176 research outputs found
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Analysis of the relationship between expenditure on oil imports and public spending on selected social services in Kenya
Full text linkAbctract. Since independence, oil imports in Kenya have been rising mainly to sustain the nascent transport, manufacturing, energy, agriculture and maritime sectors among other uses in the country. The growth in the country’s oil import bill has however been closely related to public spending in the health and education sectors which experienced shocks owing to the growth in expenditures apportioned to the rising volume of oil imports. Given the significance of the social pillar of the Kenya Vision 2030 and the inconsistency in the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which is inherent in the Kenya Vision 2030, understanding the linkages between the aforementioned trends in expenditures can help in explaining the progress towards attaining the education and health facets of the social pillar. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between aggregate expenditure on oil imports and public spending on health and education. The data used was time series data sourced from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Kenya and World Bank. The study employed granger causality and correlation analysis. Based on standard Chi-square tests and F-tests, the findings of the study revealed that there exists bi-directional causality between government expenditure on health and aggregate expenditure on oil imports on one hand; and a unidirectional causality running from government spending on education to aggregate expenditure on oil imports on the other hand, both in the long-run and short-run. It is therefore recommended that the government should define what is deemed economically sustainable in regard to government expenditure on health as a proportion of the exchequer budget. It should also put in place policies that will institute reasonable margins for government expenditures on health and education to adjust as a measure to keep the rising oil import bill in check.Keywords. Public spending, Causality, Oil price shock.JEL. D61, H12, H51, H52, Q48
Difference in dividen policy based on the growth potential of the company
Full text linkAbctract. The purpose of the study, The research objective was to determine the difference in dividend policy between companies that have high growth potential with companies that have low growth potential. Research is a quantitative study. Mean difference test is preceded by Common Factor Analysis to analyze which factors in the Investment Opportunity Set can represent the growth ratio of the company so that it can be used to separate companies with high and low growth potential. Furthermore, the analysis is carried out with a regression model to determine the difference in dividend policy on the growth potential of different companies. The results showed that dividend policy proved to be significantly different in policy between companies that grew high and low and followed the pecking order theory.Keywords. Dividen Policy, Growth Potential of the Company.JEL. F43, N10, O10
Impact of climate dynamics on cyclical properties of wine production in Douro region using time-frequency approach
Full text linkAbctract. In this paper we model the impact of climate dynamics on wine production temporal cycles for the period 1933 to 2013 in the Douro wine region. We identify the cyclical properties of wine production and which cycles are determined by spring temperature and soil water levels during summer. We achieve that by applying a time-frequency approach, which is based on Kalman filter regressions in the time domain. The time-varying autoregressive model can explain 79% of the variability of wine production in Douro region. We then transfer the results in the frequency domain and can show that wine production is characterized by two cycles of 5.7 and 2.5 years around the long run trend. The in-season spring temperature as well as the temperatures of two and three years ago could explain about 65% of the variability of wine production. When the soil water level in summer is incorporated, the R2 increases to 83% and the Akaike criterion value is lower. The effects of soil water in wine production are depending on the timing. The in-season effect of an increase in soil water is negative, whilst soil water from two and three years ago have a positive effect on wine production. There is a stable but not constant link between production and the spring temperature. The temperature is responsible for two long-medium cycles of 5.8 year and 4.2 years as well as a short one of 2.4 years that began since the 80s. The soil water level can explained 60%of the 7 years cycles of wine production as well as a short one of 2.3 years cycle which has been happening since the 90s. We can recognise a shift of the relative importance away from temperature to soil water. Despite using a new an extended dataset, our results largely confirm the results of the impact of climate on the wine production in Douro region in our previous research. Modelling the impact of climate on the wine production can be an important instrument contributing for mitigation strategies facing the projected climate conditions in order to remain competitive in the market.Keywords. Climate variability, Wine production, Time-varying spectra, Kalman filter, Douro region.JEL. L52, B52, F63
The study on factors affecting the participation in the organization of the community tourism by farmer households in Tra Ving province, Vietnam
Full text linkAbstract. The study on the factors influencing farmer households’ participation in the organization of community-based tourism in Tra Vinh province was conducted by the gathering of primary data from 200 households in three islands of Tan Quy (Cau Ke district), Long Tri (Tra Vinh city), and Hoa Minh (Chau Thanh district) in Tra Vinh province. Through the use of the logistic regression model, the study found that there were six factors affecting the decision to participate in tourism, including the age of farmers, householders, and the educational level of householders, household size, family income, social relations and traditional trades. In particular, traditional trades, household income, and social relationships strongly influence farmers’ participation in organizing community-based tourism activities in Tra Vinh province.Keywords. Community tourism, Households, Island, Logistic regression, Income, Traditional trades.JEL. I13, I20, I30
Evolution of the economics of science in the Twenty Century
Full text linkAbstract. A new discipline analyses the role of science in society: the economics of scientific research. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the origins, nature, evolution and structure of the economics of scientific research. The paper suggests that one of the first scholars that has tried to systematize this discipline is Paul Freedman with the book “The principles of scientific research” published in London in 1949 by Pergamon Press. In addition, the study here also endeavours to show whenever possible the evolution of this discipline through central topics from emerging research fields.Keywords. Science, Scientific research, History of science, Evolution of Science, Research policy, Research laboratory, R&D management.JEL. B20, D80, L30
Trends in the accumulation of net foreign reserves since World War II
Full text linkAbstract. Taking a historical perspective, this paper observes the trend in net foreign reserves by examining data that extend as far back as 1948. It looks broadly at how reserve coverage has changed over time and the benefits and costs of holding such reserves. Moreover, it studies which countries are the biggest holders of reserves and how much they have as well as the reasons why they hold these amounts. An accompanying spreadsheet workbook contains the data for the graphs and analysis of this paper. Data come mainly from the International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics database, supplemented in some cases by national sources.Keywords. Foreign reserves, Gold, Monetary base, Imports, Reserve adequacy.JEL. E58, F31