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Are women financially excluded from formal financial services? Analysis of some selected local government areas in Lagos State, Nigeria
Get PDFAbstract. The preoccupation of this study is to investigate whether women are financially excluded from formal financial services in Lagos State. Four local government areas (Ikeja, Ifako- Ijaiye, Somolu-Bariga and Agege) were selected for the empirical enquiry. Perceptions of women about formal financial services were collected by means of questionnaires. Of the 280 questionnaires sent out, 202 were recovered and the data was analyzed using descriptive analyses techniques. Two major findings are reported:(i) women are excluded from financial services mostly because of their lower level of education which thus exclude them from being able to utilize financial products such as mobile and internet banking; and (ii)the older the respondents get, the lower their willingness to make use of internet or mobile banking, as the emergence of new products in that line is too sophisticated for them to understand, thus, they experience technical exclusion from financial services. The study recommends that: (i) there is need for specialized financial product for women and increased awareness of beneficial products by the financial institutions; and (ii) financial institutions should design specialized financial products for women and to embark on road-shows in markets where women are mostly aggregated in order to create efficient awareness of these financial products.Keywords. Financial services, Financial exclusion, Financial institution, Nigeria.JEL. G21, O40
Revolution: Characteristics, taxonomies and situational causes
Get PDFAbstract. Revolution is an historical process that generates a rapid and radical (social, economic and political) change in society. This conceptual paper shows basic characteristics, taxonomies and situational causes of revolution. Moreover, this study also suggests that acurrent and distinct form of revolution, not included in previous studies, is terrorism. Overall, then, it seems that terrorism has many analogies with some drivers of revolution (e.g., economic, social, political and demographic determinants) and can generate changes in society, similarly to revolutions.Keywords. Social change, Political change, Structural change, Internal war, Rebellion, Insurrection, Coup d’État, Terrorism.JEL. N30, O30, O31, I23
Fragility and macroeconomic outcomes in ECOWAS
Get PDFAbctract. This study examined the nature of the interactions between fragility and macroeconomic outcomes in ECOWAS. This is despite the backdrop of evidences showing that macroeconomic policies sufficiently drive macroeconomic outcomes. Meanwhile sub-Saharan African countries have taken the backbench on almost any standard measures of macroeconomic performance within the last two decades. Contemporaneously, the region dominates the top 50 percentiles of ranking on almost all dimension and indicators of fragility. Using a panel data for the 15 countries covering the period between 1995-2016 and employing the Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) estimation techniques, the findings from this work show that the seven macroeconomic outcomes used in the study respond to fragility negatively and that fragility accounts for major sources of shocks in these economies. The study recommends that ECOWAS should employ a formidable approach to blocking this distortion called fragility.Keywords. Panel VAR, Shocks, Resource Curse, Sub-Saharan Africa, ECOWAS.JEL. F41, I31, O11
Value creation by Indian companies: A comparative study over two time periods
Get PDFAbstract. The objective of this paper is to derive economic profit generated by Indian companies over two time periods and see whether there has been any fundamental change in the performance of companies and the sectors within which they belong. We focus on non-finance companies. The purpose is two-fold. First, to get an idea about how Indian companies have fared over the two time periods and whether there has been any structural change. Second, to help companies decide on their next strategic move and allocate funds for the purpose. The study also focusses on the relationship between size and economic profit, where invested capital and market capitalization represents size. The methodology presented in the paper enables us to understand the performance of Indian companies and also the sectors within which they belong.Keywords. Economic profit, Invested capital, Quintile distribution, Market capitalization, Sector.JEL. G11, G14, G32, L25, E22
Exploring Change Management and Innovation in Strategy-Technology-Management (Stra.Tech.Man) terms
Get PDFAbstract. The present article explores how the concept of change management evolves within the context of the current restructuring of globalization and, more specifically, how a new approach to the phenomenon of organizational change is built in terms of the Stra.Tech.Man evolutionary triangle (Strategy-Technology-Management). Change management in Stra.Tech.Man terms is a process which can synthesize adaptively the different perspectives of organizational change in order for an organization to innovate effectively. In conclusion, organizational success is articulated in a continuous cycle of five consecutive Stra.Tech.Man steps, where every step has its own conditions of successful innovation and evolution.Keywords. Change management, Organizational change, Evolutionary Stra.Tech.Man triangle, Innovation.JEL. L20, L22, O32
Assessment of agrarian sustainability at various levels: The case of Bulgaria
Get PDFAbstract. The goal of this study is to unpack sustainability in terms of understanding and evaluation using as a case Bulgarian agriculture. A hierarchical system for assessing agrarian sustainability in Bulgaria at national, regional, sub-sectoral, ecosystem and farm level is proposed. It includes 3 aspects (pillars), 17 principles, 35 criteria, and 46 indicators and reference values for evaluating sustainability as well as approach for their integration and interpretation. Assessment is made of agrarian sustainability in the country at various level using aggregate macro and farm level micro data. The assessment has found out that there is a considerable differentiation in the level of integral and aspects sustainability of different type of farms, ecosystems, subsectors and regions. Nevertheless, results on the integral agrarian sustainability based on macro aggregate and micro farm data are quite similar. The later indicates that both approaches are reliable and could be simultaneously used according to the level of analysis, needs of decision makers, and available data. Major factors encouraging improving economic sustainability are market demand and price; direct state subsidies; market competition; financial capability; participation in public support programs; possibility of benefitting