The Effects of Taxation on Economic Development: the Moderating Role of Tax Compliance Among SMEs

The amount of revenue collected often determines a country's economic growth and development. Taxes continue to be one of the most important constituents in managing nationwide income in emerging and developed nations. In this sense, tax evasion might have serious effects, especially because the global cost of non-compliance by taxpayers is quite significant. Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are the backbone of economies around the world, driving economic progress and growth, as well as innovation and wealth creation. The high incidence of tax non-compliance among SMEs, on the other hand, stymies the progress that SMEs are meant to bring to many nations. Thus, the study aim at assessing the effects of taxation on economic development with its moderating role of tax compliance. The descriptive research design with quantitative approach was employed. The population of the study consist is 10,000 SMEs operating in Kumasi currently with a sample size of 400 SMEs. The instrument for data collection in this study was questionnaire. The data that was collected was analysed using SPSS. The findings demonstrated that in formulating strategies to enhance voluntary compliance, it is crucial for the relevant authorities to be aware of, understand and appreciate taxation taxpayers’ compliance behaviour and the need to provide tax education services. The results indicated that tax compliance enhanced the effectiveness of taxation to impact on economic development. The moderating role of tax compliance in the relationship between taxation and economic development was low but positive.

Role of Credit Access Program on the Performance of Women Owned MSES Incubated at KIRDI

Women owned Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) are a source of employment and wealth creation in most of the world economies and Kenya not an exemption. However, the survival rate of the women owned MSEs is minimal. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the role of credit access program on the performance of women owned MSEs which have been incubated at KIRDI. The study was a survey study design. The target population was 259 MSE women entrepreneurs who have graduated from KIRDI business incubation programs. The researcher did a census since it was appropriate for this study and used questionnaires to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The study analyzed data using descriptive and inferential statistics through Correlation and regression of variables. Results were reported through tables and figures. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to aid analysis of data. Data was analyzed and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between credit access program and performance of women owned MSEs incubated by KIRDI (β=0.348, p=0.000). The study concluded that business incubation support programs simplified into incubator training and development, business development services, credit access program and technology absorption positively and significantly influenced the performance of women owned MSEs incubated at KIRDI in Nairobi. The study recommends that the government should consider looking towards setting a single window to manage business incubators all over the country and to coordinate the activities of all institutions and companies that are in the process of incubating new businesses. Keywords: Credit access, Women owned MSEs, Business performance, Business incubation, KIRDI

Brief Review of Informal Financial Services Typologies in Zambia: Investing in Sustainable Savings Groups

Informal financial services (IFSs) provide various types of investment avenues for both rural and urban populations in Zambia. This paper is a critical review of the sustainability of various informal investment typologies Zambians has been using and adopting to increase their financial resources and solve their livelihoods and social issues in the process. An evaluation of why people and organizations opt for specific financial services that come in the form of savings and lending groups will be discussed in detail to understand if they have been meeting people's expectations. The paper derives its data from various studies in the past 10 years that emanates from Zambia and Sub-Saharan Africa. While the sustainability of various typologies of informal financial services is broad, they are measured through risks associated, savings policies adopted, group loan guarantees and flexibility, interest and transactional expenses enforcement, income-generating, wealth creation and any social capital investment. The research reveals that limited studies have looked at various typologies of savings and lending groups, including evaluating their sustainability. This study helps in decision making for anyone or organization who would want to join or start a savings group in Zambia and key parameters to follow.

Negotiating Stakeholder Relationships in a Regional Circular Economy: Discourse Analysis of Multi-scalar Policies and Company Statements from the North of England

Circular economy (CE) literature discusses the need for cooperation between different stakeholders to promote a CE; there is also an assumption regarding the benefits of loop closing on a local or regional scale. However, the potentially conflicting priorities, understandings, and expectations of the stakeholders involved have not been sufficiently addressed. Regional (or local) authorities have a responsibility to promote prosperity for stakeholders in their administrative region, within the constraints of national policy; conversely companies can have financial imperatives associated with stakeholders who may be globally distributed. Evidence of these conflicting priorities, the various positions stakeholder take, and their expectations of each other can be seen in the language choices regional actors make in their public-facing policy and report documents. The aim of the paper is to consider the challenges for creating a regional-scale CE that might arise from the differing priorities and values of companies and public agencies relating to specific places. It uses discourse analysis (including critical approaches) to examine how policy and business documents represent the stakeholders of the CE, their place in it, their priorities, and, importantly, the relationship between CE actors, focusing on the case of North Humberside on the North East coast of England. The plans set out in these reports are designed for external stakeholders and allow us to gain an insight into company and policy thinking in relation to CE developments in the coming years, including how they view each other’s roles. Findings indicate a shared motivation across scales and sectors for the CE as a means towards sustainable growth within which business plays a central role. However, there is a critical double disjuncture between different visions for implementation. First, between policy scales, a regional-scale CE is prioritised by regional policymakers, who have an interest in economic advantage being tied to a specific place and call for national scale support for their actions. Second, between regional policymakers and business, companies focus on their own internal operations and potential supply chain collaborations, with little attention given to the regional scale. This can be seen in the way organisations represent the actors of a nascent CE differently. In addition, a hegemonic business-focused growth discourse excludes other visions of the CE; the public are relegated to a passive role primarily as consumers and recipients of under-specified “opportunities” of wealth creation. CE theorisations need to incorporate and address these critical perspectives in order to support the development of strategies to overcome them.

