Showing papers in "The Romanian Economic Journal in 2014"

FDI theories. A location-based approach

Abstract: Given the importance of FDI for the economic growth of both home and host countries, the aim of this paper is to assess the importance granted to location advantages during the development of FDI theory. We start with the earliest theoretical directions as regards FDI location issues and extend our study to describing less debated theories, but of a particular importance for this theme. In this way, we have the opportunity to emphasize the changes in FDI location determinants. We find that a direction of the FDI theories’ expansion is due to the incorporation of new variables on location, although the location advantages are barely mentioned in the first explanations regarding the international activity of the firms.

Remittances, Financial Development and Economic Growth: The Case of North African Countries

Abstract: The present paper examines the causal linkage between remittances, financial development, and economic growth in a panel of 4 countries of North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt) over the period 1980-2011. Using system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) panel data analysis, we find strong evidence of a positive relationship between remittances and economic growth. We also find evidence that remittances appear to be working as a complement to financial development and, moreover, that the effect of remittances is more pronounced in the presence of the financial development variable. The policy implications of this study appeared clear. Improvement efforts need to be driven by local-level reforms to ensure the development of domestic financial system in order to take advantage of remittances.

Gold Price, Stock Price and Exchange rate Nexus: The Case of India

Abstract: The paper investigates the causal nexus between gold price, stock price and exchange rate in India through the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and Granger Causality test. Using monthly time series data, the empirical analysis is carried out for the period from June 1990 to April 2014. Our analysis reveals that gold price and stock price tend to have long-run relationship with exchange rate in India. Besides, there is no evidence of stable longrun cointegration relationship among stock price and gold price in India. Our empirical findings also indicate that there exists no causality runs from gold price to stock price or vice versa in the short-run. It can be concluded that domestic gold price does not contain any significant information to forecast stock prices in India. The study findings are consistent with Kaliyamoorthy and Parithi (2012) where they found no evidence of causality between the gold price and stock price in India.

Financial Development, Trade Openness and Economic Growth in North African Countries

Abstract: This contribution investigates the causal interactions between financial development, trade openness and economic growth in a panel of 3 countries of North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt) over the period 1980-2012. Using system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) panel data analysis, we find strong evidence of a positive link between trade openness and economic growth. We also find evidence that trade openness appear to be working as a complement to financial development and, moreover, that the effect of trade openness is more pronounced in the presence of the financial development variable. The policy implications of this study appeared clear. Improvement efforts need to be driven by local-level reforms to ensure the development of domestic financial system in order to take advantage of trade liberalization.

Government Expenditure and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of the Armey Curve in Nigeria

Abstract: This paper discusses the theoretical and empirical basis for the existence of an optimal size of government as depicted by Armey Curve, which is an inverted U curve, where the size of government is on the horizontal axis and economic growth rate is on the vertical axis. The geometric nature of government expenditure in Nigeria, and the absence or little effect it had on the economy, put to question the importance of government expenditure in the country. Also, with the shifts in economic trend in the country from a government dominated economy to more private driven market economy, makes the need to determine the size of government in the economy in order to facilitates effective working of the economy. As a result of these, this study is very important, and also the study stated that, empirical analysis, the optimum size of government, e.g. the share of overall government spending that maximizes economic growth, is 11% of GDP (at a 95% confidence level) based on data from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin 2012. Therefore, government and its policy makers need to ensure that her involve in the working is within the range of 11%. As it at this level that her spending in the economy can effectively propel aggregate demand and supply which will leads positive effects on other macroeconomic variables. In addition, the empirical result shows an evidence for the existence of the Armey Curve analysis in Nigeria. However, due to model and data limitations, it is probable that the results are understated, and the “true” optimum government level is even bigger than the existing empirical study indicates, as there are determinants of economic growth in the country. As a result of this, the study only covers between 1983 and 2012 (30 years), such there is a need for more comprehensive study in this regard.

