Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cointegration Analysis of Major African Stock Markets

Globalization, technological advancements and financial liberalization have made it possible for stock markets in different countries to interact and affect and/or influence each other both in the short-run and in the long-run. This study uses the Dickey-Fuller, Engle-Granger method and the Johansen method to test for cointegration using a pair wise analysis between the stock markets in five African countries. These countries are Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Mauritius. The Granger causality test is equally used to understand the short-run linkages between the stock markets. All statistical tests are carried out using the R statistical software. Weekly stock indices from January 2010 to December 2015 are employed, with each stock price expressed in local currency. Correlation between the stock markets is very low, with the strongest correlation coefficient being just 31% between the stock Exchange of Mauritius and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Cointegration analyses reveal long-run associationship between twelve, out of the twenty-one pairs of stock markets. Granger causality tests reveal bidirectional causality between the South African and Mauritian stock markets and the South African and Nigerian stock markets. Unidirectional causality was also found from the Nigerian stock market to the Moroccan stock market and from the Nigerian stock market to the Mauritian stock market. This research will help investors to invest wisely in the stock markets examined. It will equally aid economic experts and policy makers in these countries to understand the impact of a shock on economic variables on the economy.
Income Distribution and Happiness in Europe - Are Scandinavians more Sensitive to Inequality?

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the effect of income inequality on happiness in Europe. A comparison between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe is made using cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey for 2008-2016 to establish possible differences in inequality aversion. Ordinary Least Squares regressions are used to estimate an econometric model where macroeconomic factors and individual characteristics are controlled for. Using this approach, we find income inequality to have a negative effect on happiness in Europe. The negative effect is, however, stronger in Scandinavia indicating stronger inequality aversion. Besides income inequality, we find GDP per capita to have a positive effect on happiness in Europe. Government expenses as a percentage of GDP is further shown to positively affect happiness in Scandinavia whilst negatively in the rest of Europe. Our findings highlight the importance of the composition and efficiency of a prevailing welfare system in enabling a happy population.
What Does Structural Analysis of the External Finance Premium Say About Financial Frictions

I use a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) with sign restrictions to provide conditional evidence on the behavior of the US external finance premium (EFP). The results indicate that the excess bond premium, a proxy for the EFP, reacts countercyclically to supply and monetary policy shocks and procyclically to demand shocks. I confront my empirical evidence with the predictions from financial dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models with respect to the finance premium in order to identify an empirically relevant financial friction. The Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999) model generates transmission mechanisms that are favored by the data.
Poverty and inequality in South Africa: critical reflections

ABSTRACT South Africa is a paradox; on the one hand, it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Half of all South Africans continue to live in poverty, economic growth has stagnated and inflation remains high, while the unemployment rate continues to climb towards 30%. On the other hand, it has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, with a bill of rights that foregrounds expanded socioeconomic rights. We provide an overview of the latest statistics on poverty and inequality in light of overarching economic policies, and the socioeconomic guarantees of the Constitution. We argue that South Africa’s inability to meaningfully address the high levels of inequality is due to insufficient attention to the way power reproduces inequality. We present a definition of power that includes social and market power, and emphasise the importance of a theory of power in understanding the reproduction of inequality.
Female labor force participation in developing countries

Diese Arbeit untersucht die Teilnahme von Frauen am Arbeitsmarkt in den Entwicklungslandern Bangladesch, Malaysia, den Philippinen, Thailand und Vietnam. Nach einem Uberblick der relevanten Theorien der Feministischen Okonomie wird die folgende Hypothese getestet: Die Offnung des Handels fuhrt zu einem Anstieg der Teilnahme von Frauen am Arbeitsmarkt, jedoch nicht zu einer Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen fur sie. Zusammenfassend wird mit Hilfe des Rahmenkonzepts von Elissa Braunstein argumentiert, dass die untersuchten Lander ein ausbeuterisches Wachstum zu Kosten der Lebensqualitat von angestellten Frauen betreiben. Abschliesend werden Vorschlage zur Verbesserung dieser Situation und gleichzeitiger Aufrechterhaltung von liberalem Handel prasentiert.
Antecedents of Psychological Empowerment: A Study of Greek Employees in Municipalities

