Well-off Citizens Research Articles

Энергетическая политика Индии и сотрудничество с Россией

The relatively high growth rates of GDP and real incomes of the population compared to other Asian countries, combined with the ongoing policy of industrialization and urbanization, make India one of the most attractive markets for commodities. At the same time, India is characterized by extremely low levels of motorization and per capita consumption of many goods and services, including plastic products, which determines the potential for growth in consumption of primary energy sources. Due to the progressive increase in per capita GDP in India, the poverty level is decreasing, stimulating an increase in the number of relatively well-off citizens and, as a result, the consumption of electricity, petroleum products and other energy sources. However, due to the small reserves of fossil resources, India is in dire need of them, mainly oil and gas. Among the key areas of its economy are the oil and gas production and oil and gas processing industries. The subject of the study is India's energy policy, in particular its oil and gas market. The aim of the work is to establish prospects for cooperation between Russia and India due to the fact that the latter is a fast–growing economy and is an expanding market for fossil fuels for the needs of households and industry. The article identifies the peculiarities of the development of the fuel and energy sector of India, and establishes its energy needs. India's energy policy has been reviewed in the light of the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, its oil and gas reserves have been identified and directions for possible diversification of their supplies have been predicted. It is concluded that due to the sanctions imposed on Russian companies and the need to diversify the supply of natural resources, foreign economic cooperation with India is of particular interest to Russia.

Ways to improve state support for small business in the development of foreign economic activity of the Russian Federation

The purpose of the review and comparison in this paper is a comparative analysis of measures to overcome the consequences of the pandemic for the systematic improvement of the regulation of the activities of Russian small businesses in support of their entry into foreign markets. Small business is the sphere of employment of citizens of our country, and its decline threatens serious social problems that can lead to increased imbalances in spatial development and the emergence of new depressed regions. In conditions when small businesses largely remain in the shadow zone, the possibility of receiving popular forms of support from the state in times of crisis can become an incentive for restarting and modernizing production. Currently, small businesses have not realized their potential as a commodity producer, a supplier of funds to the budget and a school for raising the middle class of well-off citizens. The paper considers and analyzes the norms of measures in force in the Russian Federation to support small and medium-sized businesses. A retrospective analysis of the current regulatory framework is carried out. In addition, the aspect of the application of promising directions in the development of scientific and technological progress and the relevance of its results in the general theory of business management is studied. The authors propose adjustments and additions to the management model of small and medium-sized businesses, taking into account the increasing opportunities of scientific and technological progress, development and improvement of the general theory of management and the prospects of working in foreign markets. Theoretical and/or practical significance. The conducted research helps to supplement the theoretical picture of the effectiveness of the application of the regulatory framework by small and medium-sized businesses and ensures the steady progressive development of the theory of entrepreneurship management in the current epidemiological situation in the country.

Support for a Populist Government in Poland

In the recent years, one of the most popular subjects of research in political science has been the rise of populism. In Poland, an anti-establishment government has won a second electoral cycle in a row. However, unlike in Hungary, the opposition received a comparable share of the vote. In this article, I try to show how a country with a seemingly homogeneous population could have become so divided. I argue that the current polarization is based on the lack of social recognition of the less well-off citizens and areas, and on the lack of social cohesion: deeply rooted cultural and moral divisions in society overlapping with differences in economic situation. Those underlying causes explain why civil society in Poland is still able to mobilize, but they also let us predict that the divisions will not disappear soon. Although the political preferences of the youth suggest a strong demand for more pluralism, the new gender cleavage may deepen with time, based on a similar logic: diverging life courses and a lack of social cohesion and recognition exploited by polarizing parties. The explanations offered here contribute to the understanding of not only the success of antiestablishment parties in Poland but also of the differences between the Western and Central and Eastern European political mainstream.