“Trade Liberalization with Chinese Characteristics”: Few Notes on PRC’s WTO Membership

Abstract: There is a significant amount of published empirical studies that describe the relation of the People’s Republic of China with the World Trade Organization as the vehicle through which this country has reached the goal of opening further its domestic economy by freeing its foreign trade. If those ruling the Chinese people’s destiny saw in the WTO accession, along with the acceptance of its basic rules, a path that will lead them to the benefits and opportunities offered by some sectors’ liberalization, this judgment raises several concerns. An obvious one could be: Why not doing this unilaterally? Benefits might have been consistent. Not only that this would have been much easier, if the will of the Party, but the effects of opening market to other nations, within or outside the WTO, could have spurred earlier and stronger. Noteworthy is that many much economically freer countries are not yet members of the WTO. Then, if it is considered that the accession to this organization, by the values, rules and principles that it promotes, will allow any domestic economy to thrive, why do we assist to China’s failure in fulfilling all the WTO membership criteria and in complying with all the rules? In our opinion, Chinese authorities tried to accommodate pragmatically some liberalization to inspire trustworthiness for FDI with a boost for national companies still benefiting from public support and newly opened markets, thus seeking not pure freedom, but wise access to the workings of managed world trade.

Islamic Banking and Economic Growth — A cointegration Approach

Abstract: This paper explores empirically the relationship between the development of Islamic finance system and economic growth and its direction in Qatar. Using econometric analysis, annually time-series data of economic growth and Islamic banks’ financing from 1990 to 2008 were used. We use Islamic banks’ financing funds given by Islamic banks as a proxy for the development of Islamic finance system and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as proxies for real economic growth. For the analysis, the unit root test, cointegration test and Granger causality tests were done. The empirical results generally signify that in the long run, Islamic banks’ financing is positive and significantly correlated with economic growth in Qatar which reinforces the idea that a well-functioning banking system promotes economic growth. Furthermore, the results show that Islamic banks’ financing has contributed to the increase of investment in the long term and in a positive way in Qatar. It is one of the first pioneering studies on Islamic Banking and economic growth in Qatar, and the first to be conducted in Middle East as well, thus it has a significant contribution to the body of knowledge The findings of research will be of interest to western and Islamic finance practitioners, policy makers and academicians, who are interested in Islamic finance industry.

Implementation of corporate governance principles in Romania

Abstract: The paper aims to conduct a study regarding the manner in which corporate governance principles are applied in Romania, in both public and private sector. In the first part of the paper, the corporate governance principles are presented as they are defined in Romania, in comparison with the main international sources of interest in the domain (OECD corporate governance principles, UE legal framework). The corporate governance (CG) principles refer to issues regarding board composition, transparency of scope, objectives and policies ; they define the relations between directors and managers, shareholders and stakeholders. The research methodology is based on both fundamental research and empirical study on the implementation of corporate governance principles in companies from Romania. The main instrument of research is a corporate governance index, calculated based on a framework proposed by the author. The corporate governance principles are transposed in criteria that compose the framework for the CG index. The results of the study consist of scores for each CG principles and calculation of CG index for seven companies selected from the public and private sector in Romania. The results are analyzed and discussed in order to formulate general and particular

Risks in hospitals. Assessment and Management

Abstract: In a complex world, characterized by a multitude of risks, managers need to manage the risks they encounter, in an efficient way and in the shortest time possible. In the current economic crisis, the concept of hospital risk management, as the process in which is identified, analyzed, reduced, or avoided a risk that may affect the hospital, gained great importance. The Romanian health system, distinguished by: lack of transparency, poor funding, the loss of the valuable medical staff, lack of hospitals in villages and small towns, inability to engage patients due to the old and poor equipment, lack of research and problems in information privacy and cyber-security, requires an appropriate management, enabling risk managers to take decisions in order to avoid the occurrence of risks. Important for the functioning of every hospital is the perception of patients and their degree of satisfaction, regarding the quality of services, which depend largely on the quality of human resources. But what are the human resources weaknesses and risks from the patient point of view? What are the risk indicators which must be monitored to avoid risks? And also, which is the most useful method for measurement and assessment of risk?

