1,721,280 research outputs found
Identifying Social Entrepreneurs Serving the Poor at the BoP
Full text linkThe concept of social entrepreneurship as a characterization of social responsibility for business organizations has gained considerable popularity. There is growing belief in international development and donor communities that this form of for-profit activity might be the long-sought panacea for solving poverty at the so-called Base of the Pyramid (BoP) -- the poorest segment of the society. Yet, there is no consensus within these communities as to what constitutes social entrepreneurship, and how the BoP is defined. Confusion arises from the absence of generally accepted definitions for both terms, leaving much scope for some conventional for-profit activities to assert a higher social service status. This paper attempts to clarify what constitutes social entrepreneurship serving the BOP segment of the population, and how the BoP may be defined to better represent the poor.social entrepreneurship, bottom of the pyramid, poverty alleviation
Oil Prices and Stock Markets: What Drives what in the Gulf Corporation Council Countries?
Full text linkIn the empirical literature, only few studies have focused on the relationship between oil prices and stock markets in net oil-importing countries. In net oil-exporting countries this relationship has not been widely researched. This paper implements the panel-data approach of Kónya (2006), which is based on SUR systems and Wald tests with country-specific bootstrap critical values to study the sensitivity of stock markets to oil prices in GCC (Gulf Corporation Council) countries. Using two different (weekly and monthly) datasets covering respectively the periods from 7 June 2005 to 21 October 2008, and from January 1996 to December 2007, we show strong statistical evidence that the causal relationship is consistently bi-directional for Saudi Arabia. Stock market price changes in the other GCC member countries do not Granger cause oil price changes, whereas oil price shocks Granger cause stock price changes. Therefore, investors in GCC stock markets should look at the changes in oil prices, whereas investors in oil markets should look at changes in the Saudi stock market.GCC stock markets, oil prices
Financial stability, monetary autonomy and fiscal interference: Bulgaria in search of its way, 1879-1913
Full text linkThe Bulgarian monetary system was established, immediately after independence. Having experienced it already under Ottoman rule, newly independent Bulgaria adopted the bimetallic standard. Without being a member of the Latin Monetary Union, it tried broadly to follow the principles of the convention, yet with some exceptions, the most important of which concerned the limit on silver coinage. The absence of such a clause in Bulgaria turned out to be crucial since the financial needs of the recently established state triggered excessive silver coinage which resulted in a persistent agio - a positive and variable difference between the legal and the commercial value of silver coins. The interference of fiscal authorities obstructed the Bulgarian National Bank's ability to manage money in circulation and to secure the monetary stability required by economic development). The attempts of the Bulgarian monetary authorities to eliminate the agio were unsuccessful until they acquired the right to issue silver-backed banknotes. Soon after that, in 1906, Bulgaria introduced a short-lived typical Gold standard.financial stability, monetary autonomy, fiscal interference, Bulgaria
CAPITAL INFLOWS, HOUSEHOLD DEBT AND THE BOOM BUST CYCLE IN ESTONIA
Full text linkFrom 2000 to 2007, Estonia was one of the fastest growing emerging market economies. A housing boom, fuelled by capital inflows and credit, resulted in skyrocketing house prices and an over-expanded construction sector. However, the currency board limited the Bank of Estonia’s ability to curb credit growth, while the fiscal policy framework amplified the cycle through pro-cyclical spending increases and tax cuts. As credit was mostly financed by cross-border loans from foreign banks, the risks of disruptions to credit flows and financial contagion have increased. Some have already materialised through tightened lending standards and capital outflows. Estonia is now in a severe recession. To restore high and sustainable growth, the country will need to rebalance its resources from non-tradables towards exports. Regaining external competitiveness will be challenging, however, given the fixed exchange rate and recent devaluations in partner countries. Flexibility of the economy will thus be crucial. Over the medium term, policymakers could also strengthen incentives for a better functioning of the housing finance market and gradually remove the pro-cyclical bias of fiscal policy.capital inflows; credit; household debt; boom-bust cycle; Estonia
MODELING INSTITUTIONS, START-UPS AND PRODUCTIVITY DURING TRANSITION
Full text linkThe transition paths from plan to market have varied markedly across countries. Central and Eastern European and the Baltic countries, which opted for a fast and profound transformation of their institutions including business climates, rapidly narrowed the productivity gap with advanced economies. In contrast, in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which embarked on reforms later and contented with less depth, the productivity gap remains substantial. While the literature has focused mainly on empirical studies, this paper develops a dynamic search model of the firm start-ups that is consistent with the above trends. The model shows that an enabling institutional set up stimulates start-ups of highly productive firms at an earlier stage of transition, underscoring the importance of reforms. The role of the state sector as an employer during transition rises in countries where reforming institutions is particularly costly.Start-ups, dynamic search model, business climate, productivity, transition
Oil prices and stock markets: what drives what in the Gulf Corporation Council countries?
