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Is short-term firm performance an indicator of a sustainable financial performance? Empirical evidence
No full textPurpose - This study aims to thoroughly examine and understand the relationship between working capital management (WCM) and the sustainable financial performance (FP) in the context of the New Zealand companies listed on stock exchange.
Design/methodology/approach - This study has applied various regression techniques to examine WCM and the sustainable FP relationship. The data set period is from 2009 to 2019. The results are robust upon various layers of robustness parameters. The system-generalized method of moments is applied for managing endogeneity issue.
Findings - The research reveals compelling evidence of a meaningful connection between WCM and sustainable FP indicators. The study specifically highlights the significant negative associations between the cash conversion cycle, average collection period and average age of inventory with the firm’s sustainable FP. Through robust analyses and various parameter adjustments, the study ensures the credibility and reliability of its conclusions, further reinforcing the impact of WCM on the financial health of New Zealand-listed firms.
Practical implications - This study provides future directions for researchers to explore the dynamic relationship between WCM and a firm sustainable FP because it is still a demanding and challenging area. Future research may care to explore the optimal way to reduce the cash conversion cycle, average collection period and average age of inventory for New Zealand firms. The current study does provide insights to NZ financial managers, which is useful for improving sustainable FP by efficiently managing WCM.
Originality/value - WCM is problematic and constitutes a notable challenge; it requires further research, especially in small economies such as New Zealand. Hence, it is an updated and fresh attempt based on a larger data set to measure the empirical relationship between WCM and the sustainable performance of New Zealand-listed firms. Furthermore, the current study uses dynamic panel data estimation techniques in addition to multiple regression techniques
Sources of wastage in a cohort of Standardbred foals
No full textObjective and Methodology
To identify sources of wastage in the Standardbred racehorse industry, data from the New Zealand Infohorse database were analysed using mixed effects logistic regression models for the 2012 Standardbred foal crop (n = 2,272; i.e. 197 female trotters, 933 female pacers, 218 male trotters, 924 male pacers) to the end of their 10th year. The training milestones were REG (registered with trainer), TRIAL (official trial) and RACE (started races).
Results
Overall, 62.8% were REG, 55.6% had a TRIAL, and 47.4% attained RACE status. Of the 846 (37.2%) horses that failed to be registered, 385 (45.5%) were dead, 302 (35.7%) retired to a second career, 83 (9.8%) were exported, 58 (6.9%) retired to stud, 18 (2.1%) were unknown.
Males were more likely to attain REG (p = 0.036), TRIAL (p = 0.002) and RACE (p = 0.001) milestones than females. Increasing dam age impaired attainment of milestones (REG, p = 0.036; TRIAL, p = 0.002; RACE, p = 0.020). Also, later born foals (December and January) were less likely (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) to attain the milestones than early born (August/September) foals. Sire was a significant random effect (p < 0.001) for REG, TRIAL and RACE status. Of the horses that attained RACE status, there were (median/total) lifetime starts for 23.5/2,845 female trotters, 12.5/7,825 female pacers, 24/3,236 male trotters and 17/11,262 male pacers.
A large proportion (37.2%) of horses failed to enter training; thereafter proportionate losses were small (REG to TRIAL, 7.1%; TRIAL to RACE, 8.2%). Male horses were more likely to attain all milestones, as were foals born early in the breeding season and those born to younger dams.
Conclusion
These results indicate that early loss or the decision not to enter training are major drivers for wastage in the harness racing industry
The economic value of parks: A framework and preliminary estimate
Get PDFThe Parks Leaders Forum commissioned the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University to design a national infrastructure for collecting, synthesising and analysing data that can be used to create reliable evidence on the various forms in which national, regional and local parks contribute to the economic prosperity and wellbeing of New Zealanders. The study reviews national wellbeing frameworks, methods used for valuing long-term assets such as the network of national, regional and local parks, and existing data sources including previous studies. It then prepares a preliminary estimate of the net present value of the net wellbeing benefits of parks to New Zealand residents over the next eight generations. This estimate is $3 trillion. The analysis that produced this estimate is available as an Excel spreadsheet tool. The study finishes with possible opportunities for future research
Biological cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in soils
No full textThe aim of this special issue was to bring together a range of studies that contribute to the mechanistic understanding of how plants, microorganisms, and fauna influence the biological turnover of N and P in soils, with a focus on managing N and P availability and minimizing losses
What I don’t know can hurt you: Collateral combat damage seems more acceptable when bystander victims are unidentified
Get PDFFour experiments (N=1563 American mTurkers) utilized a realistic moral dilemma: a military pilot must decide whether to bomb a dangerous enemy target, also killing a bystander. Few people endorsed bombing when the bystander was an innocent civilian; however, when the bystander’s identity was unknown, more than twice as many people endorsed the bombing. Follow-up studies tested why: people tend to assume an unidentified bystander is an enemy. Humanizing the bystander with a photograph and family history reduced bombing, an effect mediated via reduced inferences of enemy group membership—even though humanizing information contained no allegiance information. This pattern appears to reflect a general bias, rather than motivated reasoning about a specific conflict, as people responded similarly to fictional targets. This work has implications for conflicts where bystanders of uncertain allegiance or identity are common by revealing a potentially deadly bias: people often assume unidentified bystanders are guilty unless proven innocen
