Fee Policy Research Articles

The nature of electronic complaints about dark tourism destinations: a machine learning approach

ABSTRACT Dark tourism studies are still underway and require further research, specifically related to understanding the stimuli for tourist complaints on dark tourism destinations. Thus, this study examines the electronic complaint attributes of visitors after visiting dark tourism destinations in Cambodia. Approximately 34,567 electronic complaint terms from 41 countries were manually retrieved and analyzed, using a natural language processing based Latent Dirichlet Allocation technique. The study revealed that complaints of visitors to dark tourism sites primarily pertain to eight topics: ‘human suffering affections,’ ‘historical site management,’ ‘political history,’ ‘environmental impact,’ ‘cultural awareness,’ ‘entrance fee policy,’ ‘accessibility,’ and ‘guide support.’ These insights are essential not only for tourism authorities to improve destination management, but also contribute to the literature on dark tourism.

A method for evaluating the effectiveness of improving public transport services, parking fee policies, and park-and-ride facilities in order to encourage the use of public transport

Enhancing the quality of public transport services, implementing effective parking fee policies, and developing park-and-ride facilities are common solutions that urban planners and city governments apply to encourage public transport use. However, estimating the impact of these measures on increasing public transport usage during the solution design process is challenging. This article proposes an approach to assess the effects of these measures in the solution design process, which policymakers or city governments can apply to formulate suitable policies and feasible measures aligned with the local context. The approach begins with a survey on travel behaviour, followed by formulating a mode choice model to assess the sensitivity of the mode share to factors affecting mode choice. This approach is applied to Da Lat city, and the research results indicate how to enhance public transport services, determine appropriate parking fee levels, and establish park-and-ride facilities to achieve a public transport share of 5%, 10%, 15%, or higher. One of the main research results shows that the Park and Ride solution is feasible. Additionally, to achieve a growth rate of public transport volume up to 10%, it is necessary to improve public transport quality services combined with an increase in car parking fees in the downtown area

Analysis of Conflict of Interest Discourse on Online Fundraising Platforms Protect the Forest

Ecology has become one of the main global issues today due to the worsening climate crisis around the world. LindungiHutan as the largest fundraising platform focusing on forest and environmental conservation in Indonesia can commercialise ecological issues through its digital means. This research aims to find out the conflict-of-interest discourse on LindungiHutan's online fundraising platform. The research was conducted qualitatively using the methods of text discourse analysis, social cognition, and social context. The results showed that LindungiHutan has commodified ecology through the nature campaign programme, collaboratree, corporatree, corporate social responsibility. LindungiHutan has collaborated with several companies that have contributed to the destruction of forests and the environment: MayBank, Mondelez International, DBS Bank, BCA Bank, PT Santos Jaya Abadi. LindungiHutan provides tree purchase packages divided into basic and additional services. LindungiHutan keeps the cost budget details and accountability report of each nature campaign confidential. The commodification of forests and the environment can also be seen from the establishment of a 5% administration fee policy for every fundraising campaign conducted by LindungiHutan.

An evaluation of the best practices and barriers for the Nagasaki acute myocardial infarction secondary prevention clinical pathway

Aims The Nagasaki Acute Myocardial Infarction Secondary Prevention Clinical Pathway (NASP), a guideline-based regional clinical pathway, was developed to manage low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Nagasaki prefecture in Japan. This study aimed to summarize the perceived best practices and barriers for the dissemination and operation of the NASP. Methods This exploratory sequential mixed methods study was developed around the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework. Focus group interviews were conducted with 24 physicians with experience treating AMI in alignment with the NASP at foundation hospitals. The identified themes and insights were integrated into the development of the questionnaire. The web-based, self-administered questionnaire with a cross-sectional study design was given to 62 physicians in the Nagasaki prefecture. Mixed-method data integration of the results from both study phases was conducted through meta-inferences made from the qualitative and quantitative data. Results The best practices included the development of multi-disciplinary operation teams at medical facilities in preparation for the implementation of the NASP, the simplification of the document preparation process, and the establishment of an additional medical fees policy for the utilization of the NASP instead of patient referral documents. Practices tailored to the type of medical institute such as instructing patients on the NASP regimen during index hospitalization for acute-care hospitals, and the development of NASP instructions and manuals for primary care hospitals/outpatient clinics were also recommended. In addition, barriers to the implementation of the NASP such as missed eligible AMI patients for the NASP and the inconsistent implementation to eligible AMI patients were identified. Conclusions This study identified the perceived best practices and barriers for the NASP. This knowledge should be considered when expanding the NASP to other institutions across Japan.

