We estimate the impact of taxes on donations using a large panel of middle-class taxpayers. Our specification allows estimation of the effects of habits, time shifting, and consumption smoothing on the time path of adjustment and produces plausible simulated adjustment paths to permanent and temporary anticipated tax reforms. We find that taxes determine both the longrun level and the timing of donations, so that, even though taxes appear to have long-run behavioral effects, estimates of these effects are exaggerated if one fails to estimate the rescheduling of giving in response to tax regime shifts. Our results challenge the view that tax deductions for charitable giving are efficient.

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Realizing that human resource (HR) professionals are often the gatekeepers to employment in organizations, this exploratory study examines the perceptions of HR professionals in relation to education, experience, and information system (IS) certification. Survey results were obtained from approximately 100 HR professionals who are members of local chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in North Carolina. We conclude that education, certification, and experience are imperfect substitutes for each other. In addition, there seems to be a joint or halo effect conferred upon a balanced candidate. HR professionals are also willing to associate substantial positive organizational benefits with certification, specifically: enhanced IT staff credibility, competitive advantage, level of service, consistency of service provided. HR professionals also associate substantial employee benefits with certifications, specifically: enhanced credibility, preparation for new position within the current organization, compensation, mobility, preparing for other certification tests, and meeting a job requirement.

This study examined the importance of IT Certification from the HR Professional's perspective, specifically the value of certification in relation to education and experience in a hiring decision. We found that an increase in formal education was subsidized by a decreasing emphasis on experience until a balance was reached. The relative weight of certification, however, was generally stable. A repeated measure analysis showed a statistically significant main effect and interaction effect. An exploratory factor analysis yielded five underlying dimensions which may be possible value drivers of IT certification on HR Professional's hiring decisions: internal organizational benefits, external organizational benefits, same-job employee benefits, different-job employee benefits, and certification credibility. A mixed-design analysis also yielded five statistically significant interactions which shed further light on possible moderators of the value drivers of certification value: years of management experience and certification perception.