ABSTRACT Psychological empowerment has received a burgeoning attention among scholars and practitioners in the last decades. However, little is known about its antecedents in the public sector, and even more in municipalities. The present study attempts to fill this gap by examining the relationship of leader-member exchange (LMX), role conflict and role ambiguity with employees’ psychological empowerment. Data were collected from 210 administrative employees of nine Greek municipalities. Results supported our hypotheses that these three factors constitute important antecedents of such employees’ psychological empowerment. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.
Monopsony in Spatial Equilibrium

An emerging labor economics literature studies the consequences of firms exercising market power in local labor markets. These monopsony models have implications for trends in earnings inequality. The extent of this market power is likely to vary across local labor markets. In choosing what market to live and work in, workers tradeoff wages, rents and local amenities. Building on the Rosen/Roback spatial equilibrium model, we investigate how the existence of local monopsony power affects the cross-sectional spatial distribution of wages and rents across cities. We find an employment-weighted elasticity of land prices to concentration of –0.034—similar to Rinz (2018) reported elasticity of compensation to concentration. This finding has implications for who bears the economic incidence of labor market power. We present two extensions of the model focusing on the role of migration costs and worker skill heterogeneity.
Analyzing the Spillover Effects from Parental Markets to Cross-listed IPOs on Mean returns and Price Volatility

The phenomenon of synchronization of financial market dynamics and the transmission of price variability among markets has been analyzed using the mean returns and the volatility spillover between markets. However, an unanswered question is how those market dynamics are transmitted from parental markets to cross-listed IPOs. This paper addresses that question. In this study, we selected 74 cross-listed firms registered on Alternative Investment Markets (AIM). Initially those companies were incorporated on the Australian Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the Irish Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ. We used weekly data to analyze the transmission of market dynamics during the period from January 2001 to April, 2018.The findings show that only mean spillover effects from US and Australian markets and volatility spillover effects from US, Canada, Australia and Irish markets transmit to their counterpart cross-listed IPOs on the AIM. In addition, we report that the US market has a strong linkage effect in these markets as well as on their cross-listed firms. These findings suggest that prospective investors can develop and diversify their portfolio in the AIM.
Automatic Clustering of Sequential Design Behaviors

Design is essentially a decision-making process, and systems design decisions are sequentially made. In-depth understanding on human sequential decision-making patterns in design helps discover useful design heuristics to improve existing algorithms of computational design. In this paper, we develop a framework for clustering designers with similar sequential design patterns. We adopt the Function-Behavior-Structure based design process model to characterize designers’ action sequence logged by computer-aided design (CAD) software as a sequence of design process stages. Such a sequence reflects designers’ thinking and sequential decision making during the design process. Then, the Markov chain is used to quantify the transitions between design stages from which various clustering methods can be applied. Three different clustering methods are tested, including the K-means clustering, the hierarchical clustering and the network-based clustering. A verification approach based on variation of information is developed to evaluate the effectiveness of each method and to identify the clusters of designers who show strong behavioral similarities. The framework is applied in a solar energy systems design problem — energy-plus home design. The case study shows that the proposed framework can successfully cluster designers and identify their sequential decision-making similarities and dissimilarities. Our framework can support the studies on the correlation between potential factors (e.g., designers’ demographics) and certain design behavioral patterns, as well as the correlation between behavioral patterns and design quality to identify beneficial design heuristics.
Successes and shortcomings of climate change communication: insights from a longitudinal analysis of Swedish Forest owners

Communication is a popular method to raise awareness and promote action against the impacts of climate change. However, there is little scientific evidence that climate change communication can influence individual engagement with adaptation. This study combines qualitative and quantitative data to assess long-term cognitive and behavioral changes among Swedish forest owners who took part in climate change communication. Overall, the results suggest that climate change communication has only limited direct effect on individual engagement with adaptation. While the data show that climate change communication can have strengthened forest owners’ perceived knowledgeability and belief in climate change, they had also become less concerned about climate change risks and did not change how they managed their forest. The study concludes that researchers and practitioners should learn how to better tailor climate change communication to the personal experiences and decision-making needs of their target audience and involve trusted peers and information channels.
A Simple Model of Corporate Bailouts in a Globalized Economy*

This paper explores how globalization influences the decision of governments to rescue inefficient domestic firms when bailouts affect firms'markups. We develop a model of international trade where immobile domestic enterprises (DOEs) compete with foreign enterprises (FOEs) in an oligopolistic market. The decision to bail out DOEs leads to lower corporate tax revenues if FOEs are immobile whereas tax revenues might increase if FOEs are mobile. Interestingly, the mobility of FOEs makes governments more prone to rescue inefficient domestic firm s because tax competition reduces the opportunity cost of a bailout policy in terms of public good provision.
The mediating impact of demonetisation on customer acceptance for IT-enabled banking services

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating role of demonetisation in the usage of IT-enabled banking services (ITeBS). The study extends the theory of technology readiness (TR) (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015) by incorporating the behavioural intention and actual usage of ITeBS. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of TR and encompassing the impact of demonetisation, the study examines the functional relationship of TR, behavioural intention and actual usage. Structural equation modelling and mediation analysis are applied on a data set of 474 usable responses. Findings The study confirms that TR is a significant factor in customer’s intention to use ITeBS. The demonetisation variable fully mediates the relationship model, which implies a significant finding in the consumer acceptance literature. Practical implications The result of this study proposes three major implications. Primarily, the banks should focus on providing simple and user-friendly ITeBS interface and its uninterrupted access. It is necessary to educate the customers by giving them a trial of the service. Furthermore, social media platforms may be utilised as an effective and efficient tool to resolve customer complaints. Originality/value This study is first of the attempts to investigate government’s digital push in the technology adoption literature. The results indicate significant influence of demonetisation on the usage of ITeBS.
Domestic Banks as Lightning Rods? Home Bias During the Eurozone Crisis

European banks have been criticized for holding excessive domestic government debt during economic downturns, which has been interpreted as indicative evidence of moral suasion. By using a novel bank-level dataset covering the entire timeline of the eurozone crisis, I first re-confirm that the crisis led to the reallocation of sovereign debt from foreign to domestic banks. This reallocation was only visible for banks as opposed to other domestic private agents and it cannot be explained by the banks’ risk-shifting tendency. In contrast to the recent literature focusing only on sovereign debt, I show that banks’ private sector exposures were (at least) equally affected by a rise in home bias. Finally, I propose a new debt reallocation channel based on informational frictions and show that crisis-country debt was not only reallocated to domestic banks, but also to the informationally closer foreign banks. My results imply that informational asymmetries among banks played a key role in the recent fragmentation across eurozone debt markets.
Ambidexterity in External Knowledge Search Strategies and Innovation Performance: Mediating Role of Balanced Innovation and Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity

The importance of external knowledge acquisition for innovation by firms is well established. In particular, there has been an increasing focus on the two distinct modes of firms’ external search strategies, which have a differential effect on their learning and innovation: search breadth and depth. By applying organizational ambidexterity lens, we hypothesize that pursuing high levels of both external search strategies is beneficial to achieve a balance between exploitative and explorative innovation, which, in turn, has a positive impact on the firm’s innovation performance. We also hypothesize that, even among the firms that maintain high levels of both search strategies, firms with higher absorptive capacity better achieve a balance between both modes of innovation, thereby producing higher performance. The findings on a multi-industry sample of Koran manufacturing firms confirm our hypotheses and imply that it is essential for firms to develop capabilities for different modes of external search activities in conjunction with internal absorptive capacity for superior innovation performance.
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) initiatives in developing economies: Challenges faced by oil and gas firms in Ghana

Abstract In recent times, firms and countries especially those in the developed economies are moving more into encompassing both voluntary and mandatory initiatives. This new initiative literature argues is relatively superior to the conventional voluntary initiatives prevalent in most developing economies. Although a catch for researchers, evidence from literature suggest that this interest has mainly been directed at finding the factors that encourage firms to engage in socially responsible investment (SRI) initiatives leading to a proliferation of extant literature. This notwithstanding, very little however exists on the Challenges Firms Face When Engaging In These SRI Initiatives Although Literature Gives An Indication Of Its Essence Especially Within Developing Economies. The Purpose Of This Study Is Thus To Explore The Challenges Faced By Oil And Gas Companies Especially In Developing Economies As They Engage In SRI By Delving Into The context-specific challenges they encounter. This is important as these SRI initiatives are seen to augment the efforts of governments within these developing economies. The study uses the interpretive multiple case study approach in achieving the objective of this tudy. The results of the study suggest that not only do the cases face peculiar challenges; undue government interference and financial constraints. But that the government whose effort they augment (with their SRI initiative) is a source of challenge. The findings also give an indication that some internal stakeholders (staff) form powerful stakeholder group that compound the challenges in engaging in SRI.
Input-output linkages in growth and development

Do input-output linkages impact growth and development? This dissertation provides three main chapters studying the role of input-output linkages in structural change and productivity measurement. I find that (i) input-output linkages offer a new mechanism to account for structural change, which therefore complements the structural change literature; (ii) inputoutput linkages affect productivity measurement, particularly impact sector-level productivity measurement. Chapter 2 presents new evidence and mechanism of input-output linkages in structural change. Sectors with a larger growth of supply (forward) linkages of intermediate inputs absorb more labor to satisfy the rising demand for inputs sourcing from the downstream sectors. Sectors with a larger growth of demand (backward) linkages of intermediate inputs displace more labor, due to the increasing reliance on inputs sourcing rather than in-house production. Manufacturing sector increasingly sources services inputs, such as business services and management services, prompting a rise of services and a decline of manufacturing. Motivated by the evidence and mechanism in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 develops a general equilibrium model and quantifies the new mechanism of input-output linkages in structural change. The model features endogenous input-output linkages, nonhomothetic constantelasticity-of-substitution (CES) preferences and technology, and heterogeneous firms. The model is structurally calibrated to the World Input-Output Database which contains 35 major economies through 1995-2007. I find that (i) the supply-linkages effects are at least comparable to other mechanisms in the literature, such as the price effects due to the sectorbiased technological change; (ii) the demand-linkages effects are less critical due to the stable use of intermediate inputs across years; (iii) about half of the structural change attributes to the rising comparative advantage for supplying intermediate inputs by the services sector relative to by the manufacturing sector. Chapter 4 studies the role of input-output linkages in productivity measurement. I construct two hypothetical economies in the model. In the input-output economy, sectors produce gross output by using both intermediate and primary inputs. In the value added economy, sectors produce value added by using only primary inputs. I compare the two economies. I find that (i) aggregate productivity is theoretically equivalent; (ii) sectoral
Comparing the impact of management on public and private nurses in Bangladesh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use conservation of resources (COR) theory as a lens for comparing the impact of line management on Bangladeshi public and private nurses’ perception of work harassment, well-being and turnover intentions where Anglo-American and European management models have been super-imposed on an existing different culture. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 317 Bangladeshi nurses’ (131 from the public sector and 186 from the private sector). Structural equation modelling was used for analysis. Findings High work harassment was associated with low-being, and together with management practices, it explained approximately a quarter of private sector nurses’ well-being. In total, management, work harassment and employee well-being explained approximately a third of the turnover intentions of public sector nurses, whereas only work harassment explained approximately a third of private sector nurses’ turnover intentions. The findings suggest a differential impact of management on work harassment across the public and private sector. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional data are susceptible to common method bias. A common latent factor was included, and several items that were explained by common method variance were controlled. Further, the findings are limited by the sample size from one sector and the use of only one developing country. Practical implications It is a waste of resources to transplant Anglo-American and European management models to developing countries without understanding the impact on nurses’ outcomes. Originality/value Anglo-American and European management models are not easily transferable to the Bangladesh context probably because of the impact of ties and corruption. Line management is a positive resource that builds employee well-being for public sector employees only.
Corporate Governance, Integrated Reporting and the Use of Credibility-enhancing Mechanisms on Integrated Reports

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the South African King III Report on Governance emphasize the role of corporate governance in preparing a high-quality integrated report and establishing an appropriate credibility-enhancing process. This paper examines the significance of corporate governance mechanisms in explaining variations in the quality of integrated reports and the extent and quality of credibility-enhancing mechanisms (CEMs) for integrated reports. Using a sample of integrated reports published between 2012 and 2015 by listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, this study finds that traditional governance mechanisms such as the board and the audit committee are positively related to the reporting quality of and use of CEMs. In addition, sustainability-oriented corporate governance mechanisms (i.e. sustainability committee and the use of non-financial performance measures in executives’ compensation contracts) have an incremental positive effect on both the quality of and the extent and quality of CEMs on integrated reports. Additional analyses attribute the positive effect of these corporate governance mechanisms on quality and the use of CEMs mainly to the diligence and expertise of the board of directors and audit committee and the independence and expertise of a sustainability committee.
The development of a multi-segment kinematic model of footwear

In gait analysis, both shoe mounted and skin mounted markers have been used to quantify the movement of the foot inside the shoe. However, these models have not been demonstrated as reliable or accurate in shod conditions. The purpose of this study was to develop an accurate and reliable marker set to describe foot-shoe complex kinematics during stance phase.