Can the non-market economy help to improve diet quality? Findings from a survey in New Caledonia
No full textThe Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia is undergoing a nutritional transition that began several decades ago. In a political context dominated by questions of self-determination that reveal deep divisions, agriculture also mirrors this dichotomy, observed through the coexistence of traditional non-market agriculture primarily practiced on Kanak tribal reserves and so-called ‘modern’ and capitalistic, market-driven agriculture. Based on a survey of 180 tribal and non-tribal producers in the north of the main island of the Caledonian archipelago, we analysed whether self-consumed and gifted produce could improve the diet of the rural population. Our findings show an underconsumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, milk, and fish among the domestic groups surveyed, contrasting with excessive consumption of sugars. Non-market practices only partially promote better nutrition. Thus, being a fruit and vegetable producer or a fisherman is associated with adequate consumption of these products, while gifting food, a common practice in tribes, protects against the overconsumption of sweeter products by sustaining traditional tuber-based diet
Exploring the role of high-value crops to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand
Get PDFThis study explores the potential benefits of transitioning from livestock farming to high-value alternative crops as a strategy for mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New Zealand. The government has set ambitious targets for reducing methane (CH4) emissions. However, since animal product exports play a crucial role in New Zealand’s economy, any shift in land use will have significant impacts on both the regional and national economy. We developed a GIS framework that integrated (i) growing requirements, (ii) GHG emissions and (iii) profitability for crops. Analysis of export market opportunities identified twelve high-value “alternative crops”. Availability of suitable land for crop expansion was not a limiting factor. Working with the Ministry for Primary Industries, we explored how land use change scenarios contributed to Government 2050 biogenic CH4 emission reduction targets. Doubling the area of alternative crops (a 195,000-ha increase) by reallocating land from livestock farming resulted in reducing biogenic CH4 emissions by 1.2 to 5.4% (0.35 to 1.57 Mt CO2-e) compared to 2017 baseline values, contributing to between 2.6 and 22.5% of the 2050 CH4 reduction targets, simultaneously increasing profitability by $NZ1.25 to 1.32 billion annually. While this approach demonstrates potential benefits of land use change, a deeper understanding of the complexity of land use decision-making is required to enable successful transitions. Addressing barriers to change requires collaborative efforts from land users, researchers and policy makers
Measuring the G20 stock market return transmission mechanism: Evidence from the R² connectedness approach
No full textThis study examines the contemporaneous transmission mechanism across the G20 stock market returns employing a novel R2 connectedness framework which combines the network approach of Kenett et al. (2010, 2015) with the connectedness approach of Diebold and Yilmaz (2012, 2014). The employed daily dataset covers G20 stock market returns from January 3rd, 2000 until June 30th, 2022. We find that the dynamic total connectedness is heterogeneous over time and economic event dependent. Furthermore, pairwise R2 decomposed connectedness measures with respect to different crisis periods and dynamic net total directional connectedness measures are discussed. Findings are important for investors and portfolio managers, for risk diversification purposes, as they highlight important dynamics across the markets of interest. We illustrate the reliability of our findings by considering a battery of robustness tests
Investigating dynamic connectedness of global equity markets: the role of investor attention
No full textThis study examines investor attention connectedness measures before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. We find that investor attention spillovers persist among global equity markets, and developed markets dominate as shock transmitters. The spillover effect increased significantly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic period due to escalating market turmoil. The empirical results suggest that investor attention interdependencies have important implications for improving our understanding of the shock transmission of global equity markets and co-movement dynamics. Our findings offer additional insights to investors and speculators to design better portfolio strategies by considering the net spillover effects of investor attention between numerous equity markets
Realized volatility spillovers between energy and metal markets: A time-varying connectedness approach
No full textThis paper analyzes the degree of dynamic connectedness between energy and metal commodity prices in the pre and post-COVID-19 era, using the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive connectedness approach of Antonakakis et al. (J Risk Financ Manag 13(4):84, 2020). The results suggest that market interconnectedness increased slightly following the outbreak of COVID-19, although this increase was lower and less persistent than that observed after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Furthermore, we find that crude oil was the main net transmitter of shocks before COVID-19 while heating oil, gold, and silver were the main net transmitters of shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, natural gas and palladium were the main net receivers of shocks during the entire sample period, making these two commodities attractive hedging and safe haven options for investors during the pandemic. Overall, our results suggest that hedging and diversification opportunities decrease during crises. Furthermore, they indicate that accurate forecasts of the volatility of several commodities, such as natural gas and different metals, can be obtained by exploiting the information content of crude oil. However, they also reveal that crude oil lost its leading position as a net shock transmitter during the COVID-19 pandemic