Carbon Pricing Policies for the Asia-Pacific Neighbors and the Carbon Fee Policy of Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act

Carbon Pricing Policies for the Asia-Pacific Neighbors and the Carbon Fee Policy of Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act

Tuition fees for international students: a policy instrument of cost sharing and control or simply income generation

ABSTRACT The introduction of tuition fees in Sweden in 2011 is an interesting example of how the design of a tuition fee reform for international students surges beyond simple narratives of revenue generation. More than 10 years after implementing the Swedish reform, this article examines to what extent such market-oriented instruments induce HEIs and the government to seek revenue on the global market. Through a comprehensive analysis, the research employs two theoretical models – the ‘revenue-seeking’ and the ‘cost-sharing and control’ model – to explore the inherent hybridity governance features between market and state-centred objectives. The findings reveal that while the reform primarily adheres to its intended goals of cost-sharing and controlled internationalisation, there is an emerging trend towards revenue generation, particularly in HEIs with strong market positions and in lucrative disciplines like Engineering & Technology and Business Management. The study highlights the reform’s multifaceted impact, aligning with state-centric objectives but gradually shifting towards a revenue-seeking approach. This research contributes to understanding the nuanced effects of tuition fee policies on HEIs and calls for further comparative studies to deepen insights into the diverse outcomes of such reforms in the context of higher education internationalisation.

A Comparative Perspective on Fee Policies Used in OECD Countries for Financing Higher Education

One of the biggest problems faced by countries globally is the financing of higher education. Especially in the face of increasing demand for higher education and limited public resources, countries are in need of reform in terms of financing higher education. In recent years, there has been a global trend towards the adoption of higher education financing strategies that focus on cost sharing. The purpose of this study is to examine the higher education financing policies of countries with different systems compared to Turkey, to address the financial challenges in Turkish higher education financing, to recognize alternative financing options and to suggest strategies for Türkiye to expand its financing sources. For this reason, the study is “descriptive” and the data on the countries are analyzed by using the “documentary scanning” method. A comparative perspective on higher education financing is presented by analyzing the current higher education financing policies in OECD countries and their current remuneration schemes. The study covers all OECD member countries. As a sample, the current state of financing models and fee structures in seven countries, including the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Russia, the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Russia, each with different higher education finance policies, are presented. In order to improve higher education financing in Türkiye, it is suggested that the “Income- Contingent Loan” method, which is offered to the student on an optional basis in the collection of debts in higher education financing systems, should be implemented as an alternative student borrowing method, even if it is not generally used in every country.

Urban traffic-parking system dynamics model with macroscopic properties: a comparative study between Shanghai and Zurich

Analyzing the dynamics of parking traffic can better represent the real dynamic states of road networks, thereby allowing for a deeper analysis of the parking system’s impact. This paper comparatively investigates the impact of parking policies on two traffic networks with different infrastructure, socio-economic, and policy characteristics. Parking space, average parking duration, and parking fee policies were analyzed as a function of cruising distances and cruising time with indirect effects on traffic emissions. Empirically, the system dynamics model application is tested and validated with the macroscopic data from two central business districts (CBDs) in Shanghai (Xujiahui area) and Zurich (Bahnhofstrasse area). Results showed Bahnhofstrasse CBD is more sensitive against the policy shifts with relatively higher elasticity and indicated greater responsiveness in aggregating traffic emissions when compared with Xujiahui CBD. The findings of this study may provide an overall framework to empirically assess the performance of different traffic conditions and strategies on urban parking systems.

Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to Resume Production During the Epidemic Effect Analysis of Tax Policy

At the beginning of 2020, the spread of COVID-19 brought a huge impact on China's national economy and social life. Sudden outbreak of SMEs daily production and management and future development suffered a heavy blow, SMEs into a very embarrassing plight. As an indispensable part of the national economy and a major participant in market economic activities, it is of great significance to help SMEs mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and promote their resumption of work and production is of great significance for the comprehensive implementation of the tasks of "stability on the six fronts" and "security in the six areas". Based on the global spread of COVID-19 epidemic, this paper reviews the tax and fee reduction policies issued by the central and local governments since the epidemic, analyzes the effects of the corresponding policies on the resumption of work and production of SMEs, and puts forward suggestions to further improve the effect of tax policies to support SMEs to tide over the difficulties and help their development.

Big data Research on the Application of Tracking Policy Audit in the Implementation of Tax Reduction and Fee

Since 2018, chinese government have conducted tracking audits on the implementation of tax reduction and fee reduction policies, facing the challenges of insufficient audit resources and massive unstructured data storage. This article attempts to introduce big data technology into tracking audit policies. This article elaborates on the importance and urgency of tracking and auditing the implementation of tax and fee reduction policies. The impact of big data technology in the field of auditing on the tracking and auditing of the implementation of tax and fee reduction policies is also discussed. It is proposed that auditing agencies should apply big data technology to the tracking and auditing of the implementation of tax and fee reduction policies. And we also attempted to design an audit plan based on Neo4j graphical database technology, which includes audit objectives and scope, audit content and focus, specific big data audit steps and audit results. In response to the problems that hinder the application of big data technology, suggestions have been put forward to improve the standardization of the data process system, actively promote more efficient big data technology, and increase the training of big data audit talents.

Why Bitcoin and Ethereum Differ in Transaction Costs: A Theory of Blockchain Fee Policies

Why Bitcoin and Ethereum Differ in Transaction Costs: A Theory of Blockchain Fee Policies

Why Bitcoin and Ethereum Differ in Transaction Costs: A Theory of Blockchain Fee Policies

Why Bitcoin and Ethereum Differ in Transaction Costs: A Theory of Blockchain Fee Policies

Capacity sharing between competing manufacturers: A collective good or a detrimental effect?

Capacity sharing has become a prevalent solution for addressing the supply-demand mismatch by optimizing capacity allocation among participating manufacturers. However, effective coordination and cooperation are required among involved parties, particularly if capacity sharing occurs between competing manufacturers. This paper investigates capacity sharing between competing manufacturers and examines the optimal sharing service fee policy, taking external market, internal operational, and relationship-specific factors into consideration. Our study incorporates product substitution rate, information symmetry (or asymmetry), and interfirm power relationship to go beyond the immediate direct cost-benefit analysis of capacity sharing and evaluates the trade-off between capacity sharing associated benefits and costs. Our analysis results illustrate how the market and relationship-specific factors interact with operational factors such as production cost difference and capacity constraints to influence firms' capacity sharing decisions. The broad set of decision outcomes derived from our comprehensive analyses is beneficial for companies of all sizes and shapes to make informed strategic and operational decisions according to their own circumstances.

Does institutional quality matter for primary school retention? Lessons from Uganda

Our study examines school institutional drivers of pupil retention schools in Uganda over the period 2008–2014. We use longitudinal data from a sample of 7824 government and privately owned primary schools. Using the fixed effects regression model, we estimate the association between institutional factors and retention. Our study finds that only three in every ten (32%) pupils who enrolled in primary one complete primary seven. Regression results further suggest that school retention is associated with moderate and not necessarily small class sizes which promote a conducive learning environment as well as group interactions among the learners. Additionally, retention is associated with boarding schools, and government–owned schools compared to their private counterparts. These findings suggest the need for government to strengthen the school inspection function especially in rural based government schools promote surveillance critical in addressing pupil dropouts. Furthermore, recruiting more and better trained teachers while regulating high school fee policy is critical to provide a support system for pupils to complete the primary school cycle.