Women Entrepreneurs and Agricultural Start-Ups

Numerous nations hail the agriculture sector as a critical source of wealth creation, and past researches have shown the importance of entrepreneurship in the agriculture industry. However, there is a substantial difference in men and women's rates of taking entrepreneurial initiatives. Prior research has overlooked the significance of entrepreneurial inclination in creating agricultural start-ups from the perspective of gender. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence women entrepreneurs working in the business endeavours of the agriculture sector. Using logistic regression, the study looked at a representative interview of 581 samples with individuals (18–65 years of age) from GEM countries. This model demonstrates the connection between the variables' qualities reliant on the data and the determinants. The chapter suggests that policymakers consider the consequences of promoting women's entrepreneurship in the agricultural industry and evolve the policies accordingly.

A Micro-Political Analysis of Local Governance in Nigeria: The Case of Irepodun Local Government Authority

The study examined local government autonomy and local government service delivery in Nigeria. the study discovered that, Nigerian local government needs to be autonomous in the discharge of its statutory responsibility, if ongoing agitation for local government autonomy from different quarters in Nigeria is given an approval, this will strengthen local government’s service delivery. The study discovered that some states in Nigeria oppose local government autonomy due to political and economic considerations. The study further revealed that Irepodun local government (the micro-case study) in Nigeria is not totally autonomous. Although, local governance is transparent and accountable in Irepodun Local Government, especially in the identification, formulation and execution of its projects, Irepodun local government authority has a huge financial challenge in carrying out service delivery. The study therefore recommends that; the state joint local government account should be abolished from the Nigerian constitution to enable allocation of funds directly to the local governments from Federation account. they should also put a stop to the persistence deduction from the monthly allocation of local governments. Again, states should henceforth be made to remit regularly the constitutional 10% of their internally generated revenue to the local government authorities. Irepodun local government and other local government authorities in Nigeria emplace more efforts on sustainable wealth creation rather than depending solely on the grants from the federal and state governments.

An Investigation into the Nexus Between Human Development and Carbon Dioxide Emissions? A Global Panel Analysis

A fact is that the environment remains an open-ended topic of paramount importance and interest in the literature. This is also true among decision-makers and the average person on “Main Street.” Another fact is that the momentum of human development is ongoing in most parts of the globe with higher wealth creation capabilities, better education and access to it, and better healthcare, all of which translates into a higher life expectancy. In that global context, it becomes a worthwhile endeavor to empirically assess the relationship between human development and pollution in the form of carbon dioxide emissions. Towards this end, the study considers different statistical and econometric methods involving granger-causality, panel vector error correction, and impulse responses. Using a broad panel of 139 countries sourced from the World Bank Group and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) over the 1995-2018 period, results indicate some key takeaways and a material policy implication. Improvements in human development exacerbate pollution in the short run. However, in the long run, pollution is contained, even lessened, with improvements in human development. This latter outcome could be due to a growing class of environmentally conscious economic agents and decision-makers over time as economies mature. Such results should not constitute grounds for the pursuit of unchecked and incautious policies. To the contrary, all stakeholders should redouble their efforts in either devising or scrupulously implementing greener policies.

Impact of the World’s New Technological Revolution on Economic Development and Educational Reform in the Information Age

The fourth industrial revolution of human society is also known as the “world’s new technological revolution,” which has brought human society into the information age and has had an extremely important impact on economic development and educational reform. In the information age, economic development and wealth creation are dominated by the acquisition, mastery, distribution, and utilization of information instead of capital. Therefore, the cultivation of talents is very important, and educational reform is imperative with the rise of the world’s new technological revolution.