Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

We examine the relationship between corporate governance and the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the annual reports of Bangladeshi companies. A legitimacy theory framework is adopted to understand the extent to which corporate governance characteristics, such as managerial ownership, public ownership, foreign ownership, board independence, CEO duality and presence of audit committee influence organisational response to various stakeholder groups. Our results suggest that although CSR disclosures generally have a negative association with managerial ownership, such relationship becomes significant and positive for export-oriented industries. We also find public ownership, foreign ownership, board independence and presence of audit committee to have positive significant impacts on CSR disclosures. However, we fail to find any significant impact of CEO duality. Thus, our results suggest that pressures exerted by external stakeholder groups and corporate governance mechanisms involving independent outsiders may allay some concerns relating to family influence on CSR disclosure practices. Overall, our study implies that corporate governance attributes play a vital role in ensuring organisational legitimacy through CSR disclosures. The findings of our study should be of interest to regulators and policy makers in countries which share similar corporate ownership and regulatory structures.     

Value chains in the informal sector: income shares of home‐based subcontracted workers in Pakistan

This article attempts to contribute to the literature by carefully documenting home‐based work in four sectors in Pakistan in a value chain context. We attempt to isolate and compare the unit remuneration of workers relative to unit value added at the lowest tier of the chain as a measure of income share. These income shares are not adequate to move home‐based workers above the poverty line.     

Inverse moments of order statistics from Weibull distribution

Abstract

A general expression for moments of order statistics of positive and negative orders from Weibull distribution has been obtained and the result has been utilized to establish two identities.     

Consumer Protection in Islam: The Case of Pakistan

Consumers whether in an Islamic State or otherwise face similar problems that need to be taken care of by the government and the individuals themselves. Islam as a religion gives a comprehensive framework for conducting business and protecting the consumers' rights. Apparently, this framework seems similar to the commercial laws but glaring differences between the two exist: commercial laws are a relatively new phenomena and are made by humans for the sake of convenience only. Islamic law on the other hand, provided such guidelines 1500 years ago which are based on divine principles set by Allah. Moreover, there is no reward in complying with the commercial laws but Allah promised the believers rewards both in this world and the Hereafter for complying with Islamic principles.
Pakistan is an Islamic State but the area of consumer protection has remained neglected so far. This paper explores how an environment can be created in Pakistan whereby the interests of consumers are best protected under the teachings of Islam. The Qur'anic principles are delineated with reference to: guidelines for Muslim businessmen and consumers; the role of state and institutions.     

The internationalization of an Arab bank: The case of Ahli United Bank of Bahrain

Ahli United Bank of Bahrain (AUB) has “leapfrogged” over early stages of internationalization by means of multiple rapid acquisitions of competitors. Use of this high‐cost, high‐risk strategy is well known among companies with the resources to invest in international expansion, but its application has not yet been studied in depth among companies based in the Middle East. This theory‐driven case study examines the growth record of AUB, its place in the regional banking industry in the Gulf, and its successful internationalization as an Arab bank. The article concludes with a detailed assessment of managerial and theoretical implications arising from the case study, and proposes further research to understand better the process of internationalization by companies expanding from a base in the Middle East. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The functional form of the aggregate import demand equation

The theory of international trade gives little guidance on the appropriate functional form to use when specifying and estimating an import demand equation. The choice between the standard linear and log-linear specifications is thus essentially an empirical one. The purpose of this paper is to decide on empirical grounds the form of the aggregate import demand equation for the United States, Canada and Japan. A test that allows the data to dictate the appropriate functional form was performed on standard import equations and it was discovered that for these countries a log-linear specification was better than a linear one.     

Human Capital, Productivity, and Stratification in Rural Pakistan

This paper investigates the effects of human capital on productivity using micro panel data of rural households in the North‐West Frontier Province, Pakistan, where a substantial job stratification is observed in terms of income and education. To clarify the mechanism underlying this stratification, the human capital effects are estimated for wages (individual level) and for self‐employed activities (household level), and for farm and non‐farm sectors. Estimation results show a clear contrast between farm and non‐farm sectors—wages and productivity in non‐farm activities rise with education at an increasing rate, whereas those in agriculture respond only to the primary education.     

New international business perspectives on Pakistan

What image comes to mind when one thinks of Pakistan? Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, many businesspeople had little information about this ancient land. Recently, Pakistan has come to the world's attention as a powerful ally in the U.S.‐led war against terrorism. Situated at the crossroads of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, and member nations of the former Soviet Union, Pakistan has long been a leading player in regional political and economic activity. This article presents some new perspectives on Pakistan as a market worthy of a closer look. We survey Pakistan's history and geography, as well as its sociocultural, political‐legal, economic, and competitive environments with a view to identifying new opportunities for foreign investors and global marketers. Current business trends and marketing opportunities are discussed, concluding with an outlook for future growth and development. Valuable insights are offered to businesspeople interested in doing business in Pakistan, a little‐studied but vitally important newly industrializing country (NIC) and big emerging market (BEM). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mexican integration into the North American free trade zone

Mexican integration into the North American free trade zone is modeled as removing the tariff on Mexican imports of manufacturing goods. Using a theoretical model, it is shown that this increases welfare through production, consumption and employment gains. The results are derived by nesting the theory of customs unions, and the Harris-Todaro type intersectoral labor migration model into a unified framework.     

On the robustness of R&D

Alternative models of productivity predict a range of its determinants besides that of research and development (R&D). We investigate the robustness of R&D vis-à-vis a dozen productivity determinants in a panel of 16 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries through panel cointegration, bootstrap simulations and extensive sensitivity tests. Domestic knowledge stocks, international knowledge diffusion and human capital remain robust across all measures. The cross-country differences in accumulated knowledge stocks and human capital appear to explain productivity differences across countries.