in species richness and composition that are due to the geographical and geological particularities of the two islands, but also seem to reflect the differences in the severity of human-mediated impacts between them. The high proportion of introduced species, the virtual absence of rare native species and the finding that the SADs and OFDs of introduced species match the pattern of native species in Terceira suggest the role of man as an important driver of species diversity in oceanic islands and add evidence for an extensive and severe human-induced species loss in the native forests of Terceira.
- The Evolutionary History of Nebraska Deer Mice: Local Adaptation in the Face of Strong Gene FlowPublication . Pfeifer, Susanne P; Laurent, Stefan; Sousa, Vitor C; Linnen, Catherine R; Foll, Matthieu; Excoffier, Laurent; Hoekstra, Hopi E; Jensen, Jeffrey DThe interplay of gene flow, genetic drift, and local selective pressure is a dynamic process that has been well studied from a theoretical perspective over the last century. Wright and Haldane laid the foundation for expectations under an island-continent model, demonstrating that an island-specific beneficial allele may be maintained locally if the selection coefficient is larger than the rate of migration of the ancestral allele from the continent. Subsequent extensions of this model have provided considerably more insight. Yet, connecting theoretical results with empirical data has proven challenging, owing to a lack of information on the relationship between genotype, phenotype, and fitness. Here, we examine the demographic and selective history of deer mice in and around the Nebraska Sand Hills, a system in which variation at the Agouti locus affects cryptic coloration that in turn affects the survival of mice in their local habitat. We first genotyped 250 individuals from 11 sites along a transect spanning the Sand Hills at 660,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. Using these genomic data, we found that deer mice first colonized the Sand Hills following the last glacial period. Subsequent high rates of gene flow have served to homogenize the majority of the genome between populations on and off the Sand Hills, with the exception of the Agouti pigmentation locus. Furthermore, mutations at this locus are strongly associated with the pigment traits that are strongly correlated with local soil coloration and thus responsible for cryptic coloration.