This study shows that in general the impact of equity on tax evasion depends on how the taxpayer's risk aversion is affected by perceived equity. Then possible reasons are discussed why an increase in perceived equity may increase a person's risk aversion and thus lead to a decrease of evasion. An economic as well as a psychological argument are presented which can explain a positive relationship between risk aversion and equity, and thus, between evasion and inequity. The economic argument considers cases where the valuation of public output increases with income. The psychological argument is based on the hypothesis that people find evasion more blameworthy in a system which is considered to be just than in an unfair system. With such a norm an increase in equity increases the bad reputation or bad conscience of evaders and leads to a reduction of evasion.
Wirtschaftsprofessor Ernst Fehr reagiert auf den Vorwurf von Zürcher Studenten, das Wirtschaftsstudium sei realitätsfern. Der Volkswirt verteidigt sein Fachgebiet, weist die Kritik aber nicht gänzlich zurück.
Fabrizio Zilibotti, Ökonomieprofessor an der Uni Zürich, ist ein ausgewiesener China-Kenner. Er erklärt, warum das Reich der Mitte noch viel Wachstumspotenzial hat und wie die Schweiz davon profitieren kann.
A major aim of Jon Driver's research was to identify principles by which the brain selects behaviorally relevant stimuli or thoughts for in-depth processing. His insights have shaped neurobiological models of selective attention that highlight top-down modulations of sensory cortex as a neural substrate of adaptive behavioral control. In this paper, I review research on the characteristics and neural origins of such top-down modulations. The studies reviewed show that neural processing in sensory cortical areas can be biased toward behaviorally relevant stimuli and thoughts by feedback projections from frontal and parietal brain areas. Such modulatory influences are similarly present for judgments about external sensory information (during attention) or internal representations (during imagery and short-term memory), potentially reflecting common neural mechanisms that enhance sensory processing of relevant neural signals. How such top-down control processes may ultimately be guided by motivational brain systems is a topic of current debate, for which Jon Driver's work will continue to provide important inspiration.
Microeconomic theory predicts that if patients are fully insured and providers are paid fee-for-service, utilization of medical services exceeds the efficient level (‘moral hazard effect’).
In Switzerland, both demand-side cost sharing and upply-side cost sharing have been introduced to mitigate this problem. Analyzing a panel dataset of about 150,000 adults, we find both types of cost sharing to be effective in curtailing the use of medical services. However, demand-side cost sharing options are preliminarily chosen by individuals in excellent health, causing ‘true’ cost savings achieved by supply-side cost sharing to be more important.
Against a backdrop of road accidents, pollution and congestion, many governments subsidise railways with the aim of reducing such externalities. But do improvements in public transport work? This column argues that recent empirical evidence confirms our expectations and, moreover, that public-transport improvements offer good value for money.