Equitable Study Abroad Fee Policies: History, Literature, and Recommendations

This article presents history, literature, and recommendations to guide study abroad administrators and institutions of higher education to enact equitable study abroad fee policies. A review of the literature (a) underscores the need for institutions to advance social justice by providing equitable access to the high impact practice of study abroad, and (b) indicates that each institution should engage in its own collaborative interdepartmental investigation to identify how an equitable study abroad fee policy can be accomplished in a financially sustainable and administratively manageable way. The article explores factors of the home school tuition policy, which is becoming more common among private colleges and universities, and it provides recommendations for how study abroad administrators may advocate for equitable policies and navigate the complex task of a policy review. Abstract in Spanish En este artículo se presentan la historia, publicaciones y recomendaciones para guiar a los administradores y las instituciones de educación superior con el fin de adoptar políticas equitativas de tarifas para los estudios en el extranjero. Una revisión bibliográfica (a) subraya la necesidad de que las instituciones fomenten la justicia social brindando un acceso equitativo a la práctica de gran impacto de estudiar en el extranjero, e (b) indica que cada institución debe participar en su propia investigación colaborativa interdepartamental para reconocer cómo una política equitativa de tarifas para estudiar en el extranjero puede lograrse de una manera económicamente sostenible y administrativamente manejable. En el artículo se analizan los factores de la política de matrícula de la institución de origen, que es cada vez más común entre centros y universidades privadas, y se ofrecen recomendaciones sobre cómo los administradores de los estudios en el extranjero pueden proponer políticas igualitarias y abrirse camino en la compleja tarea de una revisión de políticas.

Data-Driven Analysis of Rural Equity and Cost Concerns for Mileage-Based User Fees in Vermont

Examining substitutes to the current state and federal gasoline and diesel fuel excise taxes has become a pressing issue, exacerbated by the rise of high-efficiency and alternative-fuel vehicles threatening the revenue-generating capacity of these taxes. A mileage-based user fee has been frequently proposed in the literature as an alternative that would offer greater benefits to rural and low-income populations than to urban and higher-income populations. However, most prior analyses relied on small data sets and aggregated data. This study examined the impact of replacing the Vermont state fuels tax with a revenue-neutral, mileage-based user fee using mileage and fuel economy data for over 300,000 registered passenger vehicles. We found that, on average, Vermont households would pay an additional $23 per year, with rural households and low-income households facing smaller tax burdens than their urban and high-income counterparts. The impact of a $180 flat fee replacing the Vermont state motor fuels tax was also examined owing to state interest. Findings indicated that a flat fee would result in much larger price fluctuations, with most households paying an additional $47 per year. The disaggregated data approach presented here directly addresses public misconceptions of inequitable cost differences and provides context for public education campaigns to garner mileage-based user fee policy support. Based on our results, there is political ground for further research into the implementation of a mileage-based user fee, including the logistics of an administrative transition to mileage charging and the associated program implementation and technological costs.

Direct Tax Burden, Financing Constraints, and Innovation-Based Output

Tax and fee reductions serve as pivotal instruments in the deepening of structural reforms on the supply side and constitute a significant element of China’s proactive fiscal policy. Although China’s tax regime encompasses both direct and indirect tax burdens, the direct tax burden directly impacts the operational costs of firms and remains non-transferable. As such, it holds significant influence over corporate growth trajectories. A decrease in the direct tax burden alleviates financing constraints for firms, subsequently reducing their exposure to business risks. Focusing on the innovative output capabilities of firms, this study analyzes A-share-listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2021. It aims to ascertain the influence of direct tax burden reductions on innovation output within the tax and fee reduction framework. The findings indicate that lessening the direct tax burden ameliorates financing constraints, thereby enhancing a firm’s innovative output capabilities. A deeper analysis reveals that non-state-owned enterprises benefit more significantly from this dynamic than their state-owned counterparts, underscoring the potential for targeted tax and fee reduction policies to bolster enterprise innovation. Furthermore, the government should recognize enterprise differentiation and drive broader economic growth through tailored strategies. Notably, the positive impact of mitigating financing constraints on innovation is more pronounced in firms with suboptimal corporate governance structures. While this mechanism notably influences non-invention patent applications, its effect on invention patent applications is comparatively muted. Post-outbreak, the interplay between tax burdens and innovative outputs has intensified, becoming more pronounced than in pre-outbreak times.

