Fraud concerns and support for economic relief programs

Using a probability-based sample of the Norwegian population, we test whether an informational treatment about fewer audits by the Norwegian Tax Administration during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis affects support for an economic relief program designed to save jobs and prevent bankruptcies. The information treatment significantly reduces support for the economic relief program. The underlying mechanisms are lower trust in the tax administration's handling of the program and more pessimism about its ability to detect fraud. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Fiscal decentralization, intergovernmental mobility, and the innovativeness of local governments' policy response in COVID-19: Evidence from China

Policy innovation is an essential approach for local governments to deal with external challenges, which is also the case in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the effects of fiscal decentralization and leaders' intergovernmental mobility on the innovativeness of local governments in pandemic response. By investigating the economic relief policy of local governments in China, we find that both fiscal decentralization and local leaders' intergovernmental mobility in their previous careers facilitate the innovativeness of local governments' economic relief policy for pandemic recovery, and the business experience of local leaders enhances the positive influence of fiscal decentralization on the innovativeness of local policy. The results indicate that fiscal decentralization and the intergovernmental connection based on leaders' political mobility are likely to be two predominant factors for local governments to enable horizontal mutual learning and central-local policy coordination, and as a result foster policy innovativeness in response to the pandemic. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

COVID-19, Economic Relief Package and the Impact on UAE Firms

The business rationale makes it imperative and prolific to study the impact of COVID-19 on the companies and industries in an economy. Also, a study on the impact of the government's economic relief on the targeted beneficiaries is required for better pandemic management. This research aims to focus on the impact of COVID-19 and the impact of the government's economic relief on the firms in the UAE. The context of the industrial sector is additionally studied. Basic statistical techniques and moderation analysis are used for data interpretation. One of the significant findings of the research is that the services sector was found to be most affected by the government's COVID-19 initiatives and that the international exposure of firms makes them susceptible to pandemic effects. © 2022 SCMS Group of Educational Institutions. All rights reserved.

Essential but Excluded: Using Critical Race Theory to Examine COVID-19 Economic Relief Policies for Undocumented US Workers.

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented immigrants in the United States were vulnerable both to unemployment and to COVID-19 infection if they did remain employed, because of the sectors that employ them. Despite these heightened economic vulnerabilities, 7.8 million undocumented workers were excluded from federal economic relief policies. This article uses critical race theory (CRT) to examine the intentional and unjust exclusion of undocumented U.S. workers from COVID-19 economic relief aid within the larger context of economic marginalization and injustice. It also provides an overview of the major federal economic relief legislation and policy developments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, between March 2020 and July 2021. While some states have enacted creative programs and policies related to COVID-19 economic relief, effective and comprehensive federal-level policies must be implemented to address the growing chasm of inequity in American society, particularly as experienced by often-essential undocumented immigrant workers. Specific standards related to work and quality of live are protected by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), but exclusionary federal policies render these minimum standards inaccessible for undocumented workers and deepen existing economic and social disparities. Social work aspires to provide a uniquely critical and social justice-minded perspective that considers systems of oppression, power dynamics, and human rights, and this perspective can contribute to socially just economic policy development.

Fraud concerns and support for economic relief programs

Using a probability-based sample of the Norwegian population, we test whether an informational treatment about fewer audits by the Norwegian Tax Administration during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis affects support for an economic relief program designed to save jobs and prevent bankruptcies. The information treatment significantly reduces support for the economic relief program. The underlying mechanisms are lower trust in the tax administration’s handling of the program and more pessimism about its ability to detect fraud.

Arthroplasty During COVID-19: Surveillance of AAHKS Members in the First Year of the Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the practices of adult reconstruction surgeons, primarily due to the elective nature of hip and knee arthroplasty. METHODS: To capture the impact of COVID-19 on its members, the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons sent 6 surveys over a span of 7 months from late March until September of 2020 querying its members regarding the effects of COVID on the health and well-being of their personal, financial, and clinical practice. RESULTS: Ninety-two percent of surgeons reported a cessation of elective inpatient cases during the height of the crisis. The reduction was greatest for surgeries performed in hospital-based sites of care. Ninety-one percent reported a drop in clinic volume. At the final surveys, these numbers where 7% and 59%, respectively. In addition, there was a widespread increase in the use of telemedicine during this period. Only a small number of orthopedic practices permanently closed because of COVID-19; 68% of surgeons, however, sought federal funding to offset their loss of revenue because of the restrictions placed on elective surgeries. Finally, once elective surgeries were reinstated, most surgeons reported no restrictions with surgical cases and that they believed they were adapting to the challenges of COVID successfully. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of COVID-19 in 2020 on the practice of arthroplasty resulted in nearly universal loss of volume and significant financial stress. Recovery has been consistent but incomplete for most practices. Continued monitoring of the members of American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons will be needed in 2021 to measure the strength of the demonstrated adaptive recovery of 2020.