The Effect of Inequality on the Relation Between Socioeconomic Stratification and Political Trust in Europe

While the relation between inequality and levels of political trust has been intensely investigated, there is no consensus yet on the mechanism behind this relation. In this paper, we use multilevel models to analyse the diverging impact of economic inequality on political trust for different social groups within European countries. We observe that changes in inequality are associated with lower levels of political trust across all social strata, as operationalised through income level, education and employment status. In more unequal societies, differences in political trust between social strata are also smaller. In equal countries, on the other hand, well-off citizens are clearly more trusting than their less well-off counterparts. Altogether, the study contributes to discussions about the determinants of political support and how citizens are connected to their political system in an era of rising inequality, by suggesting the presence of a social justice frame. The analyses are based on the European Social Survey (2002–2016).

From urban sustainability transformations to green gentrification: urban renewal in Gaziosmanpaşa, Istanbul

Processes aiming to achieve urban transformation that includes sustainability can result in green gentrification and thus promote exclusivist, private green spaces. At the same time, they compromise the ability of cities to promote more systemic sustainable development. Istanbul has long been a site of planned gentrification and displacement through urban renewal and regeneration projects, which have recently touted a sustainability angle. While sustainable urban renewal can have positive impacts on human health and well-being and is critical for addressing climate change and other environmental challenges, the benefits are rarely evenly distributed. Through an examination of sustainability-oriented urban renewal projects in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district, this study shows that vulnerable residents have been displaced by the planned gentrification and that such consequences are likely to be amplified by visions of green sustainability. It also illustrates that plans to harness the city’s drive for economic growth and urban development risk making large parts of the “green” districts affordable only for relatively well-off citizens. Based on semi-structured interviews, non-participatory observation, and analysis of project and municipality-level documents, we find that even though seismic vulnerability and energy efficiency are cited as reasons for these transformations towards sustainability, policymakers are not paying sufficient attention to the political ecology of social exclusion and an increase in inequality that can result from sustainability-oriented urban renewal.

Studenten strooien hete centen voor het volk. Stedelijke identiteit en de geschiedenis van een omstreden herinnering in Leiden (1841-2016)

Legend has it that students in the Dutch university town of Leiden used to throw coins in the street for the less well-off citizens. Picking up the coins, these risked burning their fingers: the students had heated the coins in a skillet. This story is told as emblematic for the social and cultural differences dividing laborers and students, or, more generally, ‘town and gown’. Opinions differ about the veracity of the story and the time period during which this prank was perpetrated. Our study of this local legend is based on local newspapers and other digitized sources that have recently become available, allowing us to trace the story over a time period that spans the years 1841-2016. The hot coins prank is related to a more benign, internationally known custom during which both throwers and throwees know what to expect. In the Netherlands, stories about the prank have become associated in particular with the town of Leiden, becoming more prominent during the 20th century, after the prank itself was no longer performed. We read the hot coin legend in the context of collective memory and urban identity: over the course of two centuries, various social groups have used the story as a boundary marker between in-group and out-group, and more broadly as a means to reflect on the shifting identity of the town. During the years of urban renewal in the second half of the twentieth century, Leiden transformed from an old, poor, industrial town into a modern, affluent urban centre that touts itself as a ‘city of knowledge’. Rhetorically, the hot coin legend is presented as a test case for social cohesion: did Leiden truly leave behind its divided history?

The Paradox of Well-being: Do Unfavorable Socioeconomic and Sociocultural Contexts Deepen or Dampen Radical Left and Right Voting Among the Less Well-Off?

Radical left and right parties are increasingly successful—particularly among the less well-off. We assess the extent to which this negative effect of well-being on radical voting is moderated by contextual factors. Our study suggests that less well-off citizens vote for radical parties mainly under favorable aggregate-level circumstances. We distinguish two possible mechanisms underlying this effect—relative deprivation and risk aversion—and find support for relative deprivation only among radical right voters and for risk aversion for both types of radical voters, yet with predictable differences between the radical left and right supporter bases. Economic hardship leads to radical right voting when the socioeconomic circumstances are favorable and to radical left voting when net migration is modest. Our findings suggest a genuine paradox of radicalism: individual economic suffering might foster left and right radicalism, but mainly when that suffering takes place amid favorable conditions at the aggregate level.