Full text linkIn the empirical literature, only few studies have focused on the relationship between oil prices and stock markets in net oil-importing countries. In net oil-exporting countries this relationship has not been widely researched. This paper implements the panel-data approach of Kónya (2006), which is based on SUR systems and Wald tests with country-specific bootstrap critical values to study the sensitivity of stock markets to oil prices in GCC (Gulf Corporation Council) countries. Using two different (weekly and monthly) datasets covering respectively the periods from 7 June 2005 to 21 October 2008, and from January 1996 to December 2007, we show strong statistical evidence that the causal relationship is consistently bi-directional for Saudi Arabia. Stock market price changes in the other GCC member countries do not Granger cause oil price changes, whereas oil price shocks Granger cause stock price changes. Therefore, investors in GCC stock markets should look at the changes in oil prices, whereas investors in oil markets should look at changes in the Saudi stock market.GCC stock markets, oil prices
Long-run Determinants of Sovereign Yields
Full text linkWe study sovereign bond yields in OECD countries with a dynamic panel by checking for cross-section dependence; assessing panel cointegration; and estimating panel error-correction models. The results show that markets consider budgetary and external imbalances and inflation as relevant determinants of sovereign yields.long-term yields, panel cointegration, bootstrap
DETERMINANTS OF POLLUTION ABATEMENT AND CONTROL EXPENDITURE: EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA
Full text linkThe aim of the present study is to shed some light on the factors affecting Pollution Abatement and Control Expenditure (PACE) in the context of a transition economy such as Romania, in contrast to the existing literature which mostly focuses on developed economies. Specifically, we use survey data of the Romanian National Institute of Statistics and estimate Multilevel Regression Model (MRM) to investigate the determinants of environmental behaviour at plant level. Our results reveal some important differences vis-à-vis the developed countries, such as a less significant role for collective action and environmental taxes, which suggests some possible policy changes to achieve better environmental outcomes.Pollution Abatement and Control Expenditure, Transition Economy, Multilevel Regression Model (MRM)
Modeling International Trade Flows between CEEC and OECD Countries
Full text linkThis article deals with econometric developments for the estimation of gravity model, which allow to get convergent parameter estimates even when a correlation exists between the explanatory variables and the specific unobservable characteristics of each individual. We implement panel data econometric techniques to characterize bilateral trade flows between heterogeneous economies. Our econometric results based on a sample of 4 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC-4) and 19 OECD countries over a 18-year period highlight the importance by taking into account the unobservable heterogeneity to obtain a robust empirical specification and unbiased coefficients.gravity models, unobservable heterogeneity, panel data models, international trade flows
Bootstrap Panel Granger-Causality between Government Budget and External Deficits for the EU
Full text linkWe investigate the existence of Granger-causality between current account and government budget balances over the period 1970-2007, for different EU and OECD country groupings. We use the panel-data approach of Kónya (2006), which is based on SUR systems and Wald tests with country specific bootstrap critical values. Our results show a causal relation from budget deficits to current account deficits for several EU countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia, along the lines of the so-called twin-deficit relationship. Considering the effective real exchange rate in the SUR system does not substantially alter the results.panel causality tests, budget deficit, external imbalance, real exchange rates, EU, OECD
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