The rapid growth of Chinese tax revenues in the past decade is often considered “unnatural” relative to GDP growth. In this paper we investigate this seemingly unnatural growth by presenting different models of the relationship between the annual growth of tax receipts and GDP. The models...

The Dutch social protection system has been under reconstruction from the early 1980s. After describing the structure of the current system and addressing recent developments as to the treatment of families and individuals, the paper presents three scenarios that could develop in future years....

This paper addresses the run up to the recent European Union enlargement. It considers the accession of 10 Eastern European countries in view of the pre-existing economic conditions. The paper also raises the question how the new member states can tackle their deficit problems. In particular,...

For many years, foreign funded companies in China enjoyed a relatively low tax rate and a series of preferential policies which were aimed at encouraging foreign direct investment in China. By adopting a new law in 2007, however, the National People's Congress proclaimed the end of the dual...

The European Union has not defined its limits in geographical terms. Each enlargement has led and will lead to a decrease of the European Union’s per capita GDP. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the transition countries went through a long and deep recession. However, they have reached a...

This paper analyzes the economic developments in countries bordering the Black Sea. Of the three former soviet republics bordering the Black Sea, Georgia showed the best economic per-formance, in particular in the late 1990s. The economic performance of Russia and Ukraine is poor. Their...

This paper presents an analysis of the procurement of transportation services for the disabled by the town of Ridderkerk. The method used consisted of a study of the town’s files and interviews with 11 persons involved. The tender specifications were peculiar in that they required bidders to...

This paper presents a comprehensive review and analysis of tax harmonization and tax competition in the European Union. It is shown that while tax burdens in the European Union have increased substantially in the past 35 years, they did not converge. Also, there is no evidence of the ‘race to...

This paper investigates which different views have occurred on the main lines of the Dutch incomes policy. To this end the implications of the incomes policies pursued by different cabinets have been analyzed, mainly since 1973. It appears that distributive policies are heavily influenced by a...

After the upheavals in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Western world has given considerable aid to the fledgling democracies. In this paper we draw a summary from Baltic experience in the fields of educational programs, scientific and environmental programs, and...