How do tuition fee increases affect international mobility? The case of European Union students in England

AbstractThis paper presents a descriptive analysis of the impact of tuition fee increases in England on the full‐degree mobility of undergraduate students from the European Union. First, we investigated whether the increase in tuition fees reduced the number of EU students in English higher education institutions. Our analysis shows that, on average, English universities suffered a sudden drop in EU enrolments in 2012/13 but recovered and then expanded their pre‐2012 enrolment levels in subsequent academic years. We observe that those English universities regarded as less prestigious experienced the sharpest decline and took longer to recover their pre‐2012 numbers. Second, we examined how changes in enrolment are associated with EU countries' macro‐level characteristics, using the push‐pull model framework. While there was a significant decrease in the number of students from Northern and Western European countries attending English universities after 2012, the tuition fee increase did not impact the number of students coming from Southern Europe. We found an association between EU countries' youth employment rates and higher education system characteristics with changes in enrolment in English universities. By examining the effect of changes in the tuition fee policy on international student mobility, our research provides new evidence on how tuition fee policies might change the behaviour of students.

Differentiated environmental taxes and high-quality economic development in China: theory and evidence.

Environmental tax policy plays an important role in promoting economic efficiency, but it is unclear whether the taxation is well-designed and effective. The differentiated environmental tax and fee policy in China has come a long way in the past 20years, along with the aim of high-quality economic development that focuses on the harmony of environment and productivity, so it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the differentiated environmental tax and fee policy. This paper constructs a pollution and environmental tax model based on the new economic geography framework to simulate the effect of environmental tax and technological innovation in the eastern and western region on pollution, output, and productivity. Using China's provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020 with difference-in-difference method, empirical evidence shows that differentiated environmental tax and fee adjustments generally boost industrial high-quality development by the industrial sulfur dioxide emission deduction and green total factor productivity improvement. When the adjustment is more differentiated between treatment and control, the effect is greater and more significant. Additionally, high environmental tax standard in high SO2 emission provinces significantly contributes to high-quality development. Progressive adjustments in 2007, 2014, and 2018 lead to heterogeneous policy effect. Technological innovation plays a mediating effect between differentiated environmental tax and high-quality economic development. The results above provide theoretical analysis and empirical study of China's differentiated environmental taxes and high-quality economic development for policy making.

Imaginaries of ECEC: A comparison of policies of access in early childhood education in Brazil, Finland, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, and Serbia

Increasing access to ECEC has been on the agendas of international organizations and many countries in different parts of the world. Despite the clear global interconnectivity, this article shows that contextual factors are essential to understand educational policy developments. The study examines reforms related to policies of access to ECEC in seven countries. Brazil, Finland, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, and Serbia. We show how access policies plug into the understanding of the role of ECEC as producing future citizens. Even though the main idea of ECEC’s role in developing future citizens is present in each national context, it takes different forms: the roles frame access policies as a way to strengthen either human capital via focusing on learning and skill formation, and/or the national identity of future citizens. They materialize in differing ways, for example, as coercive legislative requirements, fee policies, and knowledge production schemes. In addition, national access policies adopt different relations to the policies of international organizations, reflecting the socio-political context of the country. We argue that the concept of the imaginary is useful in allowing us to examine the interplay between the semiotic and non-semiotic aspects of policy. To further unravel the complexity inherent in such policies in terms of their local diversity, we suggest the usefulness of case studies and the examination of local-level policies in their full variety instead of only national ones, as these might be fruitful avenues for future research.