Taxation, Fiscal Deficit and Inflation in Pakistan

Abstract: Fiscal policy has more controversial debate regarding its effectiveness on different macroeconomic activities of an economy Taxation and government expenditure are two main instruments of fiscal policy This paper is aimed to analyze and update the effects of different instruments of fiscal policy on inflation in Pakistan economy The data time span for this study is 1979-2013 The impact of fiscal policy on inflation is analyzed by utilizing the Bounds testing procedure and ARDL approach of co-integration which is a better estimation technique for small sample size It is found that investment negatively and significantly affect the inflation rate The outcomes of the study show that both types of taxes (direct and indirect) are causing to increase the inflation level while fiscal deficit is also one of the reasons to increase the inflation in the country The study proposed that government should decrease the level of expenditure to reduce the level of fiscal deficit and investment have to be promoted to decrease the inflation in the country Furthermore, it is also suggested to decrease the level of taxation for controlling inflation

The Determinants of Corporate debt maturity: a study on listed companies of Bombay Stock Exchange 500 index

Abstract: The study was intented to identify the determinants of the debt maturity structure of listed firms in Bombay Stock Exchange 500 index. For the analysis we have taken 321 firms during the period 2002- 2011, comprising of a panel model with fixed effects. We also used GMM (1991) and GMM (1998) estimates of our analysis. The result of robustness tests confirms that past year debt maturity, leverage and growth opportunities are directly determined the debt maturity of Indian firms. Liquidity, effective tax and rate prime lending rate are negatively determining the debt maturity of Indian companies.

Efficient Market Hypothesis: Some Evidences from Emerging European Forex Markets

Abstract: 27 This study attempts to analyze the presence of weak form efficiency in the forex markets of a set of select European emerging markets namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia using the monthly NEER data ranging from jan-1994 to Dec-2013. We employ a two step comprehensive methodology where in the first place we test for weak form efficiency using a family of individual and joint variance ratio tests. The results show that while the markets of Croatia, Czech Republic and Bulgaria may be weak form efficient at a shorter lag, the other six markets are not informationally efficient. In the next stage, we estimate a measure of relative efficiency to show the extent to which a market is weak-form inefficient. From the results, it is found that the forex markets of Croatia, Czech Republic and Bulgaria are least weak form inefficient compared to others. The findings of the study are of relevance as it shows that even after roughly two decades of free market economic policies, majority of the forex markets in the area remains informationally inefficient.

A New Distribution Strategy : The Omnichannel Strategy

Abstract: In an increasingly globalized world, dependent on information technology, distribution companies are searching for new marketing models meant to enrich the consumer’s experience. Therefore, the evolution of new technologies, the changes in the consumer’s behaviour are the main factors that determine changes in the business model in the distribution field. The following article presents different forms of distribution, focusing on the omnichannel strategy. In the last part of the paper, the authors analyse the Romanian retail market, namely, the evolution of the market, its key competitors and the new distribution models adopted by retaileres in our country.

The Creative Industries: Before and After the Crisis

Abstract: Creative industries clearly proved their potential for economic growth in the period before the crisis in Europe as well as across the world. However, the crisis has significantly changed the way of doing business and many sectors have been affected – some businesses managed to survive while others have been forced to close down. The present paper aims to examine whether creative industries have undergone a downturn as a result of the economic crisis or they managed to preserve their revitalising effect on countries, regions and cities.

Fiscal Revenues in the European Union. A Comparative Analysis

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to analyze fiscal revenues registered by the European Union member states in order to determine groups with similar fiscal structures, their composition and to identify the similarities that characterize European countries in this respect. The research conducted in this paper is relevant especially for countries as Romania, which is in the process of adopting the European single currency, as is allows us to determine which countries are similar in terms of fiscal structure so that the comparison is carried out mainly with those countries. The analysis of European fiscal structures allows a better identification of tax preferences within the European Union and highlights the types of taxation that would allow leeway in implementing long term fiscal strategies, which could lead to improvements in macroeconomic dynamics registered by each member state and also at Union level.

Corporate Social Responsibility through Education and Sport. An EU Comparative Case

Abstract: Starting from the need to tackle in a sustainable way the new economic and social requirements particularly induced by the recent financial crisis, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one envisaged solution at community and organizational level, because of its win-win strategic potential. More than that, acknowledging the economic impact of strongly supporting social domains like education and sport, the European Union (EU) has designed new measures for developing the human potential during 2014-2020 period. Following these two rationales, the main research objective is to emphasize the relationship between CSR and corporate support for educational and sport projects of top performing companies in Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia in the post-crisis period. Four main issues are investigated in detail regarding the corporate support for education and sport areas through CSR initiatives, namely existence of corporate involvement, forms of commitment, reasons for engagement, and main beneficiaries of implication. The research methodology focuses on empirical and analytical perspectives, while the results show new facets and implications of CSR initiatives in education and sport domains, but also a set of similarities and differences between the analysed EU countries. Economic and social impacts are also examined, as well as future research directions.

