1,721,117 research outputs found
The determinants of corporate growth
Get PDFCorporate growth is a concept that has been widely treated in a specific way or as part of strategy theories, in definition and in econometric models and has also been studied in many different aspects and approaches. The author describes in depth the main variables affecting corporate growth and the underlying business processes.
This empirical research has focused on sales, profit-cash flow, risk, created shareholder value, market value and overall performance econometric models. These panel data models are based on the 500 Companies of the Standard & Poor’s 500. The methodology used has been very strict in identifying exogenous variables, walking through the different alternative econometric models, discussing results, and, in the end, describing the practical implications in today’s business corporate management.
We basically assume that the functions/departments act independently in the same company, many times with different objectives, and in this situation clear processes are key to clarify the situations, roles and responsibilities. We also assume that growth implies interactions among the different functions in a company and the CEO acts to lead and coach his immediate Directors as a referee of the key conflicts through his operating mechanism.
The objective of this PhD dissertation is to clarify the business priorities and identify the most relevant variables in every process leading to the highest efficiency in reaching a sustainable and profitable growth. It covers the lack of academic studies on the nature and specific driving factors of corporate growth and provides a working framework for entrepreneurs and management leading to the company’s success
Three empirical essays on determinants of industry and investment location patterns in the context of economic transition and regional integration : the evidence from Central and Eastern European countries
No full textThe factor determinants of industry and investment location patterns in transition
economies can be expected to differ from those frequently observed in developed
countries. Historically, centrally planned economies have suffered from inefficient
industrial policies that are generally assumed to have had distortive effects on spatial
location of industry. The process of economic transition and regional integration that
followed the demise of socialist structures is assumed to have subsequently affected the
geographical distribution of economic activities within and between countries of the
region. Given the above this thesis capitalises on the quasi-natural experiment setting to
further explore industry and investment location decisions in transition economies.
In particular, the research presented here follows three main objectives. First, it intends to
provide a comprehensive picture of changes in industry location patterns over time.
Second, it aims to contribute to the debate on factor determinants of industry location at
various levels of spatial aggregation. Third, it seeks to explore location determinants of
foreign direct investors in particular, given their pivotal role for economic development
of transition economies. In all instances, the research is geared towards a better
understanding of the role of institutional factors, such as reforms and policies, in affecting
distribution of economic activity across space. Thus, the work conducted qualifies as a
further contribution to the analysis of structural changes that have affected the economies
under examination. In broad terms, the findings presented here point towards significant
changes in spatial location patterns of industry and investments that are leading to
increased polarisation of economic landscape over time. Nonetheless, we find evidence
that certain institutional factors qualify as viable policy levers, thereby providing ample
scope for policy makers to impact existing location patterns of economic activity
Environment and health in Central Asia: quantifying the determinants of child survival
No full textThe impact of environmental degradation on well-being is largely ignored in terms of economic costs of development. Due in large part to measurement difficulties, the environment in the daily welfare of the world's poorest remains inadequately accounted for in development policies. The aim of this work is, therefore, to advance our understanding of the relationship between the environment and human health. Anthropogenic activities in Central Asia have severely disrupted the natural environment. The poorest, most vulnerable members of society are at an increased risk of mortality and a life-time of illness associated with worsening ecological conditions in the region. The work is by nature inter-disciplinary and pulls from many social sciences in an attempt to provide new insight into the role of long term environmental degradation and the impact on social welfare.
There are three main original contributions of this work. Firstly, the research demonstrates the traditional emphasis in the literature on socioeconomic factors in explaining high rates of child mortality in Central Asia is inadequate. Secondly, for the first time in an international cross-section examining the determinants of child survival, the macro-level environment is put forth as a key determinant of excess child mortality in Central Asia. An improved measure of income is used for the first time in such a study to control for important distributional effects within and between countries. The results confirm the hypothesis that traditional determinants do not account for endemically high rates of mortality in the region. Secondly, using administrative (oblast) data from Uzbekistan, Chapter 6 presents the first study of its kind to incorporate important geographic as well as socioeconomic information in explaining variation in infant mortality due likely to ecological degradation. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate the environment must be adequately considered in all policy making aimed at improving health outcomes in the region
Cost and policy implications of agricultural pollution, with special reference to pesticides
No full textModem commercial agricultural practices involving chemical inputs such as fertilisers
and pesticides have been associated with huge increases in food production never
witnessed before, and in the case of cereal production (especially wheat) under Green
Revolution technology, recorded spectacular growth. As statistics show, production and
productivity have increased. However, the high chemical usage of fertilizers and
pesticides used to bring about these increases in food production are not without
problems. A visible parallel correlation between higher productivity, high artificial input use and environmental degradation and human health effects is evident in many countries where commercial agriculture is widespread. The high usage of these chemical inputs has caused numerous pollution problems impacting on human health, agricultural land, other production processes, wildlife and the environment in general. The private and external costs are very high. Such a production path is clearly unsustainable. This Ph.D. study lays its focus on estimating the private costs of illnesses arising from direct exposure to pesticides during handling and spraying by farmers on their farms in Sri Lanka. For this purpose three valuation techniques are used. They are the contingent valuation, cost of illness and the aversive behaviour approaches. Multiple regression analyses are also carried out to establish several relationships involving pesticide handling/spraying and direct exposure to pesticides. Policy implications of the regression analyses are then discussed. A health production model showing the relationships between the three approaches used for estimating the private costs of ill health and thereby inferring the willingness to pay for pollution control is presented. The theoretical background to agricultural pollution, drawing examples mostly from Asia, is also dealt within this thesis.
Data for this Ph.D. study were obtained from a field survey carried out in the summer of
1996. During this survey, 227 subsistence farmers handling and spraying pesticides on a
regular basis were interviewed to gather the necessary data. For the analysis of data, only 203 samples are used
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Quantification and valuation of the effects of traffic-induced air pollution on mortality : an analysis of fourteen British cities
Get PDFAn effective transport system is vital for economic well-being and the quality of life. Yet negative external effects of road traffic play a growing role in the environmental political discussion. The majority of these effects produce so-called external costs as they are not paid by generators but are inflicted on society as a whole. In particular, emissions form motor vehicles are of serious concern as they are widely recognised in causing damage to human health, ranging from breathing discomfort to cardio-respiratory diseases resulting in premature death. The latter are the focus of this study, where the ultimate objective is the valuation of the effects of traffic-generated air pollution on mortality. The valuation procedure is undertaken in a stepwise manner. First, the short-term association between daily mortality and ambient air pollution in 14 major British cities between 1992 and 1997 is assessed, using time-series analysis. Second, based on the estimated exposure-response functions the total numbers of premature deaths attributable to air pollution in general, and to road traffic in particular is quantified. Finally, by applying willingness to pay estimates for the value of a statistical life (employing air pollution related adjustments) the total external costs attributable to air pollution are calculated. These figures are an important element for transport policy decision-making, particular on a decentralised local authority level
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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