immediately; possibility of benefitting in the near future; tax preferences; possibility of benefitting in the long term; and integration with buyers of farm products. Main factors encouraging the enhancement of social sustainability are personal convictions and satisfaction; social recognition of individual contribution; immediate benefits for other people and groups; regional community initiatives and pressure; access to advisory services; European Union policy; and existing regional problems and risks. Important factors encouraging environmental sustainability are problems and risks existing at the global scale; official regulations, standards, and norms; existing regional problems and risks; and European Union policies. Public policies and instruments that improve economic sustainability of Bulgarian agriculture include: direct area-based payments; national top-ups for products and livestock; modernization of agricultural holdings; green payments; support for semi-market farms. At the same time the impact of national and European policies on social and environmental sustainability is relatively weak.Keywords. Sustainability, Assessment, Economic, Social, ecological, Agriculture, Bulgaria.JEL. Q10, Q56, R33
The impact of gender and social capital on entrepreneurial intentions in university students: Evidence from Turkey
Get PDFAbstract. Understanding the antecedents of the intention to become an entrepreneur is crucial in the development of effective entrepreneurship education and training programs. Despite the growing number of conceptual and empirical studies, the insights on the psychological factors that drive or discourage the engagement into entrepreneurial acts among university students are still limited. The current study aims to address this gap in the literature, by exploring the direct relationships between the impact of personal attitude (PA), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and subjective norms (SN) constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on entrepreneurial intention (EI). The study further investigates the existence of a potential difference with respect to gender and social capital on EI. For data collection, the entrepreneurial intention scale of Linan and Chen (2009) was used and questionnaires collected from a sample of 113 university students were analyzed through multiple regression analyses. Findings indicate that the impact of SN on EIare negative whereas PA and PBC have strong and positive associations with the intention to become an entrepreneur. Furthermore, the results of the independent t-tests show do not indicate a meaningful difference with respect to gender and social capital and entrepreneurial intention, whereas differences between departments and taking or not taking an entrepreneurship course are found to be significantly associated with EI. For theory, these findings imply that both the scale of Linan and Chen (2009) and the model of TPB are useful in predicting entrepreneurial intention for this sample. For practice, the results highlight the important role of education in choosing entrepreneurship as a career at undergraduate level whereas gender difference or having an entrepreneur in the family or close third parties is not reported to affect this decision.Keywords. Entrepreneurial intention, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Gender, Social Capital, Entrepreneurship Education.JEL. L26, M13, I23, I25
History, policies and financial statements of the Irish currency commission and the Central Bank of Ireland (1927– 1979)
Get PDFAbstract. When Ireland gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, contrary to the recommendations offered by the League of Nations, the new country established a Currency Commission that operated similarly to a currency board rather than a central bank. I analyze the structure of the Currency Commission and describe the establishment of a central bank in the 1940s with limited monetary powers, then later a central bank with broader powers. I compare the legal structures and operations of the early Central Bank of Ireland and the Currency Commission balance sheet analysis and other approaches to conclude that there are distinct differences between a currency board and a central bank that operates like one.Keywords. Ireland, Central bank, Currency board, Balance sheet.JEL. E58, N24
Pareto superior dimension of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) in Ghana: Evidence from Asunafo North Municipality of Ghana
Get PDFAbstract. This study investigates characteristics of Rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) participants who join the association due to its Pareto superior allocation in Ghana. Some scholars like Dejene and Van den Brink have hypothesized that people join ROSCAs because of its Pareto superior allocation. The study employed primary data analysis in achieving its main objective. Out of the 400 ROSCA participants sampled for the study from Asunafo North Municipality of Ghana, 71.75% joined the association because of its Pareto superior allocation. A Probit model was used to predict the probability of joining the association due to its superior allocation. The dependent variable took the value of one when respondents join the association due to its superior allocation and zero if otherwise. Married participants, participants with no or low level of education, participants who are unemployed and participants who save more of their income are more likely to join ROSCA due to its Pareto superior allocation. It was recommended that that ROSCA participants who have access (participants living in urban sectors) to formal financial institutions, participants who have accounts at formal financial institutions, participants who are rich and aged participants should be educated on how ROSCA constitutes its Pareto superior allocation.Keywords. Pareto Superiority, Rotating Savings and Credit Association.JEL. B26, D53, E44, G10, G34
Notes on prosperity, poverty, and inequality in the era of globalization
Get PDFAbstract. A common question in academic debates is whether globalization exacerbates poverty and inequality on the planet. Many argue that globalization is indeed a force for adverse developments for humanity. The purpose of this study is to discuss the extent to which these approaches are valid. To achieve this goal, we first consider some valuable contributions to the study of the phenomena of poverty and inequality, and then we examine their statistical imprints throughout history by using available data. Empirical evidence does not show a dramatic increase in poverty or inequality, especially in the less developed countries on the planet: they reveal the opposite. In conclusion, we present some misconceptions in the articulation of a contemporary economic policy that appear to hinder effective solutions to tackle poverty and inequality.Keywords. Poverty, Inequality, Globalization, Misconceptions.JEL. I30, D63, F60