International Tax and Global Justice

AbstractInequality, as well as the scope of the duty of justice to reduce it, has always been a central concern of political justice. Income taxation has been seen as a key tool for redistribution and the state was the arena for discussions of justice. Globalization and the tax competition it fosters among states change the context for the discussion of distributive justice. Given the state’s fading coercive power in taxation and the decreasing power of its citizenry to co-author its collective will due to global competition, we can no longer assume that justice can be realized within the parameters of the state. International tax policy in an effort to retain justice often opts for cooperation as a vehicle to support distributive justice. But cooperation among states is more than a way for them to promote their aims through bargaining. Rather, it is a way for states to regain legitimacy by sustaining their very ability to ensure the collective action of their citizens and to treat them with equal respect and concern. The traditional discussion in international taxation seems to endorse a statist position — implicitly assuming that when states bargain for a multilateral deal, justice is completely mediated by the agreement of the states. In contrast, this Article argues that such a multilateral regime intended to provide the state with fundamental legitimacy requires independent justification. Contrary to the conventional statist position, I maintain that cooperating states have a duty to ensure that the constituents of all cooperating states are not treated unjustly because of the agreement. I argue that not only cosmopolitanism but political justice too requires that a justifiable cooperative regime must improve (or at least not worsen) the welfare of the least well-off citizens in all cooperating states. I explain that cooperation alone is no guarantee of improved welfare and that certain transfer payments between rich and poor countries might be required to ensure this.

Climate Change, Human Rights and the Problem of Motivation

In this paper, I discuss some of the human rights that are threatened by the impact of global warming and the problem of motivation to comply with the duties of climate justice. I explain in what sense human rights can be violated by climate change and try to show that there are not only moral reasons to address this problem, but also more prudential motives, which I refer to as quasi-moral and non-moral reasons. I also assess some implications of potentially catastrophic impacts driven by this ecological issue. My aim is to locate, by outlining a normative perspective based on sound empirical findings, urgent climate injustices, and explain why well-off citizens in developed countries have strong reasons to avert the potentially massive violation of the rights of present and future victims of climate change.

New Voice, Less Equal

Declining youth participation in conventional forms of politics has become a central theme for academics and policy makers and has often been viewed as marking a crisis in citizenship. Yet there is overwhelming evidence to show that young people are not apathetic. They have their own views and engage in “politics” (more broadly understood) in a wide variety of ways that have relevance to their everyday lives. The following article compares and contrasts the civic and political engagement of young people both within and among the United States, Britain, and Germany. The core arguments are that the forms of engagement practiced by young people are heavily structured in favor of highly educated and well-off citizens and that young people as a group have increasingly been marginalized from electoral politics. However, the different experiences across the three countries give scholars a clearer idea of how these problems might be overcome.

The role of multinational companies in tax evasion and tax avoidance: The case of Nigeria

Tax evasion and tax avoidance reduce government revenues. This has a significant detrimental effect on the provision of infrastructures, public services and public utilities. Multinational companies (MNCs) in the oil, gas, and manufacturing sectors have used various tax schemes, ranging from off-shore intermediary companies to claiming recharges, royalties or technical fees and under-reporting of profit, to avoid paying tax in Nigeria. This paper locates the role of MNC tax practice within the broader dynamics of globalisation and the pursuit of profits, to argue that the drive of MNCs for higher profits can enrich our understanding of why some MNCs engage in tax evasion and avoidance at almost any cost. Stimulated by profitability, and intense competition and pressure to increase earnings, capitalist enterprises constantly seek new ways of boosting their earnings by developing complex structures and novel ways of increasing their profits by exploiting ambiguities in the law. The evidence shows that tax havens and offshore financial centres, shaped by globalisation, are major structures facilitating the anti-social tax practices of MNCs. The findings also suggest that the local business elite and local professionals are key actors in facilitating these anti-social tax practices in Nigeria for their own financial gain. These MNC practices also shift the tax burden to less mobile capital and less well-off citizens, and thereby undermine the Nigerian social fabric. This paper therefore argues that tax reforms are needed to reduce the problems created by MNCs and their affiliates operating in Nigeria.

