Taxation,Fiscal Decentralisation and Legitimacy: The Role of Semi‐Autonomous Tax Agencies in Peru

This article analyses the Servicios de Administración Tributaria (SAT), which currently operate in nine Peruvian cities, to show that semi‐autonomous tax agencies can play a significant role in strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of decentralised tax systems. Its findings indicate that the SAT collect local taxes and non‐tax revenues more effectively than conventional tax administrations, and that, although the SAT model per se does not generate strong incentives for the promotion of efficiency, efficiency may become more important once the SAT are consolidated. Finally, there are hints that the Peruvian SAT contribute to the legitimacy of the tax system thanks to higher levels of transparency and client orientation.     

Sampling of Bayesian posteriors with a non-Gaussian probabilistic learning on manifolds from a small dataset

Statistics and Computing - This paper tackles the challenge presented by small-data to the task of Bayesian inference. A novel methodology, based on manifold learning and manifold sampling, is...     

Comparing clusterings and numbers of clusters by aggregation of calibrated clustering validity indexes

Statistics and Computing - A key issue in cluster analysis is the choice of an appropriate clustering method and the determination of the best number of clusters. Different clusterings are optimal...     

Innerbetriebliche Subventionen zur Koordination und Steuerung dezentraler Unternehmenseinheiten bei Absatzinterdependenzen

The kind of interdependencies between decentralized departments determines the objective of coordination as well as the applicability of several coordination instruments. This paper examines two decentralized departments of one company joining a cross-firm value network with existing sales interdependencies. It compares a contribution margin based, a revenue based and a quantity based compensatory payment as coordination instruments for inducing efficient quantity and investment decisions. As a general result, conditions are identified for which ordained coordination instruments dominate other mechanisms with respect to the expected firm wide profit.     

南宋时期的《中庸》与道统——历史与学术背景

由于“中”“庸”两词语义上的模糊性,其哲学含义颇为复杂。从郑玄到二程、吕祖谦,尤其是朱熹,都对“中庸”进行了解释,现代学者对《中庸》书名的释义更是多种多样。对于《中庸》的时代以及与子思的关系问题,中国历代学者以及西方的汉学家都提出了不同的观点,至今仍然莫衷一是。     

“Privacy please!” The public to private decision in Germany

This paper examines the characteristics and motives of German public to private transactions (PTPs) between 1996 and 2004. We empirically test hypotheses regarding free cash flow, leverage potential, ownership concentration, a stock market quotation’s decreasing benefits, limited capital market efficiency, and dividends. The results illustrate that, in the relevant period, the going private companies originated from mature industries and that, in the three financial years preceding the PTP transaction, their sales figures showed slow growth. Furthermore, the capital structure had potential for further leveraging and the companies were marked by low profitability. Trading in the PTPs’ shares was very sluggish, which limited the efficiency of the capital markets. Ultimately, we do not find evidence supporting the free cash flow hypothesis regarding German firms.     

Timing of the medical examination

The medical examination of the sexually abused child may have evidentiary, medical, and therapeutic purposes, and the timing of the examination requires consideration of each of these objectives. In cases of acute sexual assault, emergent examinations may be needed to identify injury, collect forensic evidence, and provide infection and pregnancy prophylaxis. Alternately, most sexually abused children are not identified immediately after assault, and the timing of the examination needs to balance physical and emotional issues with the availability of qualified examiners. In all cases, the best interests of the child should be paramount.     

Inventory management maximization based on sales forecast: case study

The major purpose of this paper is to present a concept for reliable planning of the sales of small firms, where the large number of product variants complicates the implementation of this kind of system considerably. First, a methodology is presented to set up sales forecasting so that it can be integrated into the inventory management process. This inventory management software interprets forecasting information and provides users with a decision support system to minimize stocks in stores while at the same time avoiding missed sales. It is best applied in company types requiring high precision inventories, notably those in the textile industry; a large range of patterns are produced with many small variations (colors, size, customizations, etc.) and these products have a limited lifetime. Inventory management is difficult due to the multitude of products to account for and the necessity to sell them quickly. The methodology is intended for inventory management at the end of the supply chain. In store, the number of references, their similarities and the necessity to minimize unsold stock greatly complicates the reordering and restocking process. These types of companies do not easily lend themselves to classic techniques of sales forecasting and require specialized methods to estimate their needs precisely.