Factors affecting the insurance sector development: Evidence from Albania

Abstract: In this paper we explore factors potentially affecting the size of Albanian insurance market, over the period 1999 to 2009 The results of co- integration regression show that GDP and fraction urban population, both one lagged value, size of population and paid claims, both at contemporary value, have significant positive effect on aggregate insurance premium in Albania while the market share of the largest company in the insurance market, one lagged value, has significant negative effect on aggregate insurance premiums Granger causality test shows statistically significance contribution of GDP growth to insurance premium growth, GDP drives insurance premium growth but not vice versa The Albanian insurance market is under development, indicators as: insurance penetration, premium per capita, ect are still at low level and this can justify the insignificant role of the insurance in the economy

The Financial Crisis and the Management of Change in the Banking Sector

Abstract: In the last two decades the banking sector had been facing a series of profound changes. After a significant period of growth and wellbeing, the economy has faced a sudden and severe crisis. The main effect of the economic downturn implied a sharp decrease in the economic activity overall, and in the banking sector in particular, which led to millions of people losing their jobs. The article focuses on this heavily affected branch of the economy, and looks into the most efficient change management methods and turnaround strategies that enabled select organizations to remain competitive and overcome the multiple difficulties caused by the financial crisis.

Social accounting in Albania

Abstract: Social accounting is the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organizations economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large. This research paper is focused on the concepts of social and environmental accounting, viewed as an important part of the Albanian policy preparation for European Union integration. Presently, however, the EU notion of corporate engagement and Social accounting is still a new concept in the region. The paper aims to reveal the Albanian reality, as a country with strong aspiration toward EU. For this purpose we have analysed the main initiatives and projects implemented in the region and in Albania aimed at developing corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper examines the applicable and relevant paragraphs of the global financial reporting standards (IFRS). The relevant paragraphs for environmental accounting have been analyzed in relation to the environmental financial reporting. We believe that this research may serve as a starting point for further studies on this topic. This paper concludes that social and environmental reporting practices are increasing day by day in the region. In Albania the awareness of CSR and how it can be applied is still quite low, perceived mainly as an opportunity to adopt international standards and engage in environmental protection. Hence we believe that improvements in quality of environmental

An Empirical Study on Liquidity risk and its determinants in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract: This paper presents the research of liquidity risk and its determinants in banking sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The aim of this paper is to to examine banks' exposure to liquidity risk in the context of 17 out of 28 commercial banks in B&H, by using data in the period 2002-2012. In the empirical part of the research the multiple regression analysis will be applied with the aim to test the statistical significance and explanatory power of selected variables using various data analysis techniques. For the purpose of analysis of the subject matter and the aim of the research, our paper is organized as follows: After background information about trends in liquidity position of banking sector in B&H and its development is provided in Section 1, Section 2 provides a brief overview of the conducted researches in recent years related to the determinants of the commercial banks’ liquidity. Section 3 describes models and variables used in the models & hypotheses. Section 4 analyzes and interprets the empirical findings the impact of explanatory variables on banks' exposure to liquidity risk. Finally, the research conducted in this study showed that most of the analyzed variables had a certain influence on determining the level of banks' exposure to liquidity risk Based on this research the commercial banks should further decide which a variable needs to be used in order to achieve desired level of liquidity.

On Chaotic Nature of the Emerging European Forex Markets

Abstract: This study attempts to analyze the presence deterministic chaos in the forex markets of select European countries namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Monthly NEER data ranging from jan-1994 to Dec-2013 is used for the purpose of analysis. A two step methodology is employed where in the first step, non-linear dependence structure in the underlying time series is verified using BDS test. The results show that all the markets under study exhibit non-linear dependence. In the next stage, it is enquired whether this non-linear behavior is due to the presence of chaotic dynamics in the markets. This is achieved by estimating Lyapunov exponents for the time series under analysis. An EGARCH (1, 1) filter is applied to see if the non-linearity could be explained by a GARCH process. From the Lyapunov exponent values, it is found that the GARCH process is unable to explain the forex markets behavior in a satisfying manner. It is concluded that the forex markets under study exhibit deterministic chaotic behavior.