The role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance: Some evidence and issues

As entrepreneurial businesses, accountancy firms have supplemented their traditional trade of selling accounting and auditing services by diversifying into a variety of other products and services. They have developed organisational structures and strategies to sell tax avoidance schemes to corporations and wealthy individuals. The sale of such services shifts tax burdens to less mobile capital and less well-off citizens. It also erodes the tax base and brings the firms into direct conflict with the state. This paper provides some evidence of the strategies and tactics used by accountancy firms to sell schemes that enable their clients to avoid corporate, sales and payroll taxes. Such strategies stimulate reflections upon the possible trajectories in the development of accountancy firms and social consequences of their trade.

Neighborhood social composition and injury risks among pre-adolescent and adolescent boys and girls. A study in Stockholm Metropolitan

The study investigates the extent to which social and socioeconomic characteristics of a population within a particular living area influence injury risks among young people. The study group comprised pre-adolescent and adolescent boys and girls aged 10-19 living in the Stockholm metropolitan area in Sweden over the three-year period 2000--2002 (about 185,000 subjects each year). Area comparisons were made at parish level (96 parishes) based on three compositional indexes derived from a factor analysis of sixteen population attributes. Thereafter, each factor was transformed into an additive index and divided into three levels. Diagnosis-specific injury risks were then measured by index, considering injury causes with documented social differences (five for boys and three for girls). Injuries resulting in at least one night of hospitalization during the period 2000--2002 were considered. Three main dimensions with regard to the social fabric of the Stockholm metropolitan area were identified: socioeconomic precariousness and ethnic concentration (Factor 1), educational and financial assets (Factor 2), and concentration of well-off citizens of Nordic origin (Factor 3). Lower levels of socioeconomic precariousness and ethnic concentration showed a protective effect on boys in the cases of traffic and sports-related injuries, but an aggravating one in the cases of falls on the same level and violence-related injuries. Level of educational and financial assets did not impact on falls on the same level among boys, but increased the risk of such injuries among girls. Increased risks of traffic-related injuries among boys and of falls on the same level among both boys and girls were found in areas with lower concentrations of well-off citizens of Nordic origin. It is concluded that social and socioeconomic composition of the population in a living area impacts on injury risks of various kinds in a rather specific manner--in magnitude and in kind. The mechanisms via which contextual aspects operate during youth are likely to vary according to type (cause) of injury and gender.

Young slaves and servants in nineteenth‐century Morocco

Every bourgeois house in Morocco had a substantial number of black servants. Visitors to the imperial cities, impressed by the refined lifestyle of these well-off citizens, were particularly amazed by the number of servant women of African descent: they gave prompt and reliable service, obeying the least command of the chief butler. These women were to be found in cities as well as in the country, and there were many more of them than is indicated by most reference works on the Muslim world. But which literature? Slavery is a complex topic the world over, and especially in Muslim regions. Its memory is still too fresh in many parts of the globe. It was only in the sixties that Saudi Arabia abolished the institution of slavery. In Mauritania, where its consequences are still visible, the abolition dates from the eighties. In most Muslim countries, even those where slavery ended at the close of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth, its abolition was not the result of a fundamental line of thought or social movement. The relationship between slavery and religion has never been viewed from a critical and modern perspective. To deal openly with this question means to discuss some of the foundations of religion itself in its more traditional aspects. The actual image of slavery is softened. Slavery in Muslim countries is known for its laxity: masters treating their slaves so humanely that observers were surprised by the harmony which reigned between them. Nothing that resembled the brutality reported in the United States. At least this is the picture given by the most current texts on the Muslim world. For example, A. Marcet, a French traveller in Morocco during the spring of 1882, wrote that slaves were not unhappy there. Another traveller of the same period, Oscar Lenz, painted the following idyllic picture: