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Personality correlates of the five hindrances: a pilot study
Full text linkBuddhist teachings describe five hindrances to meditation and personal development: Sensory Desire, Ill-Will, Sloth and Torpor, Restlessness and Worry, and Sceptical Doubt. We developed a new 25-item measure for these hindrances and examined their relationships with demographics and personality traits. A sample of 263 adults completed the measure, a six-factor personality assessment, and provided demographic information. The hindrances demonstrated satisfactory internal reliability, but results showed only modest support for the measure's factor structure. Our analyses revealed minimal gender differences and no significant educational effects, but suggested that older participants were less affected by the hindrances. The personality factors showed a strong correlation with the hindrances, particularly in the domains of Adjustment and Risk Approach (Courage), where all relationships were negatively correlated. While the new scale offers practitioners insights into mental states affecting mindfulness, further refinement is needed. This pilot study encourages continued research into these hindrances and their broader implications.Personality correlates of the five hindrances: a pilot studypublishedVersio
Exploring the role of early childhood educators’ emotion socialization strategies in the development of young children’s social and non-social play behaviors
Full text linkIt is widely postulated that caregivers’ emotion socialization strategies support children’s positive socio-emotional functioning with peers. However, this theoretical model has been rarely examined empirically in the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC), despite ECEC being a prominent environment for children to practice peer play (a robust marker variable for social and emotional competencies). This study explored the role of ECEC teachers’ emotion coaching and emotion distracting strategies in the development of children’s social and non-social play behaviors over time. Participants were 275 teachers and 487 children (aged 36–57 months) from 123 classrooms in 56 ECEC centers in Norway. Results from multilevel linear mixed modeling analyses indicated that emotion coaching was associated with a steeper increase in social play and steeper decrease in reticent behavior. In contrast, although emotion distracting was also associated with a steeper decrease in reticent behavior, it also predicted a less steep increase in social play. These results suggest that emotion coaching is a supportive socialization strategy for children’s peer relations in ECEC, whereas findings for distracting were more mixed. Using responses from multiple teachers within each classroom to examine both average classroom scores, in addition to minimum and maximum classroom scores, offers a novel insight into the group dynamics of teacher-child interactions in ECEC to support children’s peer relations.publishedVersio
SHOULD MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY PULL IN THE SAME DIRECTION?
Full text linkThere is a common view that if monetary and fiscal policy are to be used together for macroeconomic stabilization, they should pull in the same direction. We challenge this view by analyzing the optimal policy mix in a small open economy. We show that when the economy is hit by inflation shocks or exchange rate shocks, monetary and fiscal policy should pull in opposite directions. This policy mix makes more effective use of the exchange rate channel of monetary policy, allowing inflation to be reduced after a shock with lower costs in terms of unemployment. Only in the case of demand shocks, or if there are significant costs associated with the active use of the interest rate, should monetary and fiscal policy pull in the same direction. We then consider automatic stabilizers. As we show, for demand shocks, automatic stabilizers imply that monetary and fiscal policy pull in the same direction. For inflation and exchange rate shocks, on the other hand, automatic stabilizers imply that the two policy instruments pull in opposite directions. These policy interactions are all consistent with our results on the optimal policy mix. Strong automatic stabilizers could therefore serve as a substitute for optimal discretionary fiscal policy in open economies
Shoot the moving target: A dynamic perspective on optimal distinctiveness and strategic repositioning
Full text linkHow efficacious is the strategy of pursuing optimal distinctiveness (OD)? Scholars have long strived to identify the optimal positions for firms in the market and advocate them to realign themselves accordingly. While plausible, however, prior literature overlooks the process of repositioning towards OD and the dynamic nature of market landscape. Specifically, if all firms reposition simultaneously, current optimal positions could become inferior, such that firms that deliberately move towards OD (OD firms) may get backfired. Emphasizing the dynamics, we utilize a parsimonious agent-based simulation to explore the efficacy of repositioning towards OD. The results indicate that across different scenarios, a significant proportion of OD firms end up experiencing repositioning failure and fail to improve their performance. More importantly, we underscore that the efficacy of repositioning towards OD depends largely on market conditions. It is particularly undermined in markets with more competitors seeking distinctiveness and/or fewer competitors aiming for conformity (e.g., markets with greater leniency). Experimenting with different approaches firms can take to pursue OD, we also find that exploratory repositioning performs better than exploitative repositioning. Finally, our extensional analyses offer further insights by integrating repositioning costs, sequential repositioning, alternative optimal locations, and random explorers.publishedVersio
Comparative privacy research: Literature review, framework, and research agenda
Full text linkThe ways in which privacy is understood, defined, perceived, and enacted are contingent on cultural, social, political, economic, and technological settings. Yet, privacy research is often criticized for not adequately accounting for these. A comparative perspective requires the contextualization of privacy through investigating similarities and differences across contexts. This article outlines the Comparative Privacy Research Framework, which involves (a) scrutinizing one’s position (of power) and epistemological biases, (b) assessing the comparability of the object under study, (c) identifying and justifying meaningful units of comparison, and (d) reflecting on how these units of comparison interact in shaping privacy. We conclude by proposing a comparative privacy research agenda that informs efforts in privacy regulation, education, and research.Comparative privacy research: Literature review, framework, and research agendapublishedVersio
Informational and cushioning properties of conservative balance sheets: a study of crises resilience
Full text linkThis study examines the informational and cushioning properties of balance sheet conservatism (BSC) and their role in mitigating the adverse effects of financial crises. I document that, due to informational property, high-BSC firms raise more debt and have a lower cost of debt financing during the crisis. The cushioning property of BSC is associated with lower earnings volatility, likelihood of significant asset write-downs and probability of covenant violations. These properties contribute to superior performance, including smaller declines in stock prices, investment, employment, and productivity. An out-of-sample test using the setting of the Great Depression (1929–1933) confirms the aforementioned findings. Overall, a path analysis suggests that BSC effects operate mostly through cushioning (informational) property contributing 39% (11%) to overall firms’ performance during the crisis.Informational and cushioning properties of conservative balance sheets: a study of crises resiliencepublishedVersio
Overcoming Financial Barriers for Sustainable Development: A Focus on Tanzanian SMEs
Full text linkMasteroppgave (MSc) in Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This thesis investigates the financial barriers faced by Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania and explores potential mitigation strategies to
foster sustainable economic growth. Employing a multiple-case study approach
with a grounded research methodology, the study provides an in-depth analysis of
the complexities within the Tanzanian financial landscape. Data were collected
through semi-structured interviews and surveys with various stakeholders,
including SME owners, financial institutions, government officials, and
non-governmental organizations.
The research identified four main categories of barriers affecting SME financing
in Tanzania: financial access, cultural, knowledge, and regulatory barriers.
Financial access barriers include limited visibility of companies and a mismatch
between the investment needs of SMEs and the available funding amounts.
Cultural challenges encompass trust issues and a preference for informal financing
methods. Knowledge barriers highlight a significant gap in financial literacy and
business acumen among SME owners. Regulatory barriers include bureaucratic
procedures and unfriendly tax policies that hinder SME growth and formalization.
The study's grounded models illustrate the dynamic interplay between these
barriers, creating a cyclical effect that perpetuates financial exclusion. To disrupt
this cycle, the research proposes several mitigation strategies: establishing new
funding mechanisms such as venture capital firms, corporate venture capital arms,
crowdfunding platforms, and angel networks; enhancing financial literacy and
business education through partnerships between universities and business
professionals; implementing regulatory reforms, including the establishment of a
National Board for Impact Investors and SME-friendly policies; and improving
investor-investee connectivity through one-stop centers. By addressing these
barriers and implementing the proposed strategies, stakeholders can create a more
conducive environment for SME growth, ultimately contributing to sustainable
economic development in Tanzania. This research offers valuable insights for
policymakers, financial institutions, and entrepreneurs, providing a roadmap for
overcoming the systemic barriers to SME financing and fostering a more inclusive
and dynamic economic landscape
Tax Avoidance Predictions: CETR and Social Network Synergy
Full text linkMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business Analytics, Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This study aims to address the challenge of detecting tax avoidance by developing a robust predictive model that integrates social network characteristics with financial metrics. Utilizing the Cash Effective Tax Rate (CETR) as a primary indicator, this research investigates the potential enhancement of predictive accuracy through the inclusion of board director relations and accounting firm affiliations. The methodology involves analysing data from publicly listed companies in Indonesia, spanning five years from 2018 to 2022. Key findings indicate that incorporating social network attributes improves the model's ability to predict tax avoidance. The results reveal that companies with directors serving on multiple boards and those sharing accounting firms tend to exhibit similar tax avoidance behaviours. These insights suggest that social networks play a crucial role in corporate tax strategies, providing a deeper understanding of the dynamics influencing tax avoidance. The conclusions underscore the importance of considering both financial and social network data in developing more effective regulatory frameworks to combat tax avoidance
Direct lenders in the U.S. middle market
Full text linkThis paper studies the rise of direct lending using a comprehensive dataset of investments by business development companies (BDC). We exploit three exogenous shocks to credit supply, including new banking regulations and a major finance company collapse, to establish that BDC capital acts as a substitute for traditional financing. Using firm-level data, we further document that firms’ access to BDC funding stimulates their employment growth and patenting activity. Beyond credit provision, BDCs contribute to firm growth through managerial assistance.publishedVersio
Prisforskjeller i det norske kraftmarkedet
Full text linkBacheloroppgave i Økonomi og administrasjon fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024Denne oppgaven undersøker hvorfor strømprisene varierer regionalt i Norge, og hvilke tiltak som må til for å optimalisere kraftmarkedet i framtiden. Oppgaven analyserer de økonomiske faktorene som driver markedet, og beskriver utfordringene knyttet til nettutbygging og ulike produksjonskilder.
Oppgaven finner at de regionale variasjonene i strømpriser i stor grad skyldes kapasitetsbegrensninger i strømnettet, såkalte flaskehalser. Effekten blir forsterket på grunn av tilknytninger til utlandet. For å jevne ut priser og optimalisere bruken av norske kraftressurser kreves det store investeringer i både ny kraftproduksjon og en oppgradering av strømnettet. Investeringene er nødvendige for å øke nettkapasiteten og sikre en mer effektiv utnyttelse av kraftressursene.
For å møte fremtidig etterspørsel og opprettholde en sterk kraftbalanse må Norge diversifisere sin kraftproduksjon. Norge trenger mer energiproduksjon totalt, og både regulerbare og uregulerbare produksjonskilder vil være relevante investeringsprosjekter framover