Long Term Validity of Monetary Exchange Rate Model: Evidence from Turkey

Abstract: In this study, it was analyzed if there is a long term relationship among the nominal exchange rate and monetary fundamentals within the periods of 1998:1-2011:2 in Turkey This relationship has been analysed by using structural VAR(SVAR) model Besides, Granger causality test and Dolado-Lutkepohl Granger causality test were used to determine if there were a causality relationship among the nominal exchange rate and monetary fundamentals As a result of the SVAR model, the relationship among the series related to nominal exchange rate and money supply, GDP, interest rate in Turkey in long term were not determined and at the end of causality tests, causality relationship among the nominal exchange rate and monetary fundamentals were not determined

The Determinants of Stock Market Returns: An ARDL Investigation on Borsa Istanbul

Abstract: In this paper we examine the long run and the short run dynamics of stock return and macroeconomic and financial variables like gold prices, oil prices, export volume, import volume and exchange rate. The empirical investigation employed on monthly data between January 1988 to November 2013. The Autoregressive Distrubuted Lag (ARDL) called analytical-cointegration technique is applied to capture the dynamics of short-run and long-run relationship between veriables. According to results we found a long run relationship between stock return and economic factors and existence of significant relationship between import and stock return in long run and short run models.

Transparency in European banking system – a technical and economic approach

Abstract: The objective of our paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of possible relationships between two different approaches of “transparency” – the technical vs.the economic one. Thus, irrespective of prior literature, our paper goes beyond a “solo” analysis of either of two above-mentioned “facets”, by providing a combined study. So, we focused on both (1) XBRL’s role in enhancing the quality of disclosure, by assessing its benefices and consequences and (2) corporate governance mechanism’s power to improve efficiency and effectiveness of banking supervision by encouraging transparency. The results of the performed analysis generally reveal that there is a strong and positive relationship between the level of disclosure promoted by corporate governance codes enforced in European Union countries and the degree of implementation of both XBRL-based projects designed for banking environment (FINREP and COREP). Consequently, we can assert that there is a consensus between the economic and technical approach of transparency in European banking system.

Investigating sectoral aspect of FDI in OECD countries

Abstract: The main aim of this paper is to investigate sectoral aspect of FDI in OECD countries. In particular we create Sectoral Inward FDI performance index and Sectoral Outward FDI performance index which allow us to draw conclusions about comparative advantages of a particular country in a certain sector. In addition, sectoral concentration of FDI is calculated in order to measure whether foreign investment (in a certain sector) is concentrated in one or a limited number of countries, or, contrary, evenly distributed across countries. Moreover, for the same six sectors we present the results of FDI regulatory restrictiveness index to capture discrimination against foreign investment. We find all of the investigated indices vary significantly across sectors, and this should be taken into account by policy-makers.

Is Solow’s Paradox Absent in World Leading Capital Markets? Econometric Evidence

Abstract: Information technology has transformed the traditional economy into digital economy during this century. Yet there has been debate of Solow’s Paradox in theoretical and empirical literature. Considering its importance, this research examines its impact on Capital Market Activity by using 47 countries of world’s leading capital markets. Market capitalization of listed companies (% of GDP) and Stock traded turnover ratio (%) have been considered as proxies for capital market activity while Information and Communication Technology expenditure is used as development indicators for ICT. Recently development Pooled Mean Group (PMG) approach to cointegration is employed on data of 47 countries capital markets for time span 1990-2012. PMG being a heterogeneous panel estimation technique allows the slope and short run parameters to vary across the countries. Results show the presence of long run relationship between ICT development and capital market activity. Recommendations are made on the basis of empirical findings.

Foreign Aid and Its Environmental Implication in India

Abstract: The present study empirically investigates the impact of foreign aid on environmental quality in India with the presence of some linkage factors i.e. gross domestic product, trade liberalization, net forest depletion and total value added by the industrial sector. This study is based on the annual time series data covering the period from 1970-71 to 2010-11. By using the OLS technique, the study finds that impact of foreign aid on environment degradation is negative and statistically significant. However, aid helps in reduction of environment pollution in India. It concludes that deforestation, industrialization and economic growth are the major factors which responsible for environment degradation in India. This study suggests that, it is the responsibility of the government to make appropriate plans and programs to maintain a balance between growth challenges and environment challenges. Careful planning and systematic policies should be implemented to ensure that the green growth strategies do not result